Life's A Beach

After the conference sessions ended today I went with my colleagues Mary Lou, Scott, and Troy to the beach at La Jolla.  It was so relaxing and fun!  Scott and Troy rented boogie boards!

I played around in the waves!

Then we played around in the sand like little kids!

We saw a beautiful sunset!

Later in the evening we went to the Old Town for dinner.  We ate at a fabulous Mexican restaurant called Cafe Coyote which was amazing.  We have one more conference session tomorrow and then we have to leave beautiful San Diego.  It has been so much fun getting to know my collegaues a little better and we have had a great time together!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Tonight, after I finished with my conference sessions, I went to a San Diego Padres baseball game with several of my colleagues.  We had so much fun!

The Padres played the Arizona Diamondbacks!  Petco Field is absolutely amazing and we had incredible seats!

Troy and Scott were really excited to be at a MLB game!

Mary Lou and I were also pretty excited!  I am not a huge baseball fan but I love the excitement of actually being at a game!  Unfortunately the Padres lost 4-3 despite a rather dramatic home run in the seventh inning!  But it was still a lot of fun!

Sea World

This morning I flew to San Diego to attend an AVID conference which officially starts tomorrow.  That meant that I had the whole day today for fun!  Scott, who is one of my colleagues, and I decided to spend the day at Sea World! 

Our first stop was the dolphin interaction pool.  I love dolphins!  It was absolutely incredible because they swam right up to people!

Then Scott and I got free passes to feed the sea lions.  That was one of the coolest things I've ever done.  They would come right up to you and open their mouths for food!

Here is Scott throwing the fish to the sea lion!

Then we went to the shark encounter.  It was fascinating but also a little disconcerting because you walk through a glass tube with the sharks swimming all around you!

In the arctic environment we saw the beluga whales.  I really enjoyed watching them!

Then we went to the dolphin show.  We sat in the very last row of the splash zone because I sat there last year and didn't get wet!  This year we got wet!  We got completely drenched!

Then we got to see Shamu!  I absolutely love these amazing animals!  I even get a tear in my eye as they perform!

Before we left Sea World we were able to see the evening show called "Shamu Rocks!"

The killer whales performed with great music and lighting effects.

Scott and I saw everything there was to see at Sea World and we had an absolute blast!

Dutch Oven Cherry Chocolate Cake

One of the things I really wanted to do this summer was to make something in a dutch oven.  Unfortunately, most of the recipes that I found were for hearty main dishes (such as casseroles and stews) and I don't eat meat.  Eventually I found some recipes for desserts and I thought that sounded like a good idea.  I opted to make the cherry chocolate cake that I found here.  It was very easy and the recipe mentioned that it was suitable for beginners.  I used one of my family's 12-inch dutch ovens (which had already been seasoned). 

To make the cake:  light a small bag of charcoal and let it burn until the briquets become a light grey ash color.

Pour a can of cherry pie filling into the dutch oven and spread around the bottom leaving about an inch around the edge.

Sprinkle a chocolate cake mix evenly on top of the cherry filling.

Pour a 20 oz. bottle of Cherry 7-Up over the cake mixture and that's it!  You don't need to mix it or anything.  It will bubble up a little bit from the carbonation in the soda.

Cover the dutch oven and place over 14 charcoal briquets.  Using tongs, place 12 charcoal briquets on top of the lid.  Let cook for 50 minutes.

I allowed the cake to cool for a few minutes and then served it with some whipped cream.  It was delicious! 

Monday Motivator

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

 - Dr. Seuss.

Beach Cupcakes

Next week I will be in sunny San Diego!  Even though I will be attending a conference, there will definitely be lots of time for fun and I plan on spending some of it at the beach!  So I decided to make the beach cupcakes that I found here.

These were incredibly easy.  Just make some cupcakes and frosting using your favorite recipes (or boxes).  Tint the frosting with some blue food coloring and generously frost the cupcakes.  Place one package of graham crackers in a Ziploc bag and seal.  Use a rolling pin to crush them as fine as you can.  Spoon some of the crumbs on half of each cupcake and shake off the excess.  Then add some cocktail umbrellas.  I got a bag of 150 at Walmart for $3.00.

Give these a try!  If you can't get to the beach this summer, at least enjoy these fun cupcakes!

Linking here and here.

