Committment

So I've been contemplating starting the Couch to 5k program that my friend, Caitlin, has been doing.  She loves it.  I've been struggling with my ability to follow through.  I started Weight Watchers and haven't counted points in weeks.  I joined the gym and haven't been in months.  I think 2010 is gonna have to be about sticking with things that I sign on for.  2010 will be the year of the follow-through!

Absence

I was going to update this here blog of mine but I don't have any words right now. So... um... here's a picture:

Word to your mother

So tomorrow I will be baking Lemon Bars, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Snickerdoodles. The Lemon Bars and Chocolate Chip Cookies were requested. The Snickerdoodles are a surprise. I've never made Snickerdoodles from scratch but I'm looking forward to it. I bought two new kitchen tools today. I bought a microplane grater (zesting action) and a cookie scoop. I will be using them both in my adventure in the kitchen tomorrow.

Broke.

This is my cat. Her name is Star. She is approximately 13 years-old.About a week ago my mom took her to the vet to have two rotten teeth removed.

She didn't come out of the general anesthesia right away. She's coming around slowly.

My beautiful cat can't see. She can walk. She can eat. She can use the litter box. She is loud.

I had a dream last night that she was being as loud as she always is. Now, when I say she is loud, I mean it. I've been on the phone with people and they have asked what the ruckus is in the background. I usually respond, "Oh, that's Star. She needs my full attention."

Star is the best kind of cat. She's a cat's cat. She's aloof and only really likes my mom and me. She'll deal with other people but she likes it when it's just us.

She likes to sit where she can see the most activity. She generally hates when my mom and I are in the house at the same time but in different rooms. She can't monitor as well.

I really hope my little cat gets better.

Happy Birthday, Caitlin!

Today is my friend Caitlin's 23rd birthday. We Celebrated Sunday night at our dear friend Marisa's house and had a fabulous time! Caitlin is the best and I'm very lucky to know her.

Soccer!

My favorite 4 year-old had her first soccer game on Saturday morning. It was really awesome, she didn't want to touch the ball so she just ran after all the other kids. They don't keep score for the U6 teams, which is good since only the other team scored in the first half.

My best friend is the team mom. She's been waiting for this for 5 years!

In other news, sorry for not posting during the summer. I'll make up for it.

Road Trip, Day 2, San Francisco

This is Lombard Street. It's the Crookedest Street EVER!

Road Trip, Day 1: Monterey

We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and then took the 17 Mile Drive. Good times all around!

Icy!

Since, I'm heading out on vacation this afternoon I'll leave you with this picture of Icy, my little brother's puppy. This was one of the rare moments she wasn't dragging me down the street on our walk.

blurple

Curry a la Brynne

This is one of my favorite things that I throw together in my kitchen. It is essentially firm tofu, onion (the on sale kind), green bell pepper, and zucchini over some brown rice. I usually cook the veggies and tofu with curry powder, salt, pepper, and my favorite flavor of Mrs. Dash. It seriously takes about 30 minutes to make and I don't have to deal with that annoying Rachel Ray in the process. It's tasty and filling and I usually get about 4 servings, which feeds me for at least 4 meals depending on my hunger level.

Cupcakes, Part IV: The Finale

So these are the cupcakes in their final state. I don't really have much to say besides: Everyone loved them. The frosting I made yesterday morning tasted like Oreo filling.

Cupcakes, Part III

So this is the frosting that will go on the cupcakes. I don't have much to say about except: Woo Hoo Frosting! It tastes really good.

Cupcakes, Part II

This is the second round of the cupcake extravaganza. The cupcakes in the foreground are Flower Cupcakes (found here) and the cupcakes in the background are Chocolate Stout Cupcakes (found here). I used Young's Double Chocolate Stout instead of Guinness this time around. The results aren't as stout-y as they usually are but they are still just as rich. The Flower Cupcakes were something I hadn't made before (note the gross lack of chocolate). I think they are quite tasty and vote yes if you are making cupcakes for someone who isn't big on chocolate.

