Wanted: a container for excitement

I am super excited about next week! I can just feel the holiday season approaching and I just have to get past Monday. I've been writing a list of things to do which is keeping me trucking forward :) I used to always make a list in college while studying for finals. It helped keep me focused on finishing my work and visualize the fun things in store. 

{one} On Monday I take my final for my microbiology class!! Eeee! I really enjoyed taking the class and like a big science nerd thought it was so so interesting. I’ll walk around saying things like “that’s because of Clostriduim botulism!” and “those are probably coliform bacteria.” Nerdy!!

The way my schedule worked out I had a 4.5 hour break between lecture and lab. So I spent a lot of time in the library. It actually was a blessing in disguise, and I ended up doing tons of quality studying :) Soon I’ll be done with pre-requisite classes for grad school!!

  

{two} Movies and books galore!! A few weeks ago My grandma was testing out netflix and I borrowed her password for the “watch instantly.” Oh goodness, I am hooked and getting my own account. Its going to be so helpful to knock out some of the 100 movies I have on my list :) Hot chocolate, popcorn, cozy blanket, and snuggly doggie… can’t wait!!

I’ve been asking all my co-workers, bloggies, and friends for book recommendations. And I’ve got quite the list going on! So far I’ve got: Twilight series, The Daily Coyote, Percy Jackson series, Great Expectations, The Help, Middlesex, Timetraveler’s Wife, My Life in France, The Hot Zone, The Color Purple… And of course re-reading Harry Potter!
Let me know of any other good reads!! I like fantasy, chick-lit, classic, suspense, mystery.. haha ok, anything!

{three} I am hoping to get a sewing machine for Christmas, but even if I don’t I’m gifting one to myself! Being immersed in books and science for the past 3 months has gotten my creative side antsy! I am so ready to start crossing out some of the crafty things on my list. One crafty thing I did accomplish was creating a Halloween costume.Oh, did I mention it wasn’t for me?
My little ewok.  I love her :)

Although I’m not sure if the sentiment is reciprocated…
 

Is there such a thing as too many desserts?

Hi bloggies!! How's the first week of December treating y'all??

Here in California the weather been looking like this..

Talk about gloomy city!

I'll have to say November was pretty uneventful for me. It went by pretty quickly and I'm reminded how easy it is to get into a routine (rut?) Its been school, work, home, study, sleep, and repeat :)

As for my November update, I discovered that I've mostly been cooking! So this month's 101 update will be a "tasty Tuesday." Party in my mouth!!

Cranberry Scones
Pretty good, not fantastic though. Not as dense or buttery as I would have liked. I substituted for whole wheat flour and honey Greek yogurt. You gotta make do with what's in the kitchen :)

Coconut Macaroons
I was imagining chewy and sweet deliciousness, but these were a little dry. I love love macaroons and wanted to try this "healthier" version. I guess the condensed milk in regular macaroon makes a big difference.

Apple Crisp
This is tastes like fall. I made it with less crumble topping and more Fuji apples. Its so good for breakfast with some yogurt! I’ve already made it twice!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
These did not last long in the house! My GF sister and I devoured them :) They're so easy to make so I can have cookies whenever I want (which could be a bad thing!)

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
I hate pumpkin pie. And I don't like cheesecake either. But somehow I loved this pie. Odd how tastebuds work..

As you can see my oven got a good workout this month. And I see that I still have to learn to remember to take pictures before I wolf down my food. Hehe whoops :) Guess there are still bloggy lessons to learn!

The only other "list" thing I accomplished was creating an iTunes playlist.
Oh yeah bring on the "Christmas songs!"

What's your favorite Christmas tunes?
Recently I've been keeping Carrie Underwood's country-fied version of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" on repeat. It makes my ears so happy!

Wee bit of me Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Or happy hump-day if you prefer!

I'm in the library and bored, actually I should be studying but we all know how that goes :)

I love Wednesdays. Probably because I was born on one! But even if you don't love Wednesdays, you can still join in on "Wee bit of me Wednesdays" too!

