Horsies!

Last year, I became hooked on Del Mar Horse Racing. I feel kind of guilty about it for two reasons: 1. It's gambling and 2. It's cruelty to animals. However, I just like the think that horses enjoy racing. They might, right? Last summer, I went down almost every Friday.

Joe and I went last Saturday. After the two hours spent on our 65 mile trip, we finally arrived in Del Mar in time for the fourth race. Joe placed his bets on the horses with the best odds. I placed my $2.00 on the horse with the coolest name and/or colors. I won three times and Joe never won! Maybe the CPA should go back and check his numbers. Just kidding! I was nice to him all day about it, so I can do a little blog bashing now.

I had fun and hope to go back again this summer!

I love the Fair

I LOVE the fair. I love everything about it. I love the animals. I love the food. I love the music. I love the hypnotist. I love people watching. I love the children's crafts and collections. I love the carnies with missing teeth. I love buying lottery tickets. I love wine tasting. I love photo booths. I don't love rides though.

Anyway, I go to the fair several times each year. This year, I only went twice. Tonight and last Thursday. I had a blast both times.

The first time Elena and I ever hung out was at the fair five years ago. So we have made it our tradition to go every year in honor of "anniversary". Last year, I have a picture in the maternity barn because she had just learned she was pregnant. This year, she left little Braden at home to have an outing. I always have good times at the fair with Elena. This year Harmony joined us. We did a little wine tasting.



Elena and I always try something new each year. We have tried fried twinkies and oreos... this year was the fried Whitecastle burger. Pretty good.


We loved this man's outfit. Those are tuxedo shoes he is wearing.
We also adored all of the bling on this woman.. visor and fanny pack!
This was right after the mules were getting "intimate". Aren't mules boys? No judgement!
I love llamas!
Joe and I went tonight. We went to the fair last year as one of our first outings, but we were with the small group. We had fun. I enjoy my time with him no matter what we do. I also love that he puts up with all of my silly pictures! Joe likes really big weiners.
This little cow was born just two days ago. She was still all wobbly on her feet. So sweet!

It was another great and overpriced year at the fair. I cannot wait until next July!!

Hey there, Cupcake!

Anyone who knows me, knows about my love for cupcakes. I have always been the fan of cupcakes. However, I think it was a combination of having braces and cupcake bakeries opening everywhere that increased the obsession with cupcakes.

I had braces somewhat recently. Braces suck. Braces as an adult suck worse. My "teef" always hurt and I usually didn't eat anything of real substance 48 hours after visiting the orthodontist. Until I realized that Sprinkles was within a stone's throw of my ortho. I then made it a tradition to get a scrumptious cupcake after visiting Dr. Shakes and his Evil Gold digging Daughter. After all, I would not be consuming many calories in the next few days and cupcakes are easy to swallow.

I try to lay off the cupcakes, but I still visit a cupcake establishment when the urge hits me. In fact, today I was at the dentist (which also happens to be right next to Sprinkles) and I headed over to get my very favorite cupcake ever! The cherry cupcake! Cherry cake and cherry frosting. Cherry goodness!! Sprinkles only offers this cupcake for one week out of the year? Why, Sprinkles? Why? I got two, but I would mind going back to get more this week. They are so yummy! I also had a chocolate mashmallow cupcake. I guess it won some kind of contest and it will now be offered daily on the menu. It's okay, but I am not a huge chocolate fan.

Anyway, I am going to go ahead and update my list of the best (and worst) cupcake places that I have visited.

Please keep in mind that I generally judge the cupcake joints by their red velvet. Gotta have a standard. However, I take other flavors and experiences into consideration.

1. Sprinkles
It's the best! The frosting is thick and creamy. I like it better than that cheap whipped stuff. The cake is always flavorful and moist. Nothing worse than a dry cupcake. The selection is awesome. There are usually about 14 flavors each day. My favorites? Well, the cherry is my very favorite, but it is only there the last week of July. My second favorite in Chai Latte, but it is only there on Friday. The Red Velvet is great, too. I did not enjoy the apple Rosh Hashana cupcake. In fact, I am not a big fan of any of the fruity ones - they taste like breakfast bread.
At $3.25 a pop, it is a nice treat to have every once in awhile.

