The One with It's Never Too Early to Starting Thinking About Halloween

October is by far, hands down, no questions asked, my favorite month of the year. Candy, Halloween, cute kids in costumes, scary movies, what's not to love? I watch one scary movie every day of October. My absolute favorite Halloween-y movies are:

Hocus Pocus

CasperMary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's Double Double Toil and Trouble
(Yes, I'm 5 and I'm proud of it)Rose Red

The Nightmare Before Christmas

(watchable in October AND December)

Plus many other classics like Poltergeist, Misery, The Haunting, E.T., The Shining, etc. I heart scary movies.

But anyways, what sparked all of this October-lovin' is this Martha Stewart craft project I stumbled upon:
Sugar pumpkins decorated with candy and used as jar toppers!!! Cute, functional, festive, edible = I'm so making these. Find the instructions and a video by clicking here. Or stop by my place around noon on October 7th :)

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The One with the Parrots of Pasadena

Nearly every morning I am awoken to the sound of "screech screech screech screech screech screech screech screech screech!" (This video isn't the best quality, but you get the idea. There are many more (longer) videos on YouTube if you're interested, just search "parrots of Pasadena")

I don't mind the noises so much, I'm an avid animal lover and have gotten used to the calls and cries of the wild. Let me start off by saying I pride myself in knowing a lot about animals. For instance, 90% of the time when I see a dog I can name what breed it is. How/why? About 15 years ago when we first moved to Washington, we had an encyclopedia program on the computer and I printed off every single kind of dog breed there was and made myself a little booklet. I've also acquired several books about birds, rabbits, guinea-pigs, cats, and the like, therefore, I know a lot about of different kinds of birds (though nowhere near as close to the knowledge of my aunt Natalie.) And up until the day I flunked chemistry in college, I wanted to be a veterinarian.
That all being said, when I first witnessed these flocks of birds flying across the sky and making a racket, I thought they looked like parrots because of their beaks, but disregarded my hypothesis since we live in the desert, not the Amazon. Mine eyes must be deceiving me. So the other day I googled "noisy birds in Pasadena" because I was dying to know what these birds are. Thereupon, I came across some folklore: First of all, my hypothesis was right. Those ARE parrots flying around waking me up. Strange! Apparently they are red-crowned amazons. Quoting Wikipedia, "There is a cycle of regular public outcry about the noise and the sheer oddity of the birds' presence, but most Pasadenans seem to have come to accept the birds as part of the city's life. They can be seen year-round, but are especially noticeable in the winter. The birds are definitely gregarious, and the amount of disturbance their chatter creates is related to the time of day they may choose to chatter.
Theories and myths abound on how these parrots came to claim Pasadena and surrounding towns as their home. A widely accepted story by longtime residents of the area is that they were part of the stock from the large pet emporium at Simpson's Garden Town on East Colorado Blvd, now the location of OSH Hardware. The nursery burned down in 1959, and the parrots were thereby released to forage in the lush Pasadena area. It is also possible that some parrots moved northward from their normal range in central and northern Mexico as human habitation in the Pasadena area created artificial habitat in which the parrots could survive. Among their favorite foods are the berry kernels of the cedar trees that grow in great abundance around Pasadena."

Well there you have it. Wild parrots in Pasadena. Chalk another one up to "interesting things about California."

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The One with Racing Gasoline

I saw something unusual today: excuse me while I go fill up my car with racing gasoline for 7.99/gallon.Must be for all of those professional racing drivers living around these parts of town.

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The One with Chicken Curry

I'm a sad excuse for a wife in the cooking department. Sorry Chris. But I clean, pay the bills, and strive to make him happy!

One of the things I miss most about Provo is Sunday dinners at the Warners. My Grandma Doris is the crème de la crème of cooks. I've been craving her infamous chicken curry ever since Chris and I left, so we emailed back and forth this past week and I secured the recipe. But I'm so weary about cooking that I had a nightmare last night that our curry didn't turn out. Needless to say, I was quite apprehensive about making it today...

Miraculously we went from ingredients to this in an hour flat:
Proof that I'm a-cookin'!To quote Grandpa Ted, "Grandma's chicken curry is a symphony of delicious flavors." Every bite is unique due to the toppings: cashews, mandarin oranges, bananas, pineapple, and a dusting of "snow" (aka coconut) on top. We're missing raisins, apples, and my favorite, the mango chutney.
"Can you hurry and stop taking pictures please Paige so I can eat?" says Chris.
Look at this mountain o' curry. Mmmmmm.
My eyes are a little bit bigger than my stomach.
We've figured out a couple of things we need to do to perfect the recipe from this trial run. However, it was delicious and brought back many fond memories of Sundays past.