{one} do you collect anything? if so, what and how long have you been collecting?
I do! I collect souvenir shot-glasses and post-cards. Every time people see my shot-glass collection it like *wink wink* "what a large collection." Implying I'm some sort of crazy alcoholic who actually uses all the glasses. No, I would be dead if I tried that, there's a lot!

{two} what is one cleaning tip that you swear by?
I wish I were more domestic and could offer an amazing tip, but sadly, I am not. Though the Mr. Clean magic erasers are pretty awesome (bye bye sharpies) 

{three} who would you call for bail money?  
Ermm, my dad or brother. They both have money and I'd probably face a wrath from either one!

{four} what is one thing you miss about being a kid?  
Play time... Hands down. You know rushing to finish your homework so you can roller blade or play freeze tag with the neighbors.  
 
{five} name a few of your guilty pleasures. 
Eating while driving (I'm a good driver, I promise!!), salty carbs, snuggling with my doggie
 
{six} how early do you start your holiday shopping?  
Probably 10 days before. Unless I'm being brilliant and have planned ahead, then December 1st.
 
{seven} what is a family tradition that you would like to pass on to your significant other/children?
Humongous New Years feast, asian style. My grandma and I spend New Year's eve-day cooking so much food. Sushi, soup, flank steak, shrimp, you name it. Then on New Years the family comes over to watch the parade, do puzzles, and graze all day.
 
{eight} what do you consider your greatest achievement? 
So far, graduating college. I hope there's more "big" achievements in my life though!
 
{nine} what do you do to pamper yourself? 
At home spa day! Nails, facials.. 
 
{ten} if you were to start your own restaurant, what would it be called?
When I was a kid, my sister and I always pretended we had a restaurant. I can't remember what it was called, but we did serve an "okapoca sandwich." Jelly and turkey on sourdough. That may or may not be on the permanent menu ;)
 

Summer dreaming..

The hot weather this week (80-90 degrees!!) made me a little nostalgic for summer.

Here is an old bike adventure that I never ever got around to posting.

My purple bike and I had so much fun this summer. Riding along the beach with friends really makes exercise, well, not seem like exercise.

The hardest part was all the little hills we encountered getting to the strand (beach). Murder on my thighs and calves!!

The riding on the strand was physically easy.  But it felt like I was driving! Although it was strictly a "bike path" and explicitly said "no pedestrians," everyone was strolling down the path. Gotta keep alert or else a collision is bound to happen!

This summer all the lifeguard stations were colorfully painted.  It really made them stand out on the beach! I liked it!! My family and I love visiting “statues on parade” things (like summer of snoopy or salmon parade.)

We ended up doing about 40 miles! It took us a long time and there were a ton of cyclists that passed us up. But, slow and steady was a-ok for me :)

Sigh, I do miss summer. It seems like the upcoming daylight savings (Sunday!), makes the end of summer seem so final. Oh, and the holiday Starbucks cups.. definitely means winter is here :)

I do hope that So Cal weather will finally make up its mind..scarves or shorts??

Which weather fashion do you prefer? Scarves, coats, and pants OR shorts, dresses, and tank tops?
I can't decide!! I love love love scarves, so I'm leaning towards winter/autumn. But, who am I to really "know" what winter really is. I'm a California girl through and through. I think 60 degrees is cold!

101 updating!

This week I watched the rescue of the Chilean mine workers. Needless to say, it so amazing they all survived. I can't imagine being trapped for almost 70 days underground!! That's a really long time!

I started thinking, what have I done in 70 days?
Since August 5th I have:

Got a netbook (#85) 
Yay! Its so handy to take to school! Especially since I have a 4 hour break between classes and my laptop is a ginormous dinosaur :P

Visited the Aquarium of the Pacific (#1)
I finally used my free tickets! It felt like my friends and I were they only people there without kids! It was fun to stop at all the touch tanks and watch the animal feeding as a visitor, not a volunteer!

Tried a new restaurant (#8)- La Brea Bakery at Downtown Disney.
I had the fresh mozzarella sandwich. Delicious! Along with fresh bread, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and icy water it was a great choice. The price was comparable to some of the restaurants inside the park, but being served, unlimited drink refills, and service made it waayy better!

