Thursday, May 20, 2010
Here's a picture I wanted to share of me and my favorite guy, PO. We took this in Monterey in June of 2008 when we vacationed there for a few days (celebrating my 26th birthday.) We had just gotten our beach cruiser bicycles and we definitely put them to good use that weekend, riding all over the place in Monterey and Pacific Grove. We had an awesome time on that vacation. It was the first time PO and I took a trip together, and I will always remember our first little adventure together!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Adventures in Cooking: Mexican Lasagna
Saturday I prepared a recipe that I found in a free handout from Safeway grocery store. I modified the recipe a bit to include ground turkey (although the vegetarian version sounds just as yummy!)
Ingredients:
1/2 a lb of ground turkey
(1) zuchini
(1) cup of frozen Southwest style vegetables
(1) 4 oz. can of diced green chiles
2/3 cup of ricotta cheese
1 3/4 cup of shredded taco blend cheese
1 cup of salsa
(6) whole wheat tortillas
Here's what I did:
1. Brown 1/2 lb. of ground turkey
2. In a separate frying pan, saute frozen Southwest style vegetables, diced zucchini, and green chiles
3. Preheat oven to 475 degrees
4. In a medium bowl combine the ricotta and shredded cheeses
5.Combine ground turkey and sauteed vegetables in one pan
6. In a 8x8 dish layer tortilla, cheese, vegetable and turkey mixture and 2 tablespoons of salsa. Repeat layers until all iungredients are used
7. Bake for 25 minutes
Serves 6
I think the dish turned out fantastic and everyone seemed to like it! I paired it with a green salad, but could just as easily served it with Spanish rice. Diced up avocados and sour cream top it off nicely! I am definitely going to make this again.
Ingredients:
1/2 a lb of ground turkey
(1) zuchini
(1) cup of frozen Southwest style vegetables
(1) 4 oz. can of diced green chiles
2/3 cup of ricotta cheese
1 3/4 cup of shredded taco blend cheese
1 cup of salsa
(6) whole wheat tortillas
Here's what I did:
1. Brown 1/2 lb. of ground turkey
2. In a separate frying pan, saute frozen Southwest style vegetables, diced zucchini, and green chiles
3. Preheat oven to 475 degrees
4. In a medium bowl combine the ricotta and shredded cheeses
5.Combine ground turkey and sauteed vegetables in one pan
6. In a 8x8 dish layer tortilla, cheese, vegetable and turkey mixture and 2 tablespoons of salsa. Repeat layers until all iungredients are used
7. Bake for 25 minutes
Serves 6
I think the dish turned out fantastic and everyone seemed to like it! I paired it with a green salad, but could just as easily served it with Spanish rice. Diced up avocados and sour cream top it off nicely! I am definitely going to make this again.
Beach Bound Again
Written by: Mary
Less than two weeks after we got back from our trip to Carmel and Pismo, we were beach bound again! This time we were headed to Santa Cruz to go camping on the beach and to spend Mother's Day with my family.
We were fortunate enough to leave around noon on Friday, May 7th and arrived in Santa Cruz around 2:30 (after a quick stop in San Jose so PO could drop off some plans at a jobsite.) We had a reservation at Sunset State Beach, just a little south of Santa Cruz.
We got camp set up quickly and headed for the beach (which was just a quick walk down a huge staircase.) The beach stretched for miles and miles and we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves for the most part! PO taught me how to dig for sand crabs, something I have never done before! We sat out on the beach for about two hours until the wind started to pick up and I began to get chilly. We headed back to camp and poured ourselves some drinks, and went up to the top of the hill to watch the sunset.
We hung out at our campsite for the remainder of the evening, just sitting by the fire (which took a little while to start!) and chit chatting, listening to music, and relaxing.
We woke up early Saturday and went to our 'spot' overlooking the ocean while we sipped on orange juice and snacked on breakfast pastries. There's nothing like watching the waves crash while eating breakfast--my favorite way to start out the day!
We headed into Santa Cruz and picked up Shelly before running around town. We checked out some surf shops, then had a late breakfast at Chill Out (which has the most amazing breakfast burritos.) We stopped in at Irie Smoke Shop, and then hit up an antique store to look for chairs for Shelly's new dining table.
The rest of the day we spent hanging out with my family at Shelly's place (near the beach.) We cooked a Mexican fiesta, complete with homemade ceviche!
We headed back to our campsite around 9:30 and tried starting a fire, but the wind and the cold, wet wood wouldn't cooperate so we just headed to bed early instead.
Sunday we awoke to cloudy skies and a weather forecast of rain so we packed up camp as quickly as possible. We headed back to our 'spot' to check out Sunset State Beach one last time, and we were headed out. We all convened at Shelly's house were we all got ready to go out for the day. First stop was Stagneros for brunch, a Mother's Day tradition for us. Then we walked around the pier and stopped in at a little touristy shop with sweatshirts, skateboards, and other "Santa Cruz" memorabilia. PO spotted a long board that he wanted. He had been talking about getting one for some time now and this particular one really caught his eye. The guys working in the shop talked him into it and 20 minutes later he was the grinning from ear to ear like a little boy who just got a new toy!
We headed downtown with the family and did our normal stop at O'Neills for some new flip flops, compliments of my mom! Here's a shot of the family and an example of PO's awesome photography skills.
This is one of my favorite family photos, just a random, impromtu moment captured on film. Can you tell it was windy?!
After a fun day hanging out with my favorite guy and my awesome family, it was time to hit the road back home to Lodi! We had a fun weekend at the beach once again!