Cupcakes, Part I

So, these are the first round of cupcakes for my dear friend Jessica's graduation party (she's getting her master's). The ones on the left are lemon cupcakes (from here) and the ones on the right are strawberry cupcakes (from here). I cut the recipe for the strawberry cupcakes in half since it was intended for a three-layer cake. I got 24 of each. Tomorrow I will tackle the vanilla and chocolate portion of my cupcake extravaganza. I'll post those pictures tomorrow. Saturday is frosting day and then Sunday I'll put up the final product.

Pants

These are my favorite pants. Last night they got worn to The Wallflowers show at the House of Blues Anaheim. I've liked The Wallflowers since I was 14 years old. In fact, last night when they played "6th Avenue Heartache" I remembered falling in love with that song. The first time I heard that song I was watching "The Wallflowers: Unplugged" on MTV (before they stopped playing music) and I knew I needed to get their CD and listen to it until I was done. I'm not done yet.

Jakob Dylan is a man of very few words, which is quite the change up from the overly chatty Ben Folds. The show was amazing though. They played mostly old stuff with a new twist to honor their just-released-yesterday greatest hits album. All-in-all I had a really good time except for that part where my back started hurting so bad it hurt to stand.

Exhausted

I don't know why all the pictures from Saturday look so surreal but I'll take it. I'm tired. See you tomorrow.

Icy

This is my brother's puppy, Icy. This is from the walk we took on Saturday. She's tiny and dragged me all over the place. If you try to go faster so that she's not dragging you as much, her little legs speed up. I was trying to get her to sit still in the grass when I took this picture. I took some of her on the sidewalk but she kind of blends in with it.

Lovin' It!

I've been getting right on top of flowers lately and enjoying the results of the blown out nature of the images I'm getting. I took my brother's puppy for a walk yesterday and this is one of my favorite shots from our adventure. I got a bunch more that look really unreal. I'm awesomely stoked on this one though.

Slacker

Since I missed yesterday, to gets to be a two for one. These were taken at a Ren Faire about 5 years ago on my Canon EOS 300 using Kodak B&W 400 ISO film. This guy used to dress up as a huge Ent every year and I loved it. I have tons of pictures from this day and I love them all.

I'm heading down to San Diego today to hang out with the family. So tomorrow's picture will probably posted late.

Under the wire

I took this picture a few weeks ago in my friend Josh's grandma's garden. I like that the foreground and background are blurred.

Ahhh... Phillips Ranch

I took this picture about 5 years ago with my Canon EOS 300 on 400 ISO Kodak Black and White Film. It's a tree in the park in the park across the street from my old house in my old neighborhood. I always liked this picture and the last time I looked at it I was really pleased with it. I think when I get my own place I'm going to get it blown up and put it in my living room.

Orange Flowers

I took this picture at the Getty about a year and a half ago with my old camera. A tiny little point and shoot camera that got lost. Looking at it now, it's not that great but I really like the composition of it.

Purple Flowers

So, I'm contemplating doing some sort of 1x365 project wherein I post a photo everyday. I don't know how great they'll all be but I think I owe it to myself to give it a go and see if I can stick to it. Hopefully, I'll be a champ and get all the way through June 7, 2010 having posted 365 photos. We shall see. Wish me luck.

Bird with Three Heads

The other day I went to for a quick walk to the liquor store to grab some bottles of Guinness for some Chocolate Stout Cakes I need(ed) to make. I noticed these crazy, HUGE black Bird of Paradise type flowers growing out of some palm trees. I made a point of making sure I made it back around the corner to get some pictures of them since they were so cool looking. Especially for the fact that 3 flowers grow out of one spot and it looks like a bird with three heads. As for the Guinness, I left my ID at home and couldn't buy it. I ended up buying some other beer. I may end up blogging about them. I have to try them first though.

I Bake Shit...

So somehow at my friend's graduation party, I offered to make cupcakes for another friend's graduation party. I wasn't sure if I had actually done that until I got a text from her two days later saying that her stepmom wanted me to do the cupcakes. And then I asked the question that would seal my fate: How many cupcakes do you need? She responds with something along the lines of "Well 75 people were invited." That's right folks 75 cupcakes. My main concern was not my tiny kitchen or my tiny oven that I can only do 1 dozen at a time in or decorating them in a cute fashion. No friends, my main concern was transporting them in my precious car. I have to get them from Long Beach to Upland. Which ain't like going around the corner. No it's like going 50 miles. But whatever I got that sorted out. Although I also, volunteered to make a cake for a potluck at work AND another one for a birthday party. Ahhh.... it sucks to bake well. Wait, no it doesn't.