Read (#6)
I finished 1st to Die, Cradle and All, Her Fearful Symmetry, and Saving Gracie. I’m really enjoying easy reads, and I think each book took an average of 2 days to read ;)

Wrote a personal statement (#23) applied to veterinary school (#24)
Finito!! This is what I was doing on the blog hiatus. Let me tell you, writing a personal statement is tough cookies!

Subscribed to a fitness magazine (#20)
Hello, Runner’s World! I’m still not a “runner!” But there’s some good articles about health, preventing injuries, and food.

Went back to school (#27)
The last of my grad school pre-requisites!! I finally scored a spot in a microbiology class! Phew :)

Wow! While I was struggling with applications and school work, the miners were in constant worry about being rescued. It really puts life into perspective :)

Have a good Sunday!! It’s gloomy weather in So Cal!

What to read??

I have a dilemma: too many books and too little time.

Or maybe just a bad case of indecisiveness.

One thing on my list is to read 50 books and 15 “classics.” And I just can’t choose which one to commit to!

I checked out Great Expectations after a friend told me there were some amazing parallels to Harry Potter (big H Potter fan here!) Currently, I’m on page 5.

via

And I’ve had the book for 2 weeks. Hmmm… Slow reader?

What about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?? I’ve just finished the prologue.

via

I’ve also heard good things about it too. Well, except that all the character’s names sound similar and it takes about 100 pages to get interesting.

Then another friend told me to read the Twilight series. I’ve been refusing to jump on the Twi-hard bandwagon and thought the movie was ehhhh, okay. But her whole family has read it, including her dad! She’s convinced me that the movie is bad bad bad, and the books are actually an easy and interesting read.

via

So, what’s a girl to do? Er, read?

All these books are sitting on my nightstand, just dying to be read. I'm excited to read all of them, but one first? Or do I have the awesome mental capacity to read  multiple books at the same time?

Have you read any of them? 
Do you read book simultaneously or concentrate on just one?

An Early Morning

For some reason I woke up really early this morning. Now I’m not typically a “morning” person, so I had no idea what to do!
While reading the newspaper I found some really good sales! Yay for Columbus Day sales! Off I went to the mall. But since I normally slumber until 10, it was a surprise that stores don’t open until 9 or 10ish :P
After a little bit of loitering around, the store finally opened. I made a great discovery today! Early shopping= empty store = happy Lisa bean

And I found this amazing yoga mat! I think early mornings and I might be becoming friends:) A little bit of coffee is all the encouragement I need to wake up earlier.
Gasp! Maybe that means I’m growing up! Am I finally becoming an adult and leaving behind college ways? Now that I think of it, midnight actually seems “late.” Do I see an earlier bedtime in my future too?
Today I even whipped up a filling lunch. I couldn’t believe that a salmon burger, watermelon, and some mixed nuts would keep me full for so long! I’ll admit I’m a little obsessed with salmon burgers now. A big flavor party in my mouth. Yum!
I wish I could say the rest of the day was productive. And I really really wish I spent more time with this book:
But the cliché “lazy Sunday” seemed to reign over my day!
Good night!!

Hi strangers!!

It's been so so long! I went through a blogging funk. My life felt kind of boring and I just didn't think that writing about school work and applications was exciting.

This is basically what I've been doing for the past few months. My friends have been manila folders and transcripts. And even though blogging is basically writing about yourself, a personal statement is a whole 'nother beast!

I spent so much time at the computer, my dog would lie in her "room" to keep me company! It was a nice little routine we had going on =} I am SO relieved to be done.

Being away from blogging has gotten me thinking. I decided that I really want to get back into shape (especially since all my unemployed friends are doing p90x while I'm at work.) Feel free to share any fitness motivation, healthy tips, or workout schedules! I definitely need some help in the motivation department!!

Tasty Tuesday:: Mulligatawny Soup

I'm sure I've said it before, I'm a frugal person.  Luckily I have a group of friends who share that trait.  We've done all the free things to do in LA: the beach, free Getty Saturdays, free Getty Villa, free OC fair, you name it!  And recently we've been opting to stay in and cook rather than go out to a restaurant. 