Fine fine fine. Here is the recipe:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (feeds at least 4-6 people)
1 big yellow onion, equal to chicken
1 brick of Golden curry spice (found in the Asian food section of most grocery stores)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of coconut cream
Klondike potatoes (as many as you want)
Baby carrots (as many as you want)
Other vegetables you desire
1 tablespoon or so of oil or butter
1 tablespoon of sugar
Lemon juice from a fresh lemon
2 cups rice
2 cups water
Salt for taste

Toppings:
Diced banana
Shredded coconut
Mandarin orange slices
Pineapple chunks
White raisins
Chopped apple
Mango chutney

Directions:
Cut thawed chicken into thumb size pieces and dice onion. Cover the bottom of a large cooking pot with oil or butter. Turn stove on high, add chicken and onion then stir until onions are golden brown. Cut potatoes and carrots (and other vegetables if you desire) into small chunks, add to the pot along with a can of chicken broth and the brick of curry spice. Add more water if needed. Bring to boil, stirring constantly, then turn down low, cover, and let simmer for at least a half hour.

Meanwhile, cook the rice. 2 cups of rice to 2 cups of water should do the trick. Prepare the toppings in separate bowls.

Once the curry is finished simmering, stir in about a half can of coconut oil, a tablespoon of sugar, and lemon juice from a fresh lemon. Serve hot over the rice and sprinkle with the variety of toppings.

ENJOY!

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The One when UW Conquered USC

I must be fresh out of ideas if I'm blogging about football again...

USC, ranked #3, lost to UW today, not even ranked.
How did this happen?

Quote, "A relatively unknown USC assistant coach has moved to Washington and guided a previously 0-12 team to a 2-1 record against two top ten teams in the first three games of his first season on the job. Make no mistake about it, today's 16-13 victory over USC is an epic victory that signals the University of Washington football program is back after a six year hiatus." End quote.

The coach knew all of USC's moves! That's how this happened.

I AM from Washington though...

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The One with Lucky Knight Owl

My little sister never ceases to amaze me.

For example - she just started her own etsy shop called Lucky Knight Owl, cool name huh? It's LuckyKnightOwl.etsy.com. She finds bottle caps and turns them into necklaces. I believe some of them are even from her trip here to LA. She strings them together with beaded chain and voilà - instant coolness!
Plus she's got that knack for turning her photos vintage - it's the thing to do to get your items sold.

Which one should I buy? They're all so stellar.Here's the back, which I find just as interesting as the front, so it's like a reversible necklace. Score!
I'd like to end with a big fat congrats to you Allie on getting the job as the patterned paper specialist at Ben Franklin, you're following me in my footsteps and I couldn't be prouder :)

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The One with Sleep by Day, Play by Night

Ahhhh. The life of the semi-unemployed. I went from working almost 80 hours a week to about 20 and I work from home so it's very quiet. During the day it's just me and my bird. And cat. And rabbit. And chinchilla. And finches. But they don't talk much. They do keep me entertained though. I watch a lot of movies and TV. I try to read, but more often than not I fall asleep.Then at night when Chris gets home, we get to play! Tonight we met up with four other dental student first year couples to eat the the next best thing to Cafe Rio - Wahoo's.
Thanks for indulging me and my camera happy self Kate and looking at the camera! Let's try this again folks...
Much better! Hi Kate and Perhson! Hi Chris and Jenny! Hi Blake, Erica, and Brooklyn! Hi Ryan and Melissa! (Melissa, start a blog!) Hi my Chris!
I sleep by day and play by night. This is the life :)

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The One with Fabric and Trim Galore

I was invited to tag along with some other fine young woman (Emily (and Hadley), Erica (and Brooklyn) and Jenny to be exact) to go to a trim store in LA while our husbands are off learning about teeth. Trim store or teeth, trim store or teeth, trim store or teeth? Hmmm...lemme think about it for just a fraction of a millisecond...I'll take the trim store please!There were boxes stacked from floor to ceiling filled with flowers, trims, fabric, doo dads, and more.
The moms were here on a mission: find material to make cute flower headbands. I think their options were limited....not!
This guy was amazingly agile. He climbed up the shelves like a monkey and found exactly what Erica and Emily were looking for, no sweat.Then we walked the fabric-lined streets. Seriously, fabric everywhere! As far as the eye could see!I bet some of the people we saw walking around this fabric store (can't remember the name of it, shoot) are up-and-coming designers. They sure looked the part.I would like a shirt and/or scrapbook paper made out of all of these fabrics please, thank you!
'Twas a fun afternoon hanging out with the girls. Hope to do it again real soon!