Growing Up

My best friend, Bethany, graduated from college on Saturday and I couldn't be more proud of her for getting through it. Congratulations!

In which I ramble about my love...

So roughly 24 hours ago I was being blown away by the awesomeness that is Ben Folds live and in person. The man is pretty bad ass. It's no wonder that he's my favorite.

About 4 hours before that I was feeling very awesome to have a friend who is willing to let me park at her apartment and then drive me to the Palladium AND come pick me up afterward. Marisa rocks my socks. If you don't know her you are missing out!

I took this picture last month while I was in San Diego visiting my parents and little brother. We went to Balboa Park for a science fair (my brother LOVES science) and I had to have a seat since my stepmother told me I was walking like my dad. I have lower back problems and over the last three months if I stand still for too long my back will lock up and I have a hard time moving. It's pretty awful and no, I haven't done anything about it. Well, anyway I was sitting on a bench and the sun was right behind these palm trees.

'Tis better to have loved and lost

Speaking as someone who had a very recent and strangely uncomfortable run-in with her ex-dude, I can honestly say that it's better to at least have experienced the love. I think there is a lot that can be gained by giving someone your love and allowing that love to do what it needs to do. The love changes the person who experiences it. It sucks to lose it but the growth it can cause is priceless.

Conclusions

I was driving to work this morning and it occurred to me what my problem with most Republicans is. I feel like the majority of Republicans aren't willing to look forward. They aren't willing to accept the change that is surely coming. They resist and form this front of negativity. I don't fully understand why they are so hesitant to look at things from other view points. I can honestly say that I've looked at things from the other side. I've listened to people who don't agree with me. I don't always feel like I'm heard though. I'm not trying to make rash generalizations here. I'm simply stating the way I feel.

A friend of mine once told me that Bill Clinton scared her. I didn't understand that. Bill Clinton is not scary in my book. Sure he's a philanderer and then he lied about it. I don't think he really did much that was scary. He reformed some things that needed reforming. He was the great white hope of the 1990s. Scary, not so much.

I just wish that people had the ability to look past political affiliation and see that we all have a common goal: a better America; a better world.

Time

I'm doing something that I can honestly say I haven't done in years. I'm sitting in my room listening, really listening, to a CD that I just purchased. I know it's not very current of me to still be purchasing physical CDs but I really don't care. Sometimes you need something to hold on to. So the CD is Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella! It's making me really happy.

I've had a lot on my mind since this weekend. Saturday was a really great day until I saw the person who broke my heart. The fact that he reacted as badly to this encounter as I did makes me feel better. I'm glad that it's not only hard for me. I didn't speak to him. It's not necessary. I have nothing to say to him. I've recently stopped feeling like I need to apologize for taking the entire thing that transpired between the two of us. I don't need anyone's judgment for my feelings. Yes, I took it too hard. No, I wasn't the least bit graceful. Yes, I could have handled it better. I didn't. I wasn't. I did what I could with the tools I had.

I have a habit of not relying on people when I'm going through things. I tend to hold things in and internalize them. I'm probably partly to blame that things all landed on my head. I'll accept that but I'll be damned if I'm going to absolve him.

What I've been up to

The picture above was taken around the corner from my apartment in Long Beach. That is corn. There is corn in Long Beach. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one. Most people are find it quite as hilarious as I am. But seriously, corn?

One day I'll roll in a Volkswagen Thing

Volkswagen Thing - front

For some reason, when I was a kid I thought that the Volkswagen Thing was the most amazing thing ever. They are ugly, came in crazy day-glow colors and looked like someone high decided to modify a Jeep. It was love. I don't see them very much these days but when I do, I get excited. I've been telling my dad for years that if VW could do something for me, it would be to bring back the Thing. I currently drive a Rabbit and I love it. Though, I can't help thinking that I would love to own a Thing and name it Cousin It. Ahhh.... I dream big sometimes.