2. The Cupcakery in Las Vegas
My mom was so excited to bring me to this place when I went to visit her. Now I try to stop by every time I make a visit. The cupcakes are smaller, but they are tasty. The cake is my favorite, it is always moist and delicious. Their frosting is sweet and creamy. They even have sparkles on some of their cupcakes. Anything with sparkles is A OK in my books! My favorite flavors are red velvet, raspberry champagne, and the pink one. Yum!

3. Bristol Farms
Not only the home of expensive cheese, but they also have delicious cupcakes. They are huge and they have created flavors. I enjoyed a raspberry lemon cupcake and it was great. Joe had a peanut butter and jelly cupcake, he also loved every bite. My friends had a black forest cupcake and they said it was the best cupcake they have ever had. The cupcakes are $2.95. There is a Bristol Farms in the same parking lot as Sprinkles. Maybe you should do a taste test of your own?

4. Crumbs
This is in Hollywood and is always in the celeb gossip magazines. They get an A+ for creativity. They have flavors like cookie dough, peach pie, candy bar, etc. The red velvet was good, but kind of dry. I loved the cookie dough one. The caramel apple cupcake was dry and I didn't even eat it all. I did not buy the peach pie one, but is had peach slices and brown sugar cubes on top. Who would bite into several brown sugar cubes? I am glad I went, but I am not in a hurry to go back again.

5. Mrs. Beasley's
There are two of these in the South Coast area. I like that they have little, baby cupcakes. They are great if you cannot decide what you want, you can try them all. However, they only have vanilla and chocolate cake. The cake is not my favorite, it tastes like grocery store cake. The frosting is yummy. I like the mocha and the cookies and cream ones the best. They also have berry flavors.

And the absolute worst cupcake award goes to the store in the Spectrum next to Golden Spoon. I cannot remember the name, but that is probably because I blocked it out.

I am pretty sure this place hits up school and church bake sales and steals all of the cupcakes, then charges $3.25 for them. They are poorly decorated and they taste nasty. Cake is dry and the frosting is yucky. Don't go there!

Do you know of a cupcake place that I need to check out?

Buster

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love my sweet, little Buster. He really is the best dog ever. Buster was my college graduation gift and was really the best gift ever! He fills my life with joy and laughs. He has been with me for all of the important events in my adult life. He can tell when I am sad and will try to make me feel better. He is a "good boy" and a loyal companion. Buster is just the sweetest dog ever!
He is a cuddle bug!
He loves his basket of toys
Shaggy Buster on his back... he was a hot dog!

But sometimes he is cold and snuggly
Buster likes to use the computer
He plays well with his sister, Kat. She is much bigger than him, but they are cute together.
Buster could be a model!
Look at that fancy haircut!

He likes to roll around in the grass.
Buster and Kat keep me company when I eat by myself.
Look at that sweet face!
He looks great in his winter sweater
I just uploaded all of my pics from my iPhone today. Turns out, I mainly take pictures of Buster. Therefore, I thought he should get his own post! I love you, Buster!!!

Friends: New and Old

Today I had ice cream with my friend, Devon, and her daughter, Irelyn. I have not seen them for two years! It's hard to believe that all that time went by since we have last seen each other.

Devon and I met when we worked at Kids Factory in 1997ish. Was it Corderilla (he he) where we first worked? I think we worked at Castille, too. Heck, between both of us, I am sure we have covered every site! We became instant friends by sharing the same favorite color, attending SDSU, and always lauging. I always have fun with Devon. We used to swing kids around by their braids and kept journals about it.

Here's a picture of us when we were working at a Teen Dance. We have lots of fun Polaroids of other city sponsored events, too.

Well, Irelyn is just like Devo. She is so much fun and super sweet. Last time I saw her, when she was two, I bonded with her immediately. But then two years passed! Today we had so much fun and she even convinced me to give her some of her ice cream. I don't give up ice cream for just anyone. I love that she is so happy, talkative, creative, fun and always has a stuffed animal with her. She reminds me of me as a child, which is probably why she is my new best friend.It was so nice to catch up with a dear, old friend and to spend time with my new friend! :) I hope we can do it again soon and not let two years pass. Fortunately, blogs do a great job of keeping everyone updated!

Grammar and Proofreading

For someone is super picky about grammar, I sure do not proofread or spell-check my blogs! Sorry about that!

One year ago...

I met Joe exactly one year ago today! He was drinking coffee (which he hates) and I was eating macaroni and cheese off of someone else's table at Lucille's. There were a few hours in between the coffee and macaroni. I don't think it get much better than that!
It sure has been a wonderful year!!