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The One with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Oh snaps.

That was the short version. If you've got time, I recommend watching the loooong version:

http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/first_look_uo.html

"The books shattered sales records, the films made billions, now a Harry Potter theme park is to be launched to extract extra cash from parents around the globe. Universal Orlando Resort, Florida, is promising an experience so magical it will be “unlike any other experience on earth” when it opens in spring 2010. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will allow fans to take a “forbidden journey” to Hogwarts Castle, visit the wand shop Ollivanders and take a Hippogriff training flight which, to the adult eyes, may resemble a carefully-crafted rollercoaster. The Owlery, dreamed up by author J. K. Rowling and featured in the Harry Potter films, will be recreated, with birds nesting in the rafters and visitors able to post letters, adorned with the Hogsmeade postmark, via The Owl Post. Fans can also visit Dervish and Banges, the magical instruments and equipment shop, which will be stocked with Quidditch tools, Triwizard apparel, spectrespecs and Remembralls. Food and drinks will be served at The Three Broomsticks and Hog's Head pub. Unveiled yesterday in a webcast hosted by Mark Woodbury, President Universal Creative, the company, responsible for Universal Studios, gave a lesson in hype. Woodbury called the park a “monumental project”, while stars of the films gave breathless quotes. Daniel Radcliffe, who has embodied the much-loved Harry for all six films, said: “I would come out of films when I was younger and absolutely just wish that world could be real and that I could be a part of it, so it’s amazing that people will get to do that." Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley said: “It’s going to be like walking into the films and really experiencing it." The theme park has the backing of Rowling, who has amassed an estimated wealth of £499 million since publishing her first Harry Potter book in 1997. She released the seventh and final book in the series in 2007. The film of the last installment will be split into two and released in 2010 and 2011, bringing the movie series to a close."

At least I'll be able to get my Harry Potter fix for the rest of my life, even after the movies have commenced and after I've devoured the books for the upteenth time by going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida!

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The One with Terrible Yellow Eyes

I've been reading/stalking Jayme McGowan's blog for quite some time now. The things she can do with paper is unreal. Do me a solid and just look at her blog and/or etsy site. You won't believe what I'm talking about til you see it. My recent fave of hers:I was looking at her blog last night and I see that she has a piece in an upcoming show called Terrible Yellow Eyes, an exhibition based on Where the Wild Things Are (remind me to read the book before I go to freshen up).I scrolled down a little bit further on the post to read the details and lo and behold, where is the event taking place? ALHAMBRA! That's the next town over! Shut the front door. I go to the Target and Costco in Alhambra almost daily.If anybody wants to join me, Chris and I have already marked our calendars. I can't wait to see this in person:So much to do here and so little time!

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The One with Another New Moon Trailer

I wasn't even going to watch it because I want to be completely surprised when I go see it in 66 days, but I got "sucked" in.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

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The One with the Biggest Pro

What's the biggest pro of living in California? Disneyland. It only took a half hour to get from here to there! Awwwwwj yeah. We are happy campers.This was the first time Chris and I have been to Disneyland together.
It was nice and overcast when we arrived at 8 o'clock on the dot. First stop: Indiana Jones. Except it was closed. So we went on Pirates of the Caribbean then on the Jungle Cruise. Then Indiana Jones was open. That's my favorite ride. No saving best for last here, we start off with a bang!
Next stop: Haunted Mansion. Except it was closed too. However, now that we're SoCal residents we got season passes so we can come back whenever we darn well please! I can't WAIT to see how this ride is all decked out with Nightmare Before Christmas stuff.
Next stop: Splash Mountain. The sun was coming out so we figured we could stand to get a little wet. Here's Chris looking mighty excited!
I get so anxious going up the final slope before the big drop.
Here's me holding on for dear life and screaming at the top of my lungs and there's Chris acting like an 8 year old, arms flailing in the wind and all.
It's the "off season" right now since school is in session. The longest we had to wait in line? About 10 minutes.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad gets more fun every time I ride it.
A cool painted wall showcasing a ride I've still never been on.
We headed over to California Adventure after we were denied going on Space Mountain. First stop: Tower of Terror.
We got a big loaf of delicious sourdough bread for lunch and watched this cat roam around. I wonder how it got in...Last ride of the day: California Screamin'.
We were only there from 8-12 but felt sufficiently adrenaline pumped. We can't wait to go back. Cuz we can. Cuz Disneyland is practically in our backyard. Tee hee!

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