May is gone! (almost)

It is time for a wrap up of May. I have no idea how this month went by so quickly, but I will do my best to wrap it up for myself and for you, of course!

Person of the month: Definitely Angela from Oh She Glows. She did an amazing job putting together the Shop 4 A Cause 2, and raised so much money. Thank you Angela for being amazing.

Moment of the month: Seeing Next to Normal. Being there at a broadway show. And not just any broadway show, but one that I have been fantasizing about seeing since I heard the soundtrack. Honestly, with such anticipation, it seemed inevitable that I would be disappointed. But it was AMAZING. I didn't want it to end. It is rare in my life that I lose track of time and forget to look at my watch. This entire show was a watch free time. Definitely the moment of the month, if not my recent or entire life!

Outing of the month: It is a tie between the Aggie baseball game with Stephen and walking through the Garden in the Woods with my mom. Both very good days.

Book of the month: I read a few books this month, including Chelsea Handler's books, but the book I've enjoyed the most is The Green Book. My mom got it for me. It's my favorite, because it made me feel so good about my role in the environment. The book says to just be better at taking care of the environment. It doesn't tell you do stop doing anything. It simply tells you to do more good. I learned that I am already doing some great things, so I will start to do these things mindfully and with the good intention of helping my (our) world.

Movie of the month: I was the most surprised by The Losers. It was an amazing movie with a great cast. The beginning scene ropes you in, and the movie never lets go of you. Very fun time at the movies!

Accomplishment of the month: Moving into our new apartment and already turning it into quite the home and being adults about it! We have even had our first official cleaning day! This is a HUGE step for us!

Restaurant meal of the month: The lamb I had the other night at Muldoon's. Phenomenal. Amazing. I want more please.

Cooked meal/dessert of the month: The meal that stands out right now is the pulled pork sandwich I made a few weeks ago. For dessert, the first thing that comes to mind is the dulce de leche brownies. Very delicious!

Here are some of New York pictures!


Fun times in Times Square! Such a crowded crazy place.

The Hershey Store! Not as cool as the M&M store. I would have thought that the Hershey store would be bigger. But I guess not. M&M's are much cooler.

Statue!

I think this is part of Central Park.

The World!

Me in Times Square!

Me on the Broolyn Bridge!

My mom and dad on Brooklyn Bridge!

Here is some New York pizza. It as incredible after a day of walking!

The hotel we stayed at had a great free breakfast that including eggs cooked to order. I loved having eggs in the morning with some bagel, yogurt, and banana. So yummy! It's actually been a great break from my oatmeal every single morning. I think I need more variety in my mornings. Yup. Sounds like a good idea to me!

I am now home, and wishing I could go back to New York right now! When I go back I want to see a few more shows on broadway, go to some bakeries (we didn't go to any!), and try some awesome restaurants. One of my dreams is to go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, so maybe some day I will get to do that, too!

Alright, that is all for now. Hope you enjoyed the month wrap up and the pictures!

Foot tall stack of onion rings

Today I am in New Jersey with my parents and tomorrow we will venture to New York City! We are taking the bus in to avoid all the stress of driving and parking. Hopefully that goes well and we have a great day. Next to Normal is at 2:00!!! My first broadway play. I can't believe I have gone 25 years and never been to broadway. That will all change tomorrow!

We ate dinner tonight at a great steak restaurant in the mall, called Muldoons.


We ordered onion rings for appetizer. They were stacked up a foot high! Cool, right?

They came with 3 sauces. I had a salad and tried the onion rings. Super yummy!

My meal was amazing. I ordered the lamb shank. It came with roasted potatoes and artichokes. I was so impressed. Seriously amazing and delicious. The meat was tender and the potatoes were roasted to render that nice sweet taste that I love in a red potato. My dad commented about me not liking steak. It's not that I don't like steak, its that steak has to be super tender in order for me to eat it. I don't enjoy chewy meat. This lamb was so tender, so there were no issues with eating it.

Except I got full and ate about half. But I promise that it was excellent!

We went to the mall afterwards and I got myself a free piece of Godiva chocolate (I have a card), and then we went to the Disney store!

I found my new favorite bear. He is from Toy Story 3 and actually smells like strawberries! I am going to wait until I see the movie and decide if I like the character before I buy him. But I took a picture!

They also had these really cute dolls. They had them in Snow White, Winnie the Pooh characters, Muppets...

And even the Queen of Hearts!! So cute.

Alright, I will leave you to your Friday night festivities. I am off to relax and rest before an exciting day tomorrow!

Garden in the Woods

My mom had an awesome idea to go to a wildlife sanctuary or somewhere to explore nature. I found a place called the Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts. It is a nice path through the woods where you get to see lots of wildflowers, trees, and plants, some native to Massachusetts, and some not. It was so nice to walk around outside and see so many beautiful things! I have an absession with taking pitcures of flowers and plants, so I have plenty of pictures to share with you!


