The weekend.

This weekend was jam packed with fun!  Friday night I had been looking forward to for quite awhile.  It was my friends' birthday...and they had a lovely party.  I got to meet my friend's boyfriend (finally!) he lives in Paris, France!  They tried to get me to speak french, but I was too embarrassed...my french is more than bad!  Then Saturday we all went to the Greek Festival in Covina.  It was amazing...the food, the music, the atmosphere!  I loved it all! 

I had the vegetarian plate.

Then, this morning my family and I got up real early and headed down to Fashion Island for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  I LOVE Race for the Cure...I wish that we had more time to walk around but I had to go to work pretty much right after...so that will have to wait till next year!  I hope you all had a great weekend as well!

Baguette.

Nearly every Friday night my friends and I get together for wine night.  Sometimes we will do themed nights where we "travel" around the world.  Once we went to Poland (accompanied by some bland food and ketchup) and this week we went to France.  This was a very successful wine night.  Some of the girls brought macaroons, some cheese, some ratatouille, and I made...a french bread baguette!  (probably a pitiful display of French food, but we tried!)  I had made loaves of bread before through the mentoring of my meemaw, but this was a little different.  This is the recipe I used...and i took some pictures of the process:

Kneading the dough:

Letting it rise:

Fresh out of the oven:

It was pretty easy to make...but my meemaw's bread is SO much better!

Birthdays and Weddings.

This weekend has been full of celebration.  On Saturday, my whole family got together my Meemaw's 75th birthday.  It is really hard these days getting everyone together since we are now getting old...getting married...and having kids of our own.  It was really fun getting to see everyone together again!  The weekend was full of laughing, catching up, eating, and swimming.  My favorite part was the water fight that broke out...hoses...buckets...ice water...so much fun.

Then on Sunday one of my ZTA sorority sisters had her wedding.  She and her now husband have been dating for 10 years!  It is so cool to be able to see them finally tie the knot!  Her wedding was in Pismo Beach, so my sister and I drove up together. 

The drive was so beautiful, and we had a lot of fun?  If you call a bit of traffic fun...at least we got to drive along the coast!  The way back was a breeze, although I wish we could have stayed longer!  Till next time I suppose.

Day 26: If I had 15 minutes to evacuate my home before it was destroyed, what 10 things would I bring (not including pets or people).

Wow! 10 things is actually a lot...I don't think that I would be able to carry 10 things out the door!  But...then again I would have fifteen minutes!

1.) Photo albums/ Pictures

2.) This Teddy Bear that my Meemaw made me when I was born

3.) The ZTA Quilt that my mom made me with all the shirts that I had collected.

4.) A few of my favorite books.

5.) My journals and diaries.

6.) My ipod and earphones

7.) This necklace and earring set that my Meemaw gave me many, many years ago.  She got it when she went to the Holy Land, and apparently the gems are from Solomons mine.

I've never worn them...hence why they are still in the baggie

8.) Probably some clothes.

9.) I seem to have run out of important things! But I think this is a good list!  If the situation were to arise I'm sure that there are many more things that I would want to add...but these would definitely make the cut!

Day 25: The nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.

When I was younger, I would spend a week or so each summer at my grandma's house.  Not being ones for the outdoors, my sister and I  would watch some good ol' fashioned VHS tapes...along with a few cousins.  Our favorites included Mrs. Doubtfire, Casper, and Hi-Tops.  I know that a lot of people haven't had the absolute pleasure of seeing Hi-Tops...but you must!  (Disclaimer: probably the only reason why I love it so much is because of the nostalgia).  Some people that I have shown it to do not have the heart for it that I do...and some even gave up in the middle of it and couldn't finish the wonderful splendours of it! 

A long time ago...we lost the tape!  It was devastating...our only copy that had made its home in the nook of our grandmas house for so many years...missing!  Then... a few years ago my grandma came down for my birthday.  She had a present for me.  It was not only a copy of Hi-Tops...but a burned DVD copy!  I was so happy that I cried! My grandma knows me so well!  It was so nice, and the most thoughtful gift I have ever gotten.

Day 24: Relationships that have had the greatest impact on my life.

There are my friends, and friends, and friends, and friends, and friends.

There are people I've only run into once.

There is my family, and mom and meemaw, and nieces, and sister, and sisters.

There are fictional characters who shape my own life.

There are people I have never met.

There are professors and other teachers who inspire me and encourage me.

#2--Check!

