g and i made the trek down the austin on tuesday night to celebrate the momentous occasion of…
ORIANA’S 21ST BIRTHDAY!
so glad we decided to go – despite what seemed to be terrible thunderstorms and rain coming to Austin. made it worthwhile to see the biggest smile on the little one’s face :]
happy birthday, dear sweet oriana – you mean the world to me!!
everything a 21 year old would need… from g and i
at the grackle ESK – our number was 21!
very first bar shots for the birthday girl! at the grackle
bad me for being lazy on the blogging front. but happy new year! i said goodbye to 2012 by dancing my heart out at lights all night for all three nights and i said hello to 2013 in a cozy bar with the brownies and g. on the 1st, i literally sat on the couch all day long and did not move. :]
this year i need to be more proactive. i’m the only one who can make a difference in my own life. and it starts with my choices. so, i’m choosing to proactively learn more things on my own. and i want to read more (of anything!). i want to learn basics – like sewing (HAHA). i also want to exercise/be more fit – but this is an every year/every season/every month ongoing goal that never seems to solidify.
but again. all of this boils down to what i decide to do and the choices i make. so, three cheers for making better choices this year!
been behind on my blogging – so you get a november post!!!
at the beginning of november, hammer came to visit. HAMMER! it’s been so long since i’ve seen that dude. he was going to some concert only old people go to. which is very much like hammer. we took him to the ft worth zoo, somewhere i’ve been wanting to go visit for a couple months now. it was enjoyable – they have a baby rhino but i didn’t get to see it because it was sleeping behind it’s mommy at the time we stopped by. :[ but the sloth bear made everything better. the sloth bear = nikon.
second week of november, i made my very first full thanksgiving meal for the pangs! i think it was a success - except for dinner being around 30 minutes behind schedule. boo. i made a pretty good pomegranate punch that got the pangs all red and tipsy... oops. stuffing came out a little salty but everything else was yum!! yay brined turkey!
third week of november - some coworkers and i did the color in motion 5k run. i ran the whole way through (this is the first time i've run since the half), but since this is primarily a fun run, i don't think they kept track of time. g was a wonderful, supportive bf who decided to volunteer bright and early and then take pictures for us after the race. color bash = AMAZING.
pre-race
crossing the finish line!
post-race
getting owned in the face with color
throwing up the color
color bash!!!!!!
post color bash :]
:]
that same night (of the color in motion run) – we went to andrew and jen’s wedding. andrew is one of my brother’s very good friends since forever ago (middle school?), and i was touched to be invited as well. it was a beautiful wedding and i also got to see my brother be in a friend’s wedding for the second time! and i, for the first time, danced with children. quite the milestone. all photos stolen from oliver man. unfortunately, i didn’t take any pictures of the happy couple. :[
teaching little girls how to slow chicken dance – it’s mandatory at weddings now (thanks new girl)
every little girl needs to be twirled :]
obligatory inappropriate shot of me and kat
thanksgiving week! i bored oliver to death since he stayed with us the whole week of thanksgiving, then the mother and oriana joined us on my birthday. we ate a yummy dinner of hot pot. it was very special to me that i was able to spend my actual birthday with my family this year. :] i also think nobody appreciated that i bought my own birthday dinner and cake… SUCK IT. photo stolen from the brother.
the rest of the weekend was a blur. lots of food and ping pong. i’ll just sum it up in photos that i’m stealing from the family since i was too lazy to take any. :]
love cooking with the sister! prepping for turkey day meal
we can never take serious photos
my beautiful turkey! :]
my beautiful family :] <3
and now, we’re all caught up. hello december.
(btw – it was 80 degrees in texas today… yay… winter?)
three awesome things happened on our walk tonight.
1. oink picked up a random large leaf and carried it to the end of the street
2. I reached 10k steps for the day
3. we were within 10 feet from our neighborhood skunk
i’ve been in the midst of trying to plan two thanksgiving dinners – one for the pangs and one for the wongs. i’m super excited about hosting and hopefully, both meals will be awesome for my guests. :]
so, while i’ve been going through tons of magazines, cookbooks and online sites to find the recipes i want to use – i suddenly had a random craving to try to make something new. i whipped out the lovely ad hoc at home book and decided… it was brownie time. (one of the few recipes that i already had all the ingredients for)
it started out awesome – the batter tasted delicious (how could it not, with all the butter i had to use?) and as it baked in the oven – the house began to smell like the holidays… amazing!
i couldn’t contain my excited as i took it out of the oven. g hovered over me like a little kid, “when will the brownies be ready??” – i was looking forward to plating this wonderful goodness and taking a beautiful picture to mimic TK’s.
i waited, what, 10 minutes? that’s enough right? (NO) i ran my knife along the sides of my pyrex and began to flip it onto my cutting board…
and as any smart suspecting person would guess… the brownies weren’t cool enough… and therefore crumbled in a gooey mess. this is someone’s way of telling me to be more patient. i was cranky for a little bit, since my awesome picture seemed to be out of the question and ruined. but i think i salvaged what i could.
I was playing “hide and go seek” with the dogs earlier this evening. basically, I put a towel over their heads and said their names, moved, then said their names again until they could find me.
oink’s strategy: he would stay still until he heard me say his name, then turn his head in my direction while vigorously trying to shake off the towel. if unsuccessful, he would stay still until he would hear me call his name again and repeat until the towel fell off and he could see me. win.
nikon’s strategy: run in the direction of my voice, which ultimately led him head first into the wall. fail.
nikon spent the rest of the night nursing his pride by being very clingy. I wish I would’ve recorded it.
