930 Club

This week I got to the 930 club in Washington DC to see Alice Merton.  Shout out to my friend who gave me a ticket! Probably just because Thanksgiving is around the corner; however, I am so thankful for her.

Her open was a band called Raffaella.  She had a song called NASA's Fake.  I thought the lyrics were hilarious and clever. 
For a three person crew - vocals by Raffaela,  keys by Jeff and Drums by Charlie.

I took a few pictures.  It was a great venue. 

Alice did not disappoint.  The lights during her show were fanastic. She played several of her well know songs.  I thought that her PCH song did a great job of capturing what it is like to drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. 

What she claims is her only love song. 

Her song Lasso and Easy are fairly well known. I highly recommend checking her out! Thank you for the great show. 

Good Bye 2012 Hello 2013

Well 2012 was quite a year. I reached 25. I got to go abroad for fun! Italy was incredible I hope I get to go back someday.  

A few highlights for 2012-

• Visited Japan more than once
• Visited the United States Capital saw the White House
• Admitted to Graduate school
• Wrote my first over 10 page paper
• Visited home for Thanksgiving for the first time since I started work
• Got a white Christmas in Colorado
• Got to Massachusetts and Connecticut (2 new states to cross of my list) 
• Tried out tutoring which I really enjoyed
• Got into baking from scratch
• Got to surf in Hawaii
• Went paddle boarding 
• Made my annual trip to Disneyland

I am thankful for this year. I hope 2013 is just as rewarding. 

Happy Black Friday?

Let's Play a Game -
How many people went black Friday shopping? 

How many people bought something made in China? 

How many people bought something made in the USA?

How many American's are worried about the economy and jobs in the USA? 

How many people bought something they really didn't need?

How many people bought items even when they have dollars of debt?

I do not pretend to know the answers to these question but it annoys me to know end knowing that there are probably many people who fall into all those categories.

I guess I am really wondering if that Black Friday purchase is worth it. 

I wonder what the rest of the world does on Black Friday. Do they even care that in the USA people are shopping all night long. Trying to get 'deals'. 

Even weirder how would it impact the USA if we did not have Brown Thursday, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday.

I am not trying to be mean about the holiday season but just ask questions to make people think!

Happy Halloween?

Well this year I did not get to carve a pumpkin. I was actually thinking about all the uses for pumpkins and who the heck thought of carving one? Why not carve a pineapple or watermelon?

Personally, I really like pumpkin pie. 

I have never understood why it is part of Thanksgiving instead of Halloween. 

Last but not least I was thinking about the millions of dollars of candy we share with kids buy 'on-sale' and just generally provide ourselves with sugar overload. 

What wold happen if instead of all the trick-or-treaters getting candy we got them fruits and vegetables? Or maybe a company like Jamba Juice could just put on a mass promotion for the best costume. I guess for me when I was a kid it was always about the costume.

This post is in part brought to you buy the fact I am trying to decrease my sugar intake. It turns out we were never meant to each quite so much sugar. Part of the reason we crave it is because it is a fast energy source. Enough to help us charge and find a bigger food source. 

I guess one note to self - is do not try to start being sugar free right near Halloween. 

Happy Haunts to all. May you find something more than sugar sweets to enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well this year I made my traditional thanksgiving pumpkin pie. It almost turned into a disaster. I was so excited to be making it. I thought I was all ready to put it in the oven and then I saw the condensed milk on the counter! So what did I do, I poured it back into the bowl and added the milk. It was so full, I managed to spill it when I put it in the oven. Within a minute my fire alarm was going off!

I waited for over 50 minutes in fear my stray from the recipe.

As you can see it turned out. Fun fact the brown spots are from when the outside bubble because the inside is complete.

This year I was lucky enough to drink some champagne and wine. Eat some pie and play Nintendo Wii games. All after my first Turkey Trot! I have to say I really enjoyed the turkey trot. I highly recommend that more people try it on Thanksgiving before eating all that food! I did my Turkey Trot in 24:08:8. It was a new best time for me! I definitely want to do another Turkey Trot. I also recommend the Wii post all the Thanksgiving food.

Thanksgiving 2010

With all the hustle and bustle with my schedule I decided to stay in my new apartment for Thanksgiving. Meaning I would not be with any family or relatives for thanksgiving. I missed my family but it gave me a new appreciation for the day. 

I thought about all of those other people who might be lucky enough to share thanksgiving with anyone.  

 I am very thankful for all those who serve across the globe. 

I am even more thankful I have a family!

I did start a couple traditions here. First, spending time at the beach. Second, not over stuffing myself on food. Third staying away from the television. Finally, I didn't make a turkey but I did make dessert! 

My first homemade pumpkin pie and red wine.