It can all be so simple, if we just allow it be.



more cat pictures

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...

Early Sunday mornings were once occupied by the droning commute to and from Miss Betty's house in East Oakland, where I would go to provide treatment for her starting to fail renal glands. This no longer happens on Sunday's. Instead, it happens on Tuesday mornings. 

Gladly now, each Sunday morning I've succumbed to oversleeping (whoopie, 7:30 instead of 6:00). I indulge in the Temescal Farmer's Market, where I pick and choose carefully the best looking bunch of greens at each stand. I take Devin to the Hardy Dog Park and plug my ears with every BART that howls above me. But best of all, I have my breakfast sitting down in the wonderful silence that is my home on Sunday mornings.

This morning, I had 2 slices of toast smeared generously with Earth Balance and organic raspberry preserve. I didn't feel like cleaning the espresso machine, so I cracked open a Diet Coke instead. 

Yes, that's how I roll.

As I ate, I was searching online for inspiring egg recipes, I came across this blog: simply breakfast

I want to live here and have these beautiful breakfasts every day, but because that won't happen, this blog will just be an addition to my Sunday mornings.

(photo by jen, simply breakfast)

RIP Camrun.

buy camrun.

by camrun.

bye, bye camrun.

After only having the 1990 Toyota Camry I named Camrun ("17 years old and still running!") for one month, I'm sad to say that she has died. She is now sitting idle in East Oakland where bottom feeders will rip, pull, tear from her any part that is valuable until she's naked and empty, like a turkey's carcass on Thanksgiving Day.

She was a good car, and I'm thankful we had the time together, even though it was short lived.

she is KILLING me right now!!

i

can't

stop

laughing

!!!!

!!!

!!

!

check her out!!

home.

Despite it all, this town is still beautiful.

bye, jinx.

We are saddened by our recent loss of our foster kitten, Jinx. After being in our hearts and home for the past 2 weeks, he was quietly put to sleep this morning once being diagnosed with a pericardial effusion; a diagnosis that has no cure, and symptomatic treatment is expensive and dreary.

I brought him home unaware of his delicate physical state, because I just knew Tim would be touched and enlightened by his presence- sure enough, he was. Tim immediately grew fond of Jinx, and the same for Jinx with Tim. The two of them bonded like glue. Jinx has been witnessed giving Tim kisses on his face, and also climbing great couch heights just to finish Tim's bowl of cereal milk.

He was only 11 weeks old, but was the most powerful and loving soul in the entire kitten kingdom.

Jinx, darling kitten with the stunningly blue eyes, you will be missed, my friend.

The sun is shining, the weather is sweet, yeah!

The weather couldn't of been better during this long weekend! We took advantage of the sun's strong rays, and hopped in the car for an adventure across the Bay Bridge. 

For lunch, we had the pleasure of trying a new restaurant in San Francisco called B Star- where we chowed and licked our lips with delight. Then we took Devin to Baker Beach, laid out our blanket and slipped into a blissful state of mind.

Ian Curtis headstone stolen.

Now, kindly return it, you load of bollocks.

(Ian Curtis 18-5-80)

aren't the books at the library free?

So... add the Temescal Branch Library to the list of institutions I owe money to.

$13. Damn, I could have bought a couple of books.

Maybe if they got a new batch of CDs for me to rip, er.. um.. BORROW, I might be inclined to swing by and drop off this damn book. 

Let's just hope my procrastination doesn't take it this far.

Untitled

BURST, said the button to the jeans.

When Tim and I first started dating, he told me of this monster described as a "Crispy Cream donut bacon cheeseburger", then he stared off and proclaimed his desire to have one. 

With my face contorted in awe, I asked, "Are you serious?"

He quickly replied, "I was only joking." 

I have since always thought that he was joking about the existence of this monster. Years later, here I am succumbing to this fine addiction of browsing the internet, and I found it- the monster itself was right in front of me.

oh.

my.

god.