A few weeks ago we made an easy version of mulligatawny (an Indian inspired soup). We bulked it up by adding more than the directed amount of celery, carrots, and apples.  I don't  know how authentic this soup is, but it's sure tasty :)

INGREDIENTS
* 1/2 cup onion, chopped
* 2 stalks celery, chopped
* 1 carrot, diced
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons curry paste (powder is okay too!)
* 4 cups chicken broth
* 1/2 apple, cored and chopped  (I used Fuji apples)
* 1/4 cup white rice
* 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed
* salt to taste
* ground black pepper to taste
* 1 pinch dried thyme
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 1 cup pineapple (optional)


DIRECTIONS
1. Saute onions, celery, carrot, and butter in a large soup pot. Add flour and curry, and cook 5 more minutes. Add chicken stock, mix well, and bring to a boil. Simmer about 30 minutes.

2. Cook the chicken. You can grill it, microwave it, pan fry it, whatever.

3. Add apple, pineapple, rice, chicken, salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer 15-20 minutes, or until rice is done.

4. When serving, add hot cream. Or add cream to soup and simmer for another few minutes until its hot and serve.

Yum! I think its either the thyme or heavy cream that makes this soup wonderful. Hmmm, it's probably the heavy cream ;)

Let the mingling begin!

Happy Monday!

Today I'm mingling over at Life of Meg (it's my first time!!)

I'm not the best mingle-er in real life (small talk makes me sweat), but this is easy-peasy. I get to read all these new blogs without my awkward social skills getting in the way :)

Hope on over to Life of Meg if you want to join!

See you there!

Twice as nice

Since I forgot *coughi'maslackercough* to do a June 101 update, I'm clumping it together with July's update.  They both start with "J" can't we pretend it's one very loong month ;)

Plus it'll seem like I did more things!

#1 Visited Monterey Bay Aquarium

#3 Hearst Castle!!

#4 Biked to Venice Beach (sad lack of photos, I'm going next weekend and will remember the camera!!)
#61 Muffins that taste like doughnuts, or I like to call them snickerdoodle muffins!
#62 Mulligatawny soup (recipe coming soon!)

#83 Purchased an iPod adaptor
#86 I got a bike!

I was getting my blogging groove on in the beginning of June (trying to hit the 1 month of blogging!), but then the fear and realization that veterinary school apps (#24) are due very very soon threw me off track.  Juggling school, work, apps, and writing a personal statement have made me want to crawl up into a small ball and wish it all goes away!

Anyone want to trade places with me? Okay, I'm being a big baby, there's worse things that could be happening to me! I take all my whining back. Well, maybe I'll just 90% back. I keep telling myself that I'm blessed with the opportunity to pursue my dreams!

So I'll just settle for the camaraderie of someone has gone through crazy grad school application process! Anyone??

Oh well, I'm off to learn about the biochemistry of DNA replication!

At least I have a study buddy :)
(Yes, I did her hair like that and no, I'm not really ashamed)

Happy sunny Saturday!

Meet my baby!

Well, not a human baby, buuut...

I got a bike, I got a bike, I got a bike, hey, hey, hey, hey!
 
Ain't she purdy??

After a little tune up job, my little purple bike and I took to the road!  I'm so lucky to live close to the beach! It makes for great, uninterrupted bike riding, and the scenery isn't too shabby either ;)

I wish I brought my camera on the ride! It was a pretty epic ride. We saw hang gliding lessons, police arresting a shirtless man in Venice, 6-man volleyball tourney in Hermosa (so crowded!), and large birds (egrets? herons?).  To top it all off, we ended up riding 40 miles!?! The miles just fly by when you have the ocean to calm you and lots of people-watching to do :) 

Oh, in case you didn't already know....
I LOVE MY BIKE.

When insomnia settles in..

Zzzzz.... 

I really, really wanted to go to bed early tonight! I'm so tired of having a funky sleep schedule.   Since I work the late shift, my sleep schedule gets all out of whack. An hour ago I was lying in the dark, wiiiiide awake, trying to sleep for the past 2 hours. Ugh :(

So, here I am at 2am watching "Friends" and blogging.