Rag Quilt

Another one of my goals this summer was to make a quilt (I don't know where I get these ideas).  I found the directions for making a rag quilt here and I thought it looked like something I could do!  I have been working on it for most of the week (I only threw my seam ripper across the room once) and I am pretty excited about how it turned out.

The first step is to cut your fabric into squares.  I used flannel but you can use any fabric that is 100% cotton.  I used six inch squares but I think I would use nine inch squares if I made another one.  I made my quilt nine squares by nine squares and you need two pieces of fabric to make each square so I cut 162 pieces.  I would definitely recommend using a rotary blade and mat for this process!  The next step is to cut your batting.  The batting should be cut two inches smaller than your fabric and you need one piece for every square.  I cut 81 pieces of batting into four inch squares.  The next step is to sew your "quilt sandwiches."  Take two fabric squares and place them wrong sides together.  Center a piece of batting between the squares and sew an X from corner to corner with your sewing machine.  Once all of your "quilt sandwiches" are completed in this manner you can lay them out to determine your pattern.  I wanted my quilt to be random and it was actually quite hard to get a random pattern!  Once you have determined your pattern you can begin sewing your "quilt sandwiches" together.  I sewed them together a row at a time and then sewed each row together.  Sew the "quilt sandwiches" together using a one inch seam allowance keeping the seam on the outside.  I recommend pinning!  Once all of the "quilt sandwiches" are sewn together stitch the perimeter of the quilt together one inch from the edge.  Now you are going to clip all of the seams, including the perimeter, cutting almost to the stitching every one fourth inch.  I recommend using sharp scissors while you watch a movie (or two).  Once all of the seams are clipped you will put your quilt in the washing machine for a full cycle with detergent and then in the dryer for a full cycle.  You will want to check the lint trap several times while the quilt is drying.  When you remove your quilt from the dryer give it a good shake to remove any threads.

Here is a really good tutorial with pictures.  Even though it is a bit time consuming to make this quilt it is pretty easy.  Give it a try!

The First Avenger

Ever since Spider-Man was released in 2002 (Spider-Man was actually the first movie that I bought advanced tickets for to see on opening day) I have been a huge fan of superhero movies!  Today I went to see Captain America: The First Avenger and it was awesome!  I thought that it was almost as good as Iron Man!  Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a sickly weakling trying, for the fifth time, to enlist in the military during World War II.  His patriotism catches the eye of Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who has developed an experimental serum which enhances soldiers to the peak of human performance.  After he receives the serum Steve is dubbed "Captain America" and is used to sell war bonds but, when he learns that his friend has been captured by Nazis, he wants to fight.  He rescues 400 soldiers from Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), Hitler's head of advanced weaponry who has harnessed immense power using a mysterious tesseract.  With the help of Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones), an English officer named Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), and a young weapons designer named Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), Captain America battles Schmidt to stop his plan of world domination!  The action sequences are incredible, the dialogue is snappy (with some great comedic lines by Jones), the villian is suitably evil, and the art direction has a nostalgic vibe.  I loved it!  Now I cannot wait for The Avengers to come out next summer!

Class Act

My book club chose The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar for its July selection.  Bhima lives in the slums of India with her granddaughter Maya.  She is plagued by poverty, illiteracy, and the loss of everyone she has ever loved.  Her only hope is that her granddaughter will graduate from college, financed through the generosity of her employer Sera, and escape life in the slums.  Sera is a middle class woman living a life of comfort and luxury.  Only Bhima knows of her pain at the hands of an abusive husband and a domineering mother-in-law.  Despite the powerful class division between these two women, they share hardships, secrets, trust, understanding, affection, and an increasingly powerful bond as they play pivotal roles in each other's lives.  Ultimately, however, class differences separate these women and the reader learns that Bhima has what Sera will never have with all of her advantages: freedom!  This novel is almost heartbreakingly beautiful!  I am both fascinated and repelled by the subject of life in India.  I almost couldn't bear to finish reading A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry which touches on a similar subject.  However, this novel demonstrates that there is so much that is beautiful and hopeful in a place that is ugly and degrading!

Forgotten Manuscript

I basically spent the entire weekend reading!  My Dad had a bit of a health scare and there's not much to do in hospital waiting rooms other than read!  I was able to finish The History of Love by Nicole Krauss and it was ingenious.  A mysterious manuscript, written about a girl named Alma, connects a young man forced to leave Poland during World War II, his best friend who has a terrible secret, a lonely old man trying to forge a relationship with his long-lost son, a famous writer searching for the truth about his life, a widow who is mourning the death of her husband, and a young girl named Alma trying to comfort her mother.  The novel travels back and forth through time, is told by several different narrators, and sometimes takes the form of letters, diaries, and a novel-within-a-novel (the aforementioned manuscript).  It is full of secrets, betrayal, and loss but, ultimately, Krauss brilliantly weaves these stories together for a very heart-warming conclusion.  I definitely recommend it.