I am frightened. Good thing Tim doesn't eat meat anymore! 

                                                                                   (grub @ Google NYC's cafeteria)

Sweets to the sweet, farewell.

bye, blue cheese crumbles on my mixed salad with candied pecans.

bye, raw sharp cheddar.

bye, garlic and feta pizzas.

bye, crimini mushroom ravioli.

bye, insalata caprese salad.

bye, queso fresco.

bye, gorgonzola. 

bye, chevre.

bye, i will miss you all!

but, i'm vegan 

again.

besides,

Kauai is fast approaching.

                                                                                                       (julia wertz - 2006)

*<:-)

i have an eye for detail and i can see that you are humored. 

"Roller coaster, ooh hoo hoo hoo"

So, I haven't been to Great America since I was a Ralston Ram strapped with a season pass. I would go here with packs of friends and ride the Tidal Wave over and over again, then proceed to hit up Top Gun for consecutive rides.
I've gotten old and rickety since then, kinda like the Grizzly.
This time around, the Grizzly was the most pleasurable ride. It went up and down and was fast enough to thrill and was also compassionate enough not to go in upside-down loops. I really, really liked that.

So, not much has changed in the past 11 or so years here at Great America. Same fountains. Same food court. Same props used to induce excitement while in line for Top Gun (now Flight Deck), minus the cheesy music and pukey love scenes between Maverick and Charlie.
It was still possible to go here with my boyfriend and have a good time on a Monday afternoon. The main reason our blast-to-the-past was as wonderful as it was, is all thanks to the adolescent nuisances leaving their attitudes at home. Kids were being courteous and stuff- it was so weird.
Words to the wise:
Oh, old wise one, if you go to Great America as an adult, remember, you are an adult and your stomachs can't handle that kind of food anymore. Pack a lunch if you can sneak it in or get your hand stamped and eat your lunch in your car. It's so worth it. We were dumb and didn't do this. Instead we had to choose from dehydrated and disgusting looking pizza and fries or a (ever so) slightly more palatable looking "cheddar cheese filled" pretzel. The cheese is comparable to that of the stuff you smear on a cracker with a red stick, and the center was frozen. But this wasn't nearly as bad as the salad I saw at the cafe near the Spongebob ride- disintegrating cucumbers and brown iceberg lettuce. YUCK!

Anyway, we had a really good time. Now, back to adult life... well, hello Jameson.

play time is never over

Here's Devin antagonizing our foster cat, Jinx.

Jinx would like to think he's safe under the bed, but Devin's a crawler.

With only hunger pains in my stomach and food on my mind, I stood in front of the refrigerator, door wide open, and scanned each of its contents in search of an idea for a meal. I stood there a very long time. I grabbed a cold Honest Tea and sipped it while standing in front of the open fridge. It was horrible how much time and energy I was wasting while Tim and I were "starving"; how could I be so inert?

I got on the couch and asked Tim if we should just order food to be delivered. Chinese food, Indian food, pizza... oh my! We need to stop the habit of rapid calorie consumption with minimal calorie exertion, especially after getting food delivered.

I went back into the kitchen and pulled out of the fridge all of the glorious vegetables we had in our crisper- red and yellow peppers, broccoli, zucchini, corn, and carrots. I chopped them up in big chunks along with an onion and some large garlic cloves, then threw them onto the grill. I also sliced up a cube of tofu, wrapped it in several layers of paper towels, and placed it under a heavy plate to get the tofu as dry as possible. 

In a small bowl, I whisked together a few tablespoons of sweet chili sauce and a heaping mound of Sriracha. I placed the tofu on the grill and cooked it about 4 minutes on each side, just to get those beautiful grill marks. I then coated the tofu with the sauce and grilled it again for a minute.

I served everything with a little rice. We sat in front of the television, chomped joyfully and smiled when we realized we saved ourselves some cash.