Sensitive Ears

Remember the little white doggie from last time?

OH heeeyyy Buttons. What's that? I woke you from your nap? But you sleep all day, and that's the perfect time to take pictures of you.

So peaceful and oblivious.

Whoopsies I've been caught! Though the masses of hair makes it seem like this pup has no expression. I can feel a sleepy glare. BUT don't let that fool you. Little Buttons loooves the camera.

May I present exhibit A:
Disclaimer: Pooch doesn't actually speak with an accent. Nor does she speak at all.

Doggie is far far away. A few short moments ago she was fast asleep.
But those canine ears have picked up on the soft "whirl" of my camera turning on.


"Vhat iz dat noize?"
"Vaz it ze kamera?"
"Aha! It iz ze kamera."
"Reddy for ze cloze-upp"
"Vhy have yu stopped? Go. Go."


So don't let that aloof, tough puppy exterior fool ya. This is one dog that loves pictures. Won't come when called..repeatedly..but answers to the camera. Notice I have not moved the entire time.

Sorry Buttons, your secret is out. Too bad there's not "America's Next Top Dog Model". We'll let Tyra know.

Hmm..wonder if all doggies are camera lovers?

Toilet paper + flowers=??

First of all...Hooray!! I found the little cord that connects my camera to the computer. Now my pictures can be freed from their captivity in my xD card.

While tapping into my weekend-warrior side and shopping at Home Depot, I found a really cool article about reusing toilet paper rolls...ergm... I meant while my dad was being a weekend-warrior and I tagged along to find a battery for my TV remote.... Apparently the cardboard rolls make nice homes for germinating seeds.

How to make a cozy starter home for seeds:

Round up empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls. Hopefully you won't have to pick them out of trash like I did. Then keeping in the "reusing" theme, a to-go container to hold my finished rolls.

Cut the toilet paper rolls in half and the paper towel roll into fourths. And cut the take-out container in half too. Use a plastic spoon (I used my hands, even though the potting soil bag explicitly said not to) to press soil into the rolls. Note how even all my rolls are. Perfection is not important, those little seeds won't care.

Run inside to grab the seeds. I bought mine for 20 cents at Walmart (honestly, can you buy anything for 20 cents???)Pet the dog, who is wondering why you are running in and out of the house so many times (scissors, water bottle, seeds, camera.) Then, push her back inside because her purdy white coat will get all dirrrty.


Water the soil, then place a couple of seeds in each tube. I used a Sharpie to label the tubes (pumpkin, snapdragons, etc.) Its probably a better idea to label the tubes before soil goes in. Whoopsie..Cover the seeds with more soil and dampen the soil with more water.

And..voila! A place for tiny seeds to sprout and start their lives in. After they grow a little, I'll plant the entire tube in my garden.

Let's just hope my green thumb is working today.

Please grow..pleeaase grow

Pinnipeds galore!

I smell like fish. My muscles are sore. I've been sprayed with fishy smoothies. Painful and a little gross, yes.. But I always come back for more. How could I not? Look at that little face.. what a cute harbor seal.

For about a year I've been volunteering at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, a rehabilitation center for pinnipeds (seals, sea lions) getting them well enough to be released back to the ocean. (check out their website for more info!! anyone can volunteer.) Any organization that can get me up at 6am to sort herring for hours only to have it devoured in minutes, wear oh-so-flattering overalls (niice..), tube feed over a dozen animals, and scrub dirty pens is a worthwhile cause.

So in a few days I will wake up early again, drive with a thousand commuters, don my waterproof getup, and take a large whiff of the wonderful poopy/fishy stench that I have come to love. Ahhhh..smells diiivine.


Up next: I'll actually be cooking!! kind of.. possibly homemade granola and yogurt, or bean soup. And I'm starting to plan my herb garden. So far, only garlic, basil, and green onion have made the list.

Hello world!

Remember playing in the sandbox as a kid? Or at least going to the playground? Jumping off the swings, going down the slide backwards, getting sand in your shoes. Yeahhh that stuff.

My professor, Dr. G, once said she wanted to have a job where she could go to work everyday feeling as ecstatic as a kid in a sandbox. Yes, after 4 years of college the most valuable piece of advice I got was to recapture childlike excitement and curiosity. Cliche..? Still, it lead me to the reason for this blog.

The idea of a blog first started while deliriously studying for finals with my friends and stuffing our faces with fast food. Reading Pioneer Woman not only convinced us that living on a ranch could be cool, but to start a food blog.

Buuut, now as I sit on my bed avoiding unpacking (noo, procrastination doesn't stop after college) and thinking about cooking, it reminds me of childhood (ah ha.. we are coming full circle). My mom was/is pretty awesome. Our family always made ginormous batches of xmas cookies, were way ahead of the "green-living" trend (we had a compost pile in our backyard, for goodness sakes), and did stay-cations before the recent downturn of the economy. Basically, childhood= a hodgepodge of nerdy fun.

So, what started as a food blog has grown into a monsterous beast of that will try to chronicle my adventures in cooking, gardening, crafting, playing with animals, traveling, or anything the reminds me of being a kid.

Confessions: I'm a natural born bad speller and a science major so I can't write well either. I have the attention span of a 2 year old. And will make lame attempts to capture everything on my not-so-fancy camera.

Welcome to my world. Thanks for letting me share it with you.

Love,
Lisa