I Heart Puzzles

Last week, Joe and I were at Target (my favorite store). We were just cruising through all of the isles, when we came across the puzzle section. He suggested that we get one! I thought that was a fun idea, so we picked a 750 piece puzzle of Times Square. We worked on it a little here and there until it was complete. Well, it was actually completed while I was napping on the couch! I felt a little ripped off about that, but that is another story.

Anyway, I love the puzzle for many reasons:

1. It makes us use our brains

2. It proves that we do not need to spend $$$ or do something super exciting in our spare time to have a good time

3. It was good quality time together

4. It was a team effort and we both helped each other

5. I am glad that I am fortunate to have a man who wants to stay home and do puzzles with me.

I truly cherished my puzzlemaking time with Joe. We have been looking for our next one. I saw an Eeyore one that is super cool. It had all of these little Eeyore scenes that make a big Eeyore. I thought he would for sure veto it, but it said it looked challenging. So as long as I can find challenging puzzles, they can be as girlie as can be! :)

A Bye-Bye Bandana Barcrawl

As I mentioned in my previous post, Tracy moved to Las Vegas. We decided to have a Bye Bye Bandana Barcrawl to wish her off to Vegas. Why bandanas you may ask? Well, when Tracy met Twon Bobby last summer, she came home and told us all about her trip and showed us pictures. He was wearing a bandana in every picture. We lovingly dubbed him "Bandana" until we go to know him and then we renamed him Twon Bobby. Well, not only was he wearing bandanas, but so was Tracy! We started out with dinner at the Crab Cooker.

Tony, Adrienne, and Camden were all good sports about wearing their bandanas.
BFFs wear bandanas. Do you know much I love Camden? She is so cute and sweet!
Here is part of the crew. Notice: One of these things is not like the other!
We head to Mutt Lynches as our first stop. Camden wasn't thrilled, but it was her first experience in a bar.
A night in Newport would not be complete without a trip to the Donut store for Ham and Cheese! So delicious!

This is the guy who makes the Ham and Cheese. He is the best! If you have not tried it out, you gotta get a Ham and Cheese at Seaside Donuts on the boardwalk close to the pier in Newport. They are the best!

We had a fun night! We'll miss you, Tracy!!

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Excuse the title, as I cannot think of anything creative right now.

Tomorrow, my best friend, Tracy, will be moving to Las Vegas to live with fiance, Twon Bobby. I am excited that she is excited about starting a new chapter of her life, but I am sad that she will not be in my area code.

For the past eight years, Tracy and I have experience life together. We met when I was her "boss", something we joke about now, at the Recreation Department. Then one August night, she bumped into me standing in front of my apartment complex in San Diego. I was holding a gigantic martini glass in one hand and a beer in the other. Of course, I was wearing some see-thru shirt, too. I was a vision of class to say the least. She was moving into her new apartment and her parents with her to help. When she saw me, she said "This is my boss, Becky." I was a little embarassed.

We quickly bonded the rest of the summer at home, knowing that we would be neighbors at SDSU. During our last year in college we shared many road sodas, laughs, tears, and girly TV.

Tracy came with me to pick out the (original) love of my life, Buster. I was determined that I did not want a black poodle and looked at all of the other poodles in the ghetto of El Cajon. But when that tiny black hairball kept coming back to my foot, Tracy convinced me that it was a sign. Tracy is Buster's godmother!

When we graduated college, Trace was sure she wanted to move back to Orange County. However, I was determined to stay in San Diego and not go back to live with my parents. She would always try to talk me into moving back, but I wanted to continue my SD lifestyle one more year, knowing that I would move back the following year to begin my teaching career.

Well, after I signed my SD lease, I quickly realized that I was going to need money to pay my portion of the rent. How was I going to do that as a full time student and a student teacher? To my dismay, I packed my bags and headed back to OC. Tracy was excited.

We both went through the credential program at CSUFullerton. During this year, we exchanged lesson plans and ideas, studied for tests, and made weekly visits to Pierce Street Annex.

Through ups and downs with other friends, Tracy, was always there. Well, except for when she was in Europe. (Adrienne took over there). Tracy has always been the most loyal, fun, and supportive friend.

I couldn't ask for better best friend. She will be teaching at a school two blocks from my parents' house and I know I will still see her a lot. I will just miss her being close by. :(

We will celebrate tonight with a bandana barcrawl. Look for a blog about that later!

