Davids + Risky Business = Amazingness

Just because I love these commercials so much, and I know Jenna will never watch them unless I put them somewhere easy for her to find. :)

The Bookcase

Before:

So I finally got my great, new, wonderful, fantastic, tall, but most importantly STABLE bookcase. We Ikea'd yesterday (yes, Jenna, I can make even proper nouns into verbs because I'm an English major, and we get to control those kinds of things), and I got my long anticipated bookcase in the greatest color, birch. I wasn't going to get birch, because it was a whopping $20 extra just because it was pretty (darn Ikea), but nearly everyone said I should go for it if it was the one I liked. Too bad I also like saving money in the forms of $20. Too bad also that they were out of stock of the cheaper one, so I had no choice but to get the pretty one that I wanted to begin with. Yesterday I skipped out on Youth Venture (don't worry, I heard it was slow there anyway) so we could put it up immediately. Aaron (Metro to you camp folks) helped Jenna and I and we had so much FUN doing all the steps, each of which were the most fun step according to Aaron, who is a teacher and apparently thinks he has to say things like that to keep up enthusiasm. ("They'll clap at anything if you say it like that." - Someone name that quote!) Except I didn't need it any more exciting because it was already my BOOKCASE, which I have been very excited about for awhile, because I'm the nerdiest of all nerds, and this is just one proof among many that this is the case.

And then we had it up, and Aaron mounted it to the wall for extra stability, and it was amazing. ("I saw it. I saw it, and it was amazing." - Another great quote!) And then came the best part: putting my things into it! Let me tell you, there is nothing as satisfying as plotting out space between shelves, stacking and restackng, and then discovering new things that I now have room to store on my NEW BOOKCASE (!).

After:

May 26, 2008

If I said jump, they'd say how high.

May 25, 2008

Graduation paraphernalia.

May 24, 2008

I love bright things against white walls. And focused blurred pictures. But you probably already know that part.

May 23, 2008

This was my Friday night. A heater and my boots. In late May. It was very cozy, but it felt so wrong. Until I ventured out into the cold rainy night to go pick up some prints I'd forgotten at Costco, and I slipped my feet into those warm babies. Kind of made me miss wearing them the last few months.

But I still want the hot weather to come back. Now. Preferable before June.

I've got a bookcase, I've got a bookcase,

I've got a bookcase, hey, hey, hey, hey!

(More on that later. I was just excited about it right now.)

Seriously. I've never watched American Idol until six weeks ago. I'm not one of those crazy addict people. But this is just awesome.

Okay, so apparently not blogging for more than five days creates a rush to blog, blog, BLOG!

Here we are in real time. Brittany, Ryan, and I, possibly the only ones in America (who care) who don't know which David has won American Idol. I think it's going to be little David, and here's why: the teenage girls love David Archuletta. The 20 somethings love David Cook. And really it all comes down to who loves to use their cell phones more, so my money's on the kid.

I personally don't have a favorite, but my cohorts are voting (and have voted, every week in fact, cuz they're slight nerds) Cook. I think both have amazing voices, and it was going to come down to figuring out who I would like to see in concert (if we go see them in July) more. This was when I thought the winner didn't get to go on tour with the others, which I've been saying for the past weeks stinks for the winner, because I'd want to be on the fun tour, and nobody's bothered to correct me until tonight that, in fact, the winner gets to go too. So. Turns out I don't really care who wins, because they're both going to get record deals, so really, what does it matter that David Cook will come in second because teeny boppers have faster texting fingers than the twenty-three-year-olds?

And a couple of real-time pictures:

Brittany and Ryan watching with rapt attention-

A self-portrait. This is actually how I look most of the time, with my hair flung over one shoulder and my computer burning my lap. (Speaking of that, I should move it to the floor so it can circulate.)And, here's David "Babyface" Archuletta rocking my socks off.

Wait, I take that back. My socks have just been rocked so far off that I can't even find them. We almost missed it, but when Brittany suddenly asks, while Ryan isfast forwarding through the commericals, "Wait. Was that David Cook playing guitar in his underwear?" we have to rewind to see.

And. It. Was.

David Cook, in the most amazing Guitar Hero commerical EVER. I'm posting it as soon as I can safely go to youtube without being spoiled of the results. He's seriously rocking it in a button-down shirt, plastic guitar, and socks. Nothin' else.

Oh, wait! There's little David in his own commercial! Rocking around the living room in his button-up shirt and boxers! Could American Idol get any stinking cuter?