Leave a party if...

I've been to a lot of parties that have devolved into messes. I'm not a fan. I don't prefer to go to parties that don't include people I'm related to.

Vomitting from others
There's a good chance that I would feel obliged to help clean up the mess if it was one of my friends that was sick or it was one of my friends house.

Fighting
Whether involved in the fight (or shouting match) or just present when it starts. It's best to head out either way. Then you aren't the crazy yeller OR the observer.

General presence of crazies
I'm just not a fan of crazies.

Slackered BeP

So I haven't updated in some time. I've been LAZY. I got my flickr sorted out. My Getty pictures are there (well the ones that I really liked). I am going to upload some stuff from last weekend with my mom. I was a lazy ass and really only took pictures of Star, Charlie and the puzzle I spent my down time putting together. It was one of those weekends away. I didn't take a picture of the cake I made but you can find the recipe here. My cake looked like that minus the powdered sugar on top. It tasted AMAZING and made me remember why I love butter. Last night was my uncle's 60th birthday. The party was at my cousin's fabulous house in Valley Village. A good time was had by all. I love my family they are so great. This morning I woke up bright and early to go see my dad and his best friend before they went to the LB Grand Prix. I'm currently comtemplating going on a photo adventure outside. It's beautiful out there today. I actually think I'll go do that.

Sorry this was so scatter-brained...but I'm rather scatter-brained.

I demand A Better Kitchen

A Better Kitchen
I wish that I could upload a photo to this post to illustrate the teeny-tiny-ness of my kitchen. There is approximately 6sq.ft. of counter space and the space to move around in is crazy small. I bake A LOT and having no space to do it is making me insane. I want a bigger kitchen!

The Bucket List

Visit ALL Pro-Football Arenas
Since deciding that I needed to take interest in a sport and my obsession with football developed I've been to three pro football games. This past fall I decided that I wanted to visit every pro football arena. I would also like to see every team play live (which of course means staying in New York for two weeks since the Giants and the Jets have the same stadium). I think my mom said it best at the Eagles v. 49ers game this past fall; "Football is so emotional. More emotional than any other sport."

Sell a photo
I don't know that I would want photography to be my main source of income. I feel like that would some how cheapen it for me. I would like to maybe get a photo into a gallery and have it sell. That would be enough for me.

Finally see The Wallflowers or Jakob Dylan
It's never worked out that I have been able to see The Wallflowers perform. 4 years ago they were in San Francisco the day I was getting back from Europe and the next night they were in LA when we were driving back to the bay area. Jakob Dylan was playing in San Francisco the night I was flying up. While I was in the air he was probably taking the stage. It may just not be meant to be.

Raise $25,000 or more for a charity
I don't know what the charity would be or how the fund raising would be achieved but I would like to spearhead something that moved people enough to open their wallets and give.

Bake a Wedding Cake
I just really want to say that I've done this. Who knows I may just make my own when the time comes.

Ownership

Lately, I've been all about ownership and being accountable for the type of person you are in the world. In that I've super accepting of my short comings and things in which I don't always excel. I've accepted that I am sometimes closed off with my emotions and whom I choose to be open with. I have owned up to my inability to be forthcoming with how I feel about certain things that other people do. I've accepted that I'm not always a great friend or perfect communicator. I am trying to be a better version of myself. I want to improve as a person and as a part of that I must be responsible for the energy I put out into the world in all my interactions.

Reason Enough

If you ask me, which you will, this picture is reason enough to love Los Angeles.

They helped me, maybe they'll help you

I'm not one for assigning too much significance to a song. My ex and I never had a song. So there aren't really any songs that I can't listen to. I got over my issues with the one song that did upset me. These songs are songs that I listened to a lot post-break-up and they made me feel a lot better.

Another You by John Mayer

"I hope she looks like you, yeah, and is nicer, too"

I Don't Love You by My Chemical Romance

"I don't love you, like I did yesterday" I think that says it all.