I got back from my Meemaw's house late last night.  It was so fun going up there and doing...nothing.  Seriously.  I did not do a single thing while up there but talk with my grandma, and sit around!  It was very nice to take a much-needed break from school.  I think we went up at the perfect time because all the flowers were in bloom!  The cherry blossom trees were so beautiful, and I took a few pictures from around the farm.  I took a nap while up there and had THE strangest dream!  I dreamed that I was making gummy bears, and the secret ingredient in them was...gophers? (Yes, I did say gophers!)  I guess I needed a break much more than I thought! I took a lot of pictures, so here are a lot to look at:

This last one is my favorite.  I'm glad that I got to spend some time with my grandma for a little bit.  In July, the whole family will be getting together for her 75th birthday!  She is incredibly agile; taking care of this farm, and the horse!  I love her dearly.

A Roughly Impromptu Trip.

I decided to take advantage of my Friday's class cancellation. I called up my MeeMaw, and she said it would be a wonderful thing to come up and visit her. (I never get to go up to her house as much as I would like to!) I didn't want to take the trip up to Squaw Valley by myself, so Heather came along with me. As we were driving up, we decided that it would be fun to cook my grandma dinner! Since the drive is about 5 hours, it was best to stop at a market up closer. When we started to get closer, we kept our eyes peeled for a market. Only a little ways further, did we find one called, "United Market." Looks like a market, sounds like a market...It was the best place to stop we thought. Once inside, Heather says, "I think this is a Mexican market!' Sure enough, we looked around and we are the only white girls in there, and everything was in Spanish! Luckily, they had everything we needed, rice, fresh vegetables, as well as perfectly ripe Mangos and Abuelita. We continued on our journey up to MeeMaw's house. We had a delightful conversation over a delicious vegetable stir fry with rice for dinner, and soy hot chocolate for dessert!
The next day, Meemaw made us the most amazing breakfast. Oatmeal complete with brown sugar, dried fruit and soy milk. It was perfect to give us energy for our day ahead. We started out with filling boxes for the troops in Iraq and a trip up to King's Canyon to see the BIG trees. These pictures can't even capture how huge these trees are! They are absolutely amazing! After we finished our walk, we had lunch at the restaurant, and had amazing sandwiches. When we got back, Heather and I continued our journey to Modesto, to visit my aunt and cousins. We used Stacy (That's what I call my GPS system) to help us find our way there. However, she sometimes gets confused, and well needless to say she decided to take us on a little detour. At least we got to see a little bit of the country? On this little detour we saw a sign that read, "Flesh Strawberries." That's right, flesh. I regret not taking a picture of it! It was so funny, who writes signs like that...unless they really were advertising "Flesh" strawberries, gross. I hope not! Once we got back on route it was smooth sailing, and we found their house easily. It is the most adorable house ever, and I'm so glad that I got to spend some time with me cousins. We had dinner and chatted. Unfortunately, we were too tired to watch one of our favorite movies together, but perhaps, we will save that for next time!
The next day, Heather and I headed down to San Francisco. We went there to search for a Bridesmaid dress for my sisters wedding because we needed to make sure the colors were perfect. However, the ladies that had told us about the store in SF LIED! It was not in SF but in a city not so near there! I died. At least we had a fun time walking about the city for a few hours! ha! After we explored for a little bit, we headed home. The drive was easy and quite relaxing. Just what we needed!
So overall the weekend was perfect! I'm so glad that I got to hangout with my Grandma and cousins, they are the best!

Almost A White Christmas.

For Christmas this year we went up to my Meemaws house. I haven't been up there in so long, and it was so much fun! Almost all of my cousins were there along with my aunts and uncle. On the drive up there it was soooo cold, and rained a tiny bit. I could see snow on the mountains, and I was getting excited because I thought that MAYBE this year, I could have a White Christmas. Unfortunately, it was not the case. But, it got really cold, freezing actually, and icy all over the place, which is close to snow, right? All well, maybe next year!

My Meemaw has tons of animals. It is impossible to go anywhere without finding one. From cats, to dogs to horses, you name it, and she has probably had it at one point.

Anyways, I don't get to see my cousins that much, and I had the best time with them. We played rock band practically all of Christmas day. I bet they wished they had let me play the drums instead of singing. I don't want to brag or anything, but I have the most horrible voice you will ever hear, truly. My Meemaw and my mom gave me the best gifts EVER. My Meemaw made me a tote, that has squares of coffee beans and earth tones, it is so cute...and homemade. And my mom put all the dances that me and my sister were in when we were younger, onto one DVD, instead of having them on the ten different VHS'. These were perfect gifts, and a perfect Christmas.