Monday Motivator

"Every day God gives us a moment in which it is possible to change everything that makes us unhappy."

- Paulo Coelho

Follow Your Heart

I recently read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  I cannot even begin to describe how much I loved this book!  I think I have been forever changed by it!  Santiago, a shepherd in Andalusia, has a dream about finding a treasure buried near the pyramids of Egypt.  He is convinced by a Gypsy and a mysterious stranger who calls himself a king that finding the treasure in Egypt is his Personal Legend and he must do all he can to achieve it.  Santiago sells his sheep and sets out on a perilous journey to Africa.  Along the way he meets a glass merchant, an Englishman, and an alchemist who all teach him that he must heed the omens that are all around him and listen to his heart.  Eventually, Santiago discovers that the treasure he was seeking was waiting for him all along in the place he least expected to find it.  This is a story of faith, courage, and the power we all have within us to achieve our dreams.  It is a story of the interconnectedness between all things and a universal language that will help us if we let it.  It is a story of destiny and the distractions we let keep us from our true path.  I had an almost visceral reaction to this book because I think I have been ignoring omens and letting distractions keep me from my path!  I will now follow my heart!

Canadian Rockies: Victoria and Vancouver

After a long two-day journey on the Rocky Mountaineer we finally made it to Vancouver!  The next day I took a ferry from Vancouver to Victoria and spent the day in this charming city!  Here are some views of the Pacific Ocean from the ferry.

Victoria's Inner Harbour.

The world famous Empress Hotel which is very, very British!

A topiary of killer whales on the corner of Government Street.

The Parliament Building.  Victoria is actually the provincial capital of British Columbia.

Statue of Queen Victoria in front of the Parliament Building.

I absolutely loved Victoria!  I had lunch at a really great pub and then I visited the Royal British Columbia Museum which had some wonderful displays about the First Nation people.  In the afternoon I went to the Butchart Gardens.

Robert and Jennie Butchart ran a cement business in the early 1900s and built an estate near one of their limestone quarries.  When this quarry was depleted Jennie decided to create a garden.  Over the years they added various gardens all around the estate.  After their deaths their grandson decided to open the garden to the public.  It is incredible!  Here are some pictures from the sunken garden where the quarry used to be.

My favorite area was the rose garden.  July is the perfect time to see this garden because the roses were in full bloom!

I also really liked the Japanese garden because it was very quiet and peaceful.  It was very relaxing to listen to the water in all of the ponds.

The Italian garden was also quite beautiful.

After visiting the gardens I caught the ferry back to Vancouver.  I didn't get back to the hotel until really late but it was a perfectly lovely day!

On the last day of my journey I wandered around Vancouver.  It is sometimes called the city of glass because of all of the glass and steel skyscrapers.  These are views of the skyline from Stanley Park, a large urban park bordering Vancouver which is larger than Central Park in New York.  It has a sea wall bordering it which is a popular trail for joggers and bicyclists.  The most popular attractions in the park are the totem poles.

I had lunch in an upscale restaurant in Stanley Park called The Teahouse.  The building used to be barracks for soldiers.  Very fancy.

I also had a chance to go downtown.  Of course I had to go to Canada Place to see the Olympic Cauldron that Wayne Gretzky lit to start the 2010 Olympics!

Vancouver is made up of a series of neighborhoods.  One of my favorites was Chinatown because it was fun to wander around.  Here is the gate leading to Chinatown.

Another favorite neighborhood was Gastown named for "Gassy" Jack Deighton who built the first saloon for lumberjacks and fisherman visiting the port.  It reminded me of something out of Dickens because of the cobblestone streets!  Here is a statue of "Gassy" Jack.

Here is the famous steam clock in Gastown.  It was built on a steam grate from the city wide heating system.  It didn't get to see it chime but I thought it was cool.

I wish I could have had more time in Vancouver but I will just have to come back!  I had a fabulous time in the Canadian Rockies.  I met some wonderful people, saw some of the world's most beautiful scenery, and had some amazing experiences!  Where should I go next?