Cooking! Me!

Tonight, you lucky dogs, we have two special treats. One, a special Wednesday night edition of the Brittany and Ryan School of Cooking. We are learning how to make a chef's salad tonight. And the second treat, since chef's salad is so simple any monkey could do it, I am getting my first brush with hands-on experience. (Cheers from the studio audience.) Thank you, thank you.

(So if the forthcoming pictures seem a little self-centric, it's only because I was the official food handler tonight, and Brittany got to be the photographer.)

Remember: always wash your hands when preparing food. We learned that (among other things) from the Benny video at camp

How to make a chef's salad:
1) Boil eggs
2) Chop cheese into 1/4 in cubes.

3) Stop for a coke. (This is hard work.)

4) Chop turkey into whatever shapes you can get them in.

5) Combine, and shake well.

How to make croissants:
1) Bust Pillsbury carton.

2) Roll dough. (This is an example of a perfectly rolled croissant, FYI.)

3) Oven-ate those suckers.

And the happy family (minus one).

May 21, 2008

Picture of the day for today? Has to go to my leaning tower of

cheese-a.

May 20, 2008

Afternoon project.

May 19, 2008

So apparently this is just a good month for me, scrapbooking-wise. I made it in the magazine, and then on Monday, five minutes after I put up a few pages I'd made with this great new kit I got, look what I found on Erin Lincoln's blog? Oh, yeah. That's me. And Brittany, Ryan, and Andy. The Officers, in the 'O'. 'O' for Officers.

May 18, 2008

Apparently I took no pictures on Sunday. So here's another one from Saturday.

May 17, 2008

Two pictures of the day for Saturday. They represent the two fun things I did today, while pushing through my sniffles, sneezes, and headache by way of Tylenol Allergy (highly recommended for a cold by the way).

Our frisbee golf wrist bands.

And this one, from our Balboa Park picture excursion because I just love it. I had to hold the camera slightly over my head so I couldn't see how the picture was coming out, but I was very pleased with the results.

Recent Updates

Sick.

Went to bed early.

Played frisbee golf.

Photo shoot in Balboa Park.

Organization catch-up.

Going to bed early again.

More later.

May 16, 2008

This is how I found my roommate when I came home from work yesterday.

May 15, 2008

Our new stove! I'm a little afraid of it. Pretty sure it's going to burn me good one of these days.

May 13, 2008

I got my issue of Creating Keepsakes, the one I'm in, woo-hoo!

Cooking School, Week 3

Brittany and Ryan school of cooking, round three.

Well, apparently I wasn't paying good enough attention because the preparation seems to be over. Tonight's course is Thai peanut chicken and rice noodles.

I caught up with Cook Brittany (or, Brittany Cook, she'd like that, I bet, hee hee) as she was soaking the premium quality rice noodles in water. This is necessary because the noodles will otherwise fall apart during boiling, and apparently soaking makes them strong and bulky, like they've been eating their spinach or something.

In the Thai peanut chicken is chicken, basil, bean sprouts, and Thai peanut sauce- one of which I believe is giving me a mild allergic reaction. Not sure which one.

Oh, the Memories

Say what you will about SDCC, you can’t deny that the teachers really put a lot into the success of their students. When I look back on memories of my professors years from now, it won’t be about ridiculous English Lit tests or arguing intent of the author with Sarnowski-- it’ll be English Major socials at the department faculties’ homes, the English Easter Eggstravaganza of 2007 (complete with literature trivia), and this: Dr. White celebrating Sonia’s graduation at the B’s house with his Hawaiian shirt and stories (of us) to tell miscellaneous members of Sonia’s family.

I love when inspiration strikes...

... but when it strikes at 12:30am, and you have to get out of bed to go get a notebook and a pen, then scribble your thoughts out as they come to you under your pillow in pitch blackness, only to fall asleep with the pen in your hand until you wake up later because you stabbed yourself?

Then it's not so great.

May 12, 2008

This is just how we roll at Youth Venture.

Heck, yeah

Things I am currently loving right this very minute:

1) The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt
2) My green down blanket
3) Fresh and Easy dill pickles
4) The Office marathon on NBC

I love Sunday nights. :)

May 11, 2008

Fame and Fortune

This one speaks for itself.