Still by Ben Folds

"Even the things that seem still, are still changing"

Accidental Sacrifices

Lent started a week and a half ago. When it started I decided I wasn't going to give anything up this year. I was feeling very far away and detached from my faith and my Catholicism. This morning when I was sitting in my room before heading to mass, I realized that I gave up being lazy. I am currently in an immense amount of back pain. Walking around, sitting, standing, and driving all cause the sensation of daggers being dug into my spine. It's awful. As I was sitting in my room I realized that last Sunday I got out and bed and went to church on my own for the first time in a very long time. So long that I couldn't remember the last time I went to church by myself. This morning I was tired. I was feeling lazy. I decided that I had accidentally given up being lazy. I took my very sore body to church and the grocery store and took care of my soul, mind and body. I've started working out and paying more attention to what I put into my body and how my body reacts to it (that's a whole other post for another time). I think in this whole giving up on laziness is going to have to extend beyond Lent (which is the point). I'm going to make it translate to other parts of my life.

What I baked this weekend: Oatmeal Cookies

So over the weekend I baked another batch of the Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies. The base of the recipes comes from this recipe off of Smitten Kitchen. The only thing I really changed was that I took the raisins out and replace them with that litany of other things. They've been a huge hit at the office. The first batch was killed on Monday last week. So this weekend I doubled it up. Apparently, they taste different and are slightly more chewy this week. I think they taste the same but I think I'm biased. Without much ado here's a picture:


The first batch had the Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Chips. This batch had about 25% of those and the rest were Nestle Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Personally I'm a fan of the Ghirardelli Chips. I think the chocolate is just better quality. That could possibly be the reformed San Franciscan in me though.

Another thing I'm super excited about is that the picture above was taken with my new camera. It's a pretty rad camera and I can wait to really take it out for a test spin this weekend. Marisa and I are planning to hit the Getty soon. I love the architecture, rotating photography exhibits and flower gardens at the J. Paul Getty Museum (can't seem to link to it).

This week is shaping up to be quite similar to the last two weeks work wise, so I'm pretty exhausted already. I'll survive though. I think I may take myself on a small trip soon and spend some time in the bay area for more than a weekend.

The story behind the gold frog

I got this gift for my birthday or Christmas (sometimes it's hard to remember, my birthday is two days before Christmas). It's a gold frog from Pier 1 Imports. My best friends, Amy and Justin, gave it me. I guess that they thought I was serious when I said it was cool. Justin manages a Pier 1 store, so I'm sure that's also part of it. I went to visit him one Saturday and commented that I thought the gold frog was badass. When they gave it to me I was mostly confused as to why someone would buy another person a gold frog. It now lives in the curio cabinet that my aunt gave me when I moved into my apartment. I am kind of attached to it now. My dad said it looks like Kermit the Frog in gold. I responded and said, "Well, it ain't easy being green."

I like to Wii Fit

I'm not the biggest fan of exercise. I'll take a walk when I feel like it. I usually go up to the grocery store or to the Starbucks by my house.

I try to do the Wii Fit everyday. I usually start with my body test so I can bummed out about my BMI (which I don't actually thinks means anything). Then I do boxing. Today I decided I'm going to at least one exercise from each category (Aerobics, Balance, Strength and Yoga). I don't know if it's working but it makes me feel better about spending most of my time inside these days.

Winner

At lunch today the discussion was what one would do if they won the lottery. It's pretty cut and dry what I would do and very little has changed about my answer in the past 5 or 6 years. Without ado here's the list:

• Buy a house in the same neighborhood my apartment now is in. I honestly think I'd be quite happy in a small single level craftsman style home. I like them.
• Pay off my bills: car, student loans and credit card (then destoy it).
• Pay off my parents houses. My mom's house in Northern Cal and my dad and stepmom's three properties here in Southern Cal.
• Pay off the loans my mom took out to pay for my going to USF.
• Pay off their car loans and/or get them newer/better cars than they have now.
• Either buy or lease a space to open a bakery and coffee shop.
• Send my parents on vacation to wherever they want to go.
• Take a vacation to Greece for who knows how long.
• Give my dad and stepmom enough money for my brother's college tuition and room and board. That way they won't have to worry about it.