This weekend I had food on my mind. I'm reading a book about what people eat when they are alone.  I'm only about a quarter in, and so far it's pretty interesting.  It got me thinking what is my "alone" food?  All I know is that being a college student left me with some bad eating habits.

 via

During college, I had always had early classes (8am is definitely early for this non-morning girl!)  I would zombie walk to the cafeteria, grab a bagel/crossaint/eggs sandwich, and eat it on the walk to class.  Not very healthy. Lunch was a sandwich and dinner was anything and everything that sounded delish to a sleep deprived hungry student.  Helloo pizza, burgers, mozzarella sticks, pasta, and chips! Sounds divine.

A year after graduation, I am left trying to re-learn what proper eating habits are.  The knowledge is in there somewhere! My momma taught me right!

How could I forget such simple rules? 

• When I was younger I had no problem with portion control. I ate what was served and then stopped.  
• Snack time was either at 10am recess or when I got home. Food did not constantly go into my mouth.
• I ate plenty of fruit and was excited for plums and peaches.They were special summer treats.
• Bedtime was at 8pm, and there was no time for excessive late-night snackage
• Mealtimes were around a table, not in front of the computer or TV. 
• Oh yeeeah, the best time of day was recess. I think I spent at least an hour exercising a day.

What are some "lessons" you can learn from you childhood self?

Good night! (morning?) I'm off to think peaceful and sleepy thoughts!

Thursday Five!!

Wanna play along? List 5 things that make you feel: 

happy, giddy, joyful, excited, appreciative

 

{one} Shortened work day! Thursdays are always killer at work because we have 1/2 priced vaccines. I'm positively giddy to be home and getting fun things done.

{two} I am so so close to buying a bicycle, and am super excited to go biking with my friends (they've been going without me!) and brother.

{three}Having Glee music playing on repeat... Good music and amazing singers are filling my room with joyful music (go JOURNEY!)

{four} The weather has been gloomy lately, and I get upset because its supposed to be summer for goodness sakes! But when I look at the news I'm appreciative of our slightly gloomy weather. There is far worse happening elsewhere!

{five} This weekend I might be able to pull my hiking boots out of retirement! The prospect of being able to go see some gorgeous waterfalls is making me very happy :)

 

Don't forget to visit MannLand5  to link up!

 

Got Money??

Remember when I visited this majestic castle? Well, it got me thinking about money. Moolah, dollas, benjamins, dough, green...

I won't lie when the Mega Millions reached $190 mill early this year, I got hopeful (I was so sure I would win). I'll bet I'm not the only one who dreams of winning the lottery :)

But, what if I was William Hearst and actually had all that extra cash. Would I build a sprawling hilltop castle and have my famous friends over all the time??

Eh, probably not. First, of all I don't have any famous friends!

What would I do with a little extra "cha-ching?"

• Pay off graduate school- wouldn't it be nice to just concentrate on school work??

• Help pay for my sister's college and for my madre too!

• Give money to Care for Dogs in Thailand and go back every year to volunteer :)

• Donate to the MMCC in San Pedro- fishies for everyone!!

• Buy fun things for the familia- car (or RV, weird I know) for dad, cottage with a large garden for mom

• Travel, travel, travel (in style!)- Australia, all over Europe, Africa (I'm dyying to go)....well basically every where and anywhere

• Buy a nice home, maybe with a pool and large backyard for doggies! or pigs :)

• Clothes- of course, I'm a girl and love clothes, not super nice designer ones, but more than I spend at TJ Maxx or Marshall's

Looking at my list, I guess I'm not the most adventurous person.  Boooring! I really think that if I won the lottery, I don't think I would do a total personality change. I'm frugal now and like to save, so I'll probably end up being an old miser (Hello, Scrooge!)

Now doesn't that look like fun?

What would you do with some W.R. Hearst money?? I'd like to know!

   

Note to Self

Dear Self,

Please do not forget to go to work today. Today is Monday, not the weekend.  Even though lots of other people have the day off and it may feel like a Sunday, its not. Animals still need to be taken care of!

I know you want to stay home and try to cram as much information into your brain for tomorrow's test, but you can't.

Besides, who are you kidding? You love your job, and you already miss this trouble maker.

Love,
Yourself

PS-  Tuesday is your day off. Don't go to work on Tuesday!