The Bunny Hop

The Bunny Hop

We have all done our share of Turkey Trots, but have you done any Bunny Hops lately?

For Easter weekend I went to the Broski residence for some Sonoma county shenanigans. You may think this means wine tasting, but Sonoma County has tons of things to do! On Saturday, we went out to Bodega Bay (have you seen the movie The Birds?) and walked the cliffs, searching for whales.

Watch for birds

We did not see any, but it is Grey Whale season! Afterward we went and got a nice bowl of clam chowder and a crab sandwich. It was yummy, but talk about cream/butter/mayo overload! However, it didn't stop us from stopping at the Wildflour bakery and getting a bacon maple blueberry cornmeal scone! Yup, that's one scone with all those things in it!

Doran Beach

On Easter morning, Broski and I got up nice and early to rain, which was a bad thing since our plan was to run to the in-laws house for lunch. They live about 9 miles away, but Broski did some cool stuff with his Garmin and mapped out a course to their house, including a loop through Annadel park, rounding off the run at about 17 miles total.

Annadel

 I had forgotten my shorts, of all things to forget, but luckily the lady friend had a pair from a certain decade that she let me borrow. I will let you guess what decade they are from. 

Zoom in. Guess the decade.

As soon as the rain slowed, we headed out. About two miles in, it began to pour on us. Luckily it only lasted a few miles and it stopped just as we reached the park for our loop through. The park was muddy and hilly, but it was beautiful and full of mossy trees, deer and turkeys. It was a great way for both of us to discover a new trail. We ended up at the in-laws house just in time for a quick dip in their (not heated!) pool, which was better than an ice bath, and then it was lunch time!

After lunch, we had an adult Easter hunt, aka a scavenger hunt, which was tons of fun. They have a lot of property with sheep and goats and chickens and peacocks (oh my!) and we had a blast running around scaring the animals while we searched for our next clue. And then I ate about 38 more deviled eggs.

As always, I got sent home with enough leftovers for two lunches (literally!), and a couple dozen farm fresh eggs, which is a real treat! We used to have chickens when I was a kid and I didn't realize how good I had it. Now I get them very rarely.

Did you have an Easter hunt, egg or otherwise? What era do you think those shorts are from? Have you ever had farm fresh eggs?

Coğrafya Blogcusu

Randoms

Randoms

The holidays were good, there was running to be had, and plenty of stuffing. I am not going to go on about it. Instead, here are a few other random things that have been happening around these parts.

- I found all the seasons of Greys Anatomy on the DVR. The past weekend was full of McDreamy, Christmas card making and pajama wearing. Life is good.

- I finally did that thing I have been putting off forever, calling the DMV. Did you know they have a thing where instead of sitting on hold, they will call you back? So I put myself in line and carried my phone around in my pocket so I wouldn't miss their call. Somehow I missed it. Two of them. So now it is STILL on my To Do list. Drat.

- My blogger is telling me that I can't post any more photos until I pay a monthly fee for more space. Has anyone else ever had this problem? What do I do? I don't want to pay for space, but I do like posting photos. Poop.

- I can't stop eating. This is a bad problem to have during the holidays when the food is plentiful and full of sugar and starch! But it is so, so good. What kind of cookies should I make next? What about these?

Source: browniesfordinner.com via Kyria on Pinterest

- Karen, who is a Grammy, Emmy, Oscar loving fool, is having a 2012 Blog Award. Go over and check out the nominees, find some new fun blogs, and vote for your favorite! (also, I notice some familiar faces on the list: Laura, Jess, Nilsa and more!)

I hope everyone is getting back into the swing of things after the holidays!

What is your favorite cookie? Do you know the fix to the photo storage issue?

Coğrafya Blogcusu

Mi Patria Bolivia

Mi Patria Bolivia

Tomorrow is the Dia de Independencia of Bolivia and the flags are flying! They have been practicing their drums and batons for the last couple weeks and today they finally got a chance to show their stuff.

This week has been very interesting, to say the least. Not only is it Independence Day tomorrow, but the Elections are on Sunday, the 10th. On top of that, the President, Evo Morales, is still imposing taxes, cutting pensions in half and making other changes like that, so...this means people are striking, protesting and rallying on the streets. The last week, there have been protests every day, there has been no school (the teachers are on strike) and there have been roadblocks (no busses or cars can come or go out of any of the cities)... However, this is normal. The only problem is that I need to get to La Paz in 4 days and I dont know if there will be any busses!