Essentially, I want to make my life as well as my family's lives easier. If I had a husband then his wants would be satisfied and we would take care of his parents and siblings also. It is my belief that all people should be able to pursue their bliss if given the option. I would want to do whatever I could to make this possible for my loved ones.

A word of advice from my dad

My dad often gives me the weirdest advice. My favorite was when I was mad at someone for doing something I didn't like. I told my dad about it and he says to me, "When people are treating me like shit, you know what I do? I say 'Aw, fuck 'em'." Another thing he once told me was, "Eh, piss on 'em." Those two statements pretty much sum my dad up. He's a nice guy and he hates when people take advantage of that. I can't say I blame him.

Things I do

There are a lot of things I do that cause me very little shame:

• I watch American Idol and America's Next Top Model. I didn't start doing either one of these things until I moved back to Southern California and into my dad's house. My stepmom is a big fan of both shows and I started watching with her. I'm now hooked and I'm glad that when I go visit them this weekend, I'll get to chat with her and my step-aunt about this week's episode. (That is, if they had time to watch. If not I'll make them sit down and watch.) Also our old neighbor does the back-up vocals for Hollywood Week.
  
• I listen to country music. I enjoy it. I listen to Go Country every morning on the way to work. I think that Shawn Parr is funny. I'm a big fan of music you can sing along with and country satisfies that need.
• I sometimes talk to myself when I'm out shopping in the grocery store or Target. It's just something that happens.
• I also talk to strangers in line at the grocery store or Target. This is something my mom does. I used to think it was annoying. Now I do it all the time. I'll just start talking to people. It may be about something they are buying or really anything. I'm a talker. My mom is a talker. Hell, my dad is the King of the Talkers.
• I trip over things that just aren't there. On Sunday I was walking into the kitchen and my right foot slipped forward and I came crashing down on my left knee. It now has a bruise. I've hurt myself the three out the four last weekends. First, I sliced into my thumb causing the geyser of blood. Second, I burned my hand bad enough to warrant a blister. The knee was number three and it was in all honesty the mildest since it didn't start hurting until last night.
• I watch Gossip Girl, 90210 and Privileged. Yes, they are aimed at the 13-16 set but I don't care. They don't require that I pay a whole lot of attention and I think my need to watch Heroes and Law & Order more than makes up for it.

I think that's it. There are probably more but I can't think of them or I'm not willing to share them with the internet at large.

Brynnie-Poo-Poo-Head

For some reason, everyone I'm close to in my family calls me Brynnie. The story goes that when I was little and at my Aunt Lucille's house, I was majorly grumpy. (Not surprising, I've spent most of my life being grumpy.) I guess she started calling me Brynnie Poo Poo Head. When I turned 18 she said she was going to stop. She didn't and I don't really care. I find it rather endearing. I guess it's just one of those things.

Sidekick Brynne to the rescue!

I generally consider myself the witty sidekick. This is mostly due to the fact that I am a witty sidekick. I'm the friend that is mostly cynical and beyond honest. Sometimes it's just a matter of telling my friend's to take the step forward. I like to be the voice of reason and the voice of crazy. It works for me.

A Dear John Letter

Dear Sushi,
I had really hoped our reconciliation would go well. The problem is that I really want to be with you but my body says "No!" I wish that we could at least be friends but I think I can only be friends with the non-fish part of you. Rice, avocado, cucumber, seaweed we can still be pals and I can enjoy you to my little vegetarian heart's content. But fish... I have to let you go. It hurts my heart but mostly it makes my stomach and digestive system feel better to know that you'll be gone for all days. Hopefully, in the future we can become friends again. But for now just know: it's not you, it's me.

Affectionately,
Brynne

Yellow Rose

This is a picture I took with my Canon EOS 300 SLR. It's one of my mother's rose bushes she has lining the side wall of her house. My mom has several really well tended rose bushes around the house. Roses remind me of my grandmother. I don't really know why, but they do. I really like this picture. It's one of my favorite mostly because it was a happy accident and I'm sure I took about 15 pictures of Charlie in the middle of shooting the flowers.