May 10, 2008

Good friends

Sara and Tyler came back from Colorado for a short visit. We were able to hang out with them yesterday at Tyler's sister's house in El Cajon, and with the people, the choice of entertainment, and the reminiscing of old West vs. North dorm wars, we may as well have been back at the old Rancho apartments, sitting around their living room and getting ready to watch Lost after heading back from the jacuzzi. It was just that good.

The only thing that could have made it better is if we'd carried out our original plan of jacuzzi hopping at the old complex. Really though, it wouldn't have felt right unless it was a Wednesday (our former jacuzzi night). But to see the look on the security guard's face when he found us taking over the pool again? Priceless!

May 9, 2008

The Middle Office

May 7 (One Day Late)

School of Cooking Round Two

May 8 Picture of the Day:

Tonight's menu consists of Asian beef with peas and microwavable rice, to be followed with a dessert course of cake batter cookies with secret ingredient. (No, Ryan. Not vodka.)

Cut: Beef Round Tip Thin (2 pounds)

Mix: 3 tbs soy sauce, 2 tbs rice vinegar, 1tbs brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Stir fry 1 tbs of garlic

Add beef, cook

Add peas (we used sugar snap peas, though the recipe called for snow peas. As you can see, we took some creative license on this one), cook

Add sauce mixture

Stir everything, let boil

Voila!

1) If you are cooking with eggs and oil, put in eggs first so the oil doesn't stick

2) Secret ingredients to make any dessert better: __________ and ___________

3) Don't use a knife with a serrated edge to cut meat; serrated edge knives are good for apples, tomatoes, and other such things that you want to saw through, as oppose to chop. You want to chop meat, apparently.

4) Use a big enough pan when stir frying meat

On Finding a New Great Children's Book

One of the books I got from the library today was one of the 2008 Newbery Honor books, The Wednesday Wars. I've read the first chapter, and I can already tell that I will love this book. Here's an excerpt from page 11, in which our hero finds himself trying to figure out what prank has been done to his desk without falling into the trap himself:

So I asked Meryl Lee Kowalski, who has been in love with me since she first laid eyes on me in the third grade-- I'm just saying what she told me-- I asked her to open my desk first.
"How come?" she said. Sometimes even true love can be suspicious.

Great stuff, this one. Great stuff.

Tuesday

Miss my alarm clock? Check.

Get to work half an hour late? Check.

Rainy day with my new shoes? Check.

Pick up a big ol' stack of books at the library? Check, check, check, check, check. And check.

The Barrel Game

So I have two photos today- one I took, and one which I LOVE, but that my little friend Jamie at Youth Venture took. But, seeing as how I had just taught her how to take cool focused blur pictures, I'll take credit, even though I was taking shots of the boys shooting at the 8 ball, and she had the great idea to capture Mr. Foosman here:

That's brilliant right there, I tell you.

And here's mine. Not nearly as good, but I tried and tried during my shift today to get a great pic of the kids. They were just moving too fast most of the time, and there is a story to go with that and this picture:

The story is that I taught the five kids who were at youth venture today how to play the barrel game. The barrel game is a favorite of ours. Justin, Justin, Jesse, Tyler and I invented it when we were 19 and bored one night, wanted to play a fun kid game like hide and seek, but decided we were too cool for boring old hide and seek. So we made up the barrel game. It's kind of like Blind Man's Bluff and it's called the barrel game because originally we played around these barrels the Aubrey's had in their backyard when Justin and the guys used to have paint ball wars down there. The game was such a success that we continued to play it many times over the next year, anytime the stress of college and work got to us. Then Justin's mom threw the barrels away and we were devestated. And then we adapted the game for any location.

Barrel Game Rules:

1) You cannot change location once the seeker has finished counting.

2) One foot must remain in its original location at all times; the other foot can be used to pivot away from the seeker.

3) The seeker must keep their eyes closed until he or she finds someone, and then must accurately guess who they have found.

So I taught the kids the wonderfulness that is the barrel game. And, just like with my friends, they learned quickly that the most fun part of the game is banging on things to make noise for the blind seeker and, even better, to throw things at them to get their attention.

And that's where it got a little out of hand. But still, oh so much amazing fun.

Then David Porter, my fellow shift worker got in on the fun and, well, let's just say he did not follow the rules of the barrel game.

And then he made them all return the pillows to their rightful couches. Good times, good times.

This Just In: Brittan Taylor Peck Turns Legal

Happy birthday, seester!!!

She turned the big 18 today and had no idea we were throwing her a surprise party until we got there. Success!