October

I love October. It's my birthday month, it marks the start of fall, it's breast cancer awareness month, the menu changes and I want to bake more, and we have Halloween. Oh - and pumpkin pie....mmmmm...pie. I have a special place in my heart for pumpkin pie. This is my favorite time of year. It's this time of year that I wish I lived somewhere where I could actually experience the seasons. The changing color of leaves, the crisp air. No. I live in sunny ass California...where we have had record heat since October began. Apparently we got a "break" from the heat today, it only got up to 90 degrees. Whoop-de-doo Bazel. And it "might" rain Saturday...sprinkle is what it should say. Only enough to get the car even more dirty. But enough about that. Let's talk about the good stuff.

I love a good fall harvest. The new pie flavors, the warm stews. Flavors are so much more intense during this time, and I love it...being a Scorpio and all. I'm going to make sure to really enjoy this fall using all of my senses. Seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting. Love it.

27.5 days until my birthday! I'll be 27, young enough to still look forward to a birthday. Although I can't imagine dreading a birthday ever. I love celebrating another year. I love looking back and seeing how much I have grown since my last birthday. Age is just a number. I look forward to all I still have to learn and experience.

October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month. This August marked my mother's 6 year anniversary as a breast cancer survivor. After year 5 the chances of cancer returning drop. In honor of this, all my posts will be in pink. Next year, my mom, sister and I have vowed to do the Race for the Cure. We will get a team together and raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The race will take place on Sunday, March 15, 2009 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Keep it in mind because I'll be coming after you to join our team and donate! Click here for more info.

ACTUALLY - after typing that last sentence I decided to actually sign up for the race and start a team page! So it's official! I've been saying I'm gonna do this race for many years and never get around to signing up, so this time it's official. I will be sending out emails to ask to join the team and/or to donate. So keep an eye on your inbox! You can also click on the thermometer on the right to donate.

I'm so excited for this! I <3 October. :)

Life Gets A Bit More Normal

After a crazy stressful [not to mention sucky] summer, things finally seem to be falling in place. I currently feel like a huge load has been lifted off my shoulders. Recently, our finances have been the source of much anguish in our lives. But in my hands I have 3 big fat checks to pay off 3 big fat credit card balances. This my friends, is fanfuckentastic!

Fall is my favorite month. October is my favorite month. Good things always come in October [other than my birthday on the 29th ;o)], and I knew this would be a great month too. So far so good.

I really wanted to blog about my weekend yesterday, but alas, work has held me captive. Today is also YouTube tuesday. I have not forgotten. I will post a video before I leave work today. Since it looks like I will not have much time to blog, I'll give you the condensed version of my weekend. Actually, just the highlights.

Friday - went to see "Into the Wild" with my brother and Chris. This film is absolutely beautiful! It was such a great film. I cried more than expected [yes, I cry....a lot]. But seriously, I can't even find the perfect word to discribe this film and how it made me feel. So man things I wish I was and could be. Maybe that's why I cried like a baby. That or knowing that its a true story, thereby making it that much more tragic. And the message is so wonderful - "happiness is only real when shared." So true. I get emotional just thinking about it. And the soundtrack done solely by Eddie Vedder weaves the story together. Check it out!


Saturday - G & I had an amazing breakfast at the Raymond restaurant. It was a first [and definitely not last] visit for both of us. We had both heard rave reviews and finally made it out. It ended up being quite an indulgence as the prices are on the higher end, but boy was it worth it. I had started with an English scone that was perfect and fresh out the oven. I also ordered the Chicken Hash [with onions, mushroom and bacon, two poached eggs ,and rosemary hollandaise sauce]. Everything was bursting with flavor. The hollandaise sauce was perfection. The best I've tasted, and this is one of the hardest sauces to master. All entrees are accompanied with country potatoes and toast that I didn't even touched because I was stuffed [but G said it was really good] and a slice of pineapple.G ordered the Lobester Omelet [with sautéed mushrooms, diced tomatoes and gruyere cheese] that was heaven. This was quite a leap for G to order seafood for breakfast, but he said it was the best breakfast he's ever had.
We definitely plan to head back. Although, maybe when we're not so strapped for cash. :)

So those were the highlights. Let's hope I get some more down time at work and can post more this week. Happy October everyone!