Welcome to The Garden in the Woods!



Here I am on a pretty bench!

I agree.

I learned something today. The Sassafrass tree is the only tree that has three distinctively shaped leaves. Most trees have uniform leaves, but this one does not!

Pretty white flowers!

Pretty leaf!

Ferns are beautiful, aren't they? There were so many different kinds, too. There was even a kind called Lady's tresses. I just love this photo.

Gorgeous. Like large snapdragons. Snapdragons on steroids!

Another pretty flower.

And another.

Ths fower doesn't even look like a flower! It looks like pink frosting.

I cannot wait to use these phtotos as inspiration for some paintings and drawings. So excited!!

Now I must get back to uploading dozens of cd's onto my computer, doing laundry, and watching lots of Oprah. Have a good night!

Adventures at home

My first day in Mass has been really nice. A little exhausting, but really nice. My mom took me to this cute yarn shop in ton owned by a friend of ours. Penny wanted to take a picture of my mom and me with a gorgeous afghan my mom made for me!



Here we are in the yarn store! Isn't all of the yarn gorgeous?

Here is the afghan. Pretty isn't it? Do you knit or crochet? I used to knit and recently taught myself how to crochet. Hwoever, I haven't done either in a very long time! I guess painting and drawing took over. But maybe knitting again is a good idea for those moments when my mind is starting to race.

The colors are just so vibrant and so many of the yarns feel really soft. I have a thing for projects and jobs that are long and tedious. They comfort and relax me. And I know that eventually I will have an awesome product!

The Merry Weaver. I miss all of the cute little houses in Massachusetts. This one is especially adorable!

My mom and I went to a lot of stores today and looked around. I found this awesome chair in Pier One. I seriously want it!

During our adventures, I found an owl.

I also got to cook today! My mom decided to take a picture while I was very busy. I clearly do not look thrilled.

I made pumpin gnocchi with cheese stuffed chicken, a chunky tomato sauce, and roasted red peppers.

The gnocchi.

Gnocchi with the sauce.

The peppers!

Chicken lighty breaded and stuffed with cottage cheese and provolone. It was delicious. My parents loved it!

Now to share some of my mom's lovely plants on our deck.

Lovely flowers.

And the worm that I picked out today for the pot. Isn't it cute?

What are your favorite things to do when you go back home to visit?

Online Auction, Operation Beautiful, and Daisies

Hello!
I am in Massachusetts. I got home pretty late because my first flight was delayed, so I missed the flight to Boston. I got on a later flight and got home at about 12:30. I just wanted to share some things with you!


Today, Angela at Oh She Glows is having a charity silent auction, Shop 4 A Cause 2. I donated the above paintings. They are item # 10 if you would like to place a bid on them! I hope they go to a lovely home!



I also wanted to post about an operation beautiful post it I left in the airplane bathroom yesterday! They ride was super bumpy, so it was hard to get a good picture. This is the best I could do. I checked at the end of the plane ride and it was still up. I hope it brightened some peoples' days!

And here are the beautiful daisies on our kitchen table. I love them so much. Daisies are my most favorite flower!

Happy Wednesday!

Good news!

I have some exciting news! I got accepted into Kripalu's Yoga Teacher Training!! So for a month in the fall, I will be living at Kripalu and getting immersed in yoga. So excited. They were even generous enough to give me a scholarship. That is one item on my life list almost crossed off. This gives me a good reason to do more yoga and prepare myself mentally and physically for the month of yoga. Jillian Michaels kicked my butt again this morning, so my body may need a yoga break soon.

Tomorrow I fly to Massachusetts and I get to see my parents for the first time since August. That is a very long time for me. I can't wait to see them and spend some quality time with them. Also, on Saturday, I am seeing Next to Normal on broadway. Another item off the list. I am doing good with this list thing. It makes life awesome, because it pushes me to live. Funny, right? It's like I am giving myself the permission to live and have fun. I needed the permission from someone, so why not myself?

I went through all of my posts and refined the categories. There is even a recipe category now. Check it all out! And I added a page called My Two Feet and Ten Toes, which gives alittle of my background and the purpose of the blog. Then there is an Art page. I uploaded my favorite pieces. Feel free to scroll through and enjoy being bombarded by bright colors. I seriously should do a grey scale challenge and see what I can come up with.

On to my lunch:


A french toast sandwich with peanut butter and pumpkin. Some steamed kale and carrots on the side.



I made some whole wheat burger buns for dinner. I decided to use my Vitamix to turn some tilapia, onion, garlic, and lemon juice into burger patties. With some wheat bran, the patties came out fantastic!

A patty on a bun with some bacon and cheese on top.

The whole meal. Burger with kale and beans.

Really really good meal.

The next time I post I will be in Massachusetts. Have a great night!