However, that is in 4 days. There are parades, parties and fun to be had right now! Viva Mi Patria Bolivia!

Rohat Fatih

Let’s Make it Advent to Remember

Let’s Make it Advent to Remember

There are only 25 days left until Christmas. Yes, I count them. It all stems from the fact that as kids, we had this great advent calendar that my Aunt Sara made. It is a big felt tree with all the days on the side and as each day goes by, you get to put an ornament on the tree. Day one was always the star and Day 25 was always a Santa Claus with a pack on his back. My brother would get the odds and I would get the evens, but we always split the star and Santa between us, because they were the coolest ones. We loved that tree! Tomorrow is the first of the month and if I was home, I would probably be fighting over the star with Matt. However, I am not home, so Mom gets to fight over the star with Dad now instead.

The advent calendar gives you a heightened sense of anticipation, which is a huge part of the fun of Christmas. If it were only about the one day, it would not be nearly as fun. It is about the frosty air, the snow, the mistletoe, the Christmas cards, the decorating, the spending money, buying gifts, imagining people loving the gifts…It is about Christmas movies and songs and general joy. I know, I sound like a giddy schoolgirl, but my mother taught me that it is not all about the presents, that it is about a feeling. And also, I am a giddy schoolgirl. That is what Christmas is!

Sometimes it is hard to remember the giddy feeling. When I worked at Nordys, we really got sick of Christmas. The decorations went up Thanksgiving Day. The cheesy Christmas music played on a continuously looped track all day every day. The shoppers were annoyed and frustrated and annoying and frustrating. The traffic was horrible. The tourists were ooohing and aahing and walking oh so slowly as they gawped at the gaily decorated Macy’s shop windows. We opened at 6. We closed at 11. We got no sleep and no time to do our own Christmas shopping, and even if we did, we couldn’t get inside any of the stores because of all the people in the way. Oh it made me want to go home and get in bed and forget it all. It made me crazy sometimes.

However, I am in a better place now; I’ve finished my Christmas shopping (a lot of it online – thank God for the internet) I have sent cards, I have decorated, I have spent money and now I am ready to put the Muppet Christmas Carol on and sing along like a giddy schoolgirl.

Rohat Fatih

Gobble, Gobble.

Gobble, Gobble.

Yes, it is that time of year again. Time to sit down with your loved ones and give thanks that we have all made it through another year and are here together once more. Thanksgiving means so many differernt things to each different person. To me it means family most of all, but Thanksgiving also wouldn't be the same without the most iconic thing of all -- the turkey.

Yes, to many of us turkey sybolizes Thanksgiving. It is a ritual. We buy it, or it some cases kill it, clean it, cook it, carve it, eat it, put it away, eat it again, strip it and then make soup out of it. A little turkey goes a long way... I realize that the turkey is important. However, having not eaten meat in about...a dozen years or so, I can personally do without the turkey. Luckily, there are a few alternatives.

1. When in Rome...When I was in Turkey (ha - no pun intended) for Thanksgiving, my friend and I searched for days for a shop with a turkey or something similar to a turkey, but to no avail. All we found was a rotiserie chicken, which I was told was quite good. But NOT turkey.

2. Can a Loaf Really Be A Good Substitute?...This year I am going to try for the first time, Tofurkey, the fake turkey. Regardless of what you may think, it is NOT shaped like a turkey (I think there was an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond where they eat a turkey shaped tofu turkey). It is shaped like a meatloaf (see pic). I have never tried it, but I am sure it tastes similar to a lot of other tofu-"meat" products. NOT like turkey.

3. Or You Can Really Overdo It...Folks in Louisiana like meat. They like all meats...Beef, Pork, Crawfish, Fish, Chicken, Turkey, Duck...So why not put as many meats together as possible and enjoy them all at once. Enter the "Turducken". The Turducken is a Chicken stuffed inside a Duck which is then in turn stuffed inside the Turkey. Oh and even better...Let's fry it! Now they know how to cook...but is this really turkey? (see pic)

So, there are many ways to enjoy your holiday traditions, be it the food fight with uncle Jim or the turkey, any which way you may like it. The bottom line is that you enjoy them, no matter what they are!

Rohat Fatih