Fancy Shoe Night

Tonight some of my friends (and fellow Argentina travelers) decided to get together. We have not all hung out for awhile, so we decided to wear some fancy shoes. Shoes that are really cute, but hurt your feet. We figured if we were only going to dinner and not walking around, then it didn't matter too much. I wore my Jessica Simpson black patent leather with polka dot heels. You can't see the polka dots in the picture though. I love all of my Jessica Simpson shoes, but I cannot walk in any of them!



We went to Blue Beet in Newport where it was $10.95. For under $11, we enjoyed a 12 ounce New York Strip steak, some of the most srumptious mashed potatoes, and some bland green beans. The dinner was delicious. The shoes were fancy. The conversation was the best!

A Full Moon and Some Pigs

Shannon, Steve, Joe, and I headed to San Diego on Saturday. We originally had planned on going to Catalina for the day, but ferry tickets are kind of $$$$. So we took the train to the SD nation.


However, we were sad that we would be missing out on the buffalo milk from Catalina. No, not real buffalo milk, but a cocktail that resembles a yummy milkshake loaded with booze. We thought we replicated the Catalina signature drink to perfection until we found black chunks in our drinks. We could not determine if it was from leftover chocolate syrup left in the blender or a possible cockroach, but we still gulped them down. A little protein never hurt anyone.


When we got to the train station we ran into this group of ladies

Yes, these are people from the Red Hat Society. I never really knew what their group does or how it started, I just know that lack fashion sense. I just wikipediaed them and learned "The founder of the society is Fullerton, California artist Sue Ellen Cooper, who in 1998 gave a friend a 55th birthday gift consisting of a red fedora she had bought a year earlier at a thrift store along with a copy of Jenny Joseph's poem, Warning, whose opening lines read
“When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me."

I am pretty sure I will join this cult in another 20 1/2 years.


As we boarded the train, the conductor announced, "if you are offended by nudity, please do not look out the left side of the train as we pass through Laguna Niguel". That's right ladies and gents, it was Moon the Amtrak day. You can read more about it at moonamtrak.org.

Well, the first people to move to the left side of train were:

They Red Hats quickly moved to the left side of the train with the biggest zoom camera I have ever seen! It was quite comical!

If you are offended by blurry nudity, please do not look at this picture:

The train was going too fast to really get a nice picture of the full moon. There was literally a mile of bare buns though. Pretty funny.

When we got to San Diego, we enjoyed refreshments at many of the establishments in the Gas Lamp Quarter. We also brought, Pig Mania, and made our own rules to it.

Steve won over and over.

We all had fun though! I can't wait to go back soon!

Proud to be an American

I had a fun 4th of July weekend! We headed over to Danielle's new house in Riverside on Friday. Then we helped decorate Aiden's wagon. Isn't he so cute?! After that, we headed to Kristen's house for a parade and a party. The parade was really neat, it was headed by a Jeep, with some members of a band playing patriotic music behind, followed by some decorated bikes, wheelchairs, strollers and wagons, mixed in with some walkers sporting red, white, and blue and concluded with a classic convertible. It was fun!
Here is another cute baby, Reagan. The party was at her house!
Then Joe and I jumped back on the 91 to head to Aliso Viejo for fireworks. Nice view, huh? We were able to cleary see at least 6 different displays for fireworks.
We proudly sported our red, white, and blue... as lame as others may have thought it wa!

We had a super great fourth filled with fabulous food (especially the desserts), awesome friends, and a great view.

Then Joe went out of town for the weekend, so I went to San Diego on Sunday to see my friends Scott and Sarah. I will be a groomschick in their wedding in May. I have known Little Scottie since I was born. He is in a band - they are an awesome 80s cover band. They were playing at the SD Fair on Sunday night, so I went to see them. Gotta love the teenage punk waving his shirt over his head consistently for over an hour.

Even though I did not see my BFF, Camden, over the weekend, I did see her yesterday and took this darn cute picture of her with Cadbury. So cute! Love them!

On a side not, I love the song "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood - you know, the song that sings "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free...." When I taught first grade, my class would always sing it in our yearly America show. Well, two of those years, I got complaints from parents of students in other classes. They had a problem with the song. If there was any problem, I would have thought it was about the use of the word "God". Nope, they didn't have a problem with God Bless America. They didn't like this song because it has been used in many campaigns of Republican presidents, so obviously, I am teaching the kids Republican ideas! Crazy! That is just a little glimpse of the joys of teaching in Irvine!