Less than two weeks after we got back from our trip to Carmel and Pismo, we were beach bound again! This time we were headed to Santa Cruz to go camping on the beach and to spend Mother's Day with my family.
We were fortunate enough to leave around noon on Friday, May 7th and arrived in Santa Cruz around 2:30 (after a quick stop in San Jose so PO could drop off some plans at a jobsite.) We had a reservation at Sunset State Beach, just a little south of Santa Cruz.
We got camp set up quickly and headed for the beach (which was just a quick walk down a huge staircase.) The beach stretched for miles and miles and we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves for the most part! PO taught me how to dig for sand crabs, something I have never done before! We sat out on the beach for about two hours until the wind started to pick up and I began to get chilly. We headed back to camp and poured ourselves some drinks, and went up to the top of the hill to watch the sunset.
We hung out at our campsite for the remainder of the evening, just sitting by the fire (which took a little while to start!) and chit chatting, listening to music, and relaxing.
We woke up early Saturday and went to our 'spot' overlooking the ocean while we sipped on orange juice and snacked on breakfast pastries. There's nothing like watching the waves crash while eating breakfast--my favorite way to start out the day!
We headed into Santa Cruz and picked up Shelly before running around town. We checked out some surf shops, then had a late breakfast at Chill Out (which has the most amazing breakfast burritos.) We stopped in at Irie Smoke Shop, and then hit up an antique store to look for chairs for Shelly's new dining table.
The rest of the day we spent hanging out with my family at Shelly's place (near the beach.) We cooked a Mexican fiesta, complete with homemade ceviche!
We headed back to our campsite around 9:30 and tried starting a fire, but the wind and the cold, wet wood wouldn't cooperate so we just headed to bed early instead.
Sunday we awoke to cloudy skies and a weather forecast of rain so we packed up camp as quickly as possible. We headed back to our 'spot' to check out Sunset State Beach one last time, and we were headed out. We all convened at Shelly's house were we all got ready to go out for the day. First stop was Stagneros for brunch, a Mother's Day tradition for us. Then we walked around the pier and stopped in at a little touristy shop with sweatshirts, skateboards, and other "Santa Cruz" memorabilia. PO spotted a long board that he wanted. He had been talking about getting one for some time now and this particular one really caught his eye. The guys working in the shop talked him into it and 20 minutes later he was the grinning from ear to ear like a little boy who just got a new toy!
We headed downtown with the family and did our normal stop at O'Neills for some new flip flops, compliments of my mom! Here's a shot of the family and an example of PO's awesome photography skills.
After a fun day hanging out with my favorite guy and my awesome family, it was time to hit the road back home to Lodi! We had a fun weekend at the beach once again!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Vacation!
A week off of work. . . a motorcycle ride down the coast with my favorite guy. . . what could go wrong?. . . Everything!!!
Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful time on our trip, but at one point we had to just sit back and laugh at all the misfortunes we kept having. And at that exact moment, I cracked a tooth. Lovely. Lets start at the beginning. . .
PO and I departed early from Lodi on Friday, April 23rd. Our first destination was Monterey. We had planned to stop in Hollister before that to check out a famous biker bar. Needless to say, PO missed the sign and we got a little turned around!
We got to Monterey sooner than we expected, since we missed our first stop. Next on our agenda (that we had meticulously been planning and routing out for some time) was to stop in at the Mucky Duck in downtown Monterey, our favorite hangout where you can sit on the patio, smoke a cigar (PO, not me!) and enjoy the cool vibe and atmosphere. As we got to the door, we realized they were closed. Blah!! Onto Cannery Row we went and enjoyed a few beers at Sly McFly's. Afterward we went beach combing and found an insane amount of sea glass on the beach!
We stopped at our favorite spot in Pacific Grove and climbed out on the rocks to watch the waves crash. It's breathtakingly beautiful and I could spend all day out there!
After we were done being touristy we decided to hit the road again and make the quick ride to Carmel.
No more than a few minutes after we arrived and checked in at the place were were going to be staying for two days, PO found a nail in the rear tire of the motorcycle. Lovely. We decided there was nothing we could do about it that late on a Friday afternoon so we decided to head down to the beach. We strip down out of our jeans, leathers, etc. and began dawning our beach gear when I realized somehow I managed to only pack one of PO's flip flops (still not sure how that happened?!) After being in big heavy boots all day, he was dying to slip on some cooler shoes. We had to walk all over Carmel looking for a surf shop that sells footwear. An hour and $45 later he had some new flip flops and we were finally beach bound.
We took the short walk down to the beach, only to be greeted by cloudy skies and cold, chilly winds! No worries, we still made the most of it and had a fun time!
After hanging out at the beach for a while we decided it was time to go have some dinner. We stopped in at the Hoggs Breath Inn and had the luxury of having the bar entirely to ourselves! We enjoyed great food and great drinks for the latter of the evening!
Apparently there was an early morning kids marathon taking place in Monterey Saturday, and a lot of competitors happened to be staying at the same hotel as us, including the people RIGHT ABOVE US. We woke up at 3:30 am and were never able to fall back asleep with all the noise they were making above us.
Around 6:30 am we decide it's pointless to try and fall back asleep, lets just get going with our day. There was a cute little cafe that I wanted to check out called Carmel Belle so we took the walk down there only to realize that it wasn't PO and MJ friendly (translation: too many stuck up snobs and weird over priced food.) Continental breakfast it was!
We spent all morning Saturday searching the depths of Monterey for a motorcycle shop that could check out the nail-in-the-tire situation. After finally finding one (and squeezing in an awesome, late breakfast at Old Monterey Cafe) it was confirmed, the tire needed to be replaced! Only problem, it was going to take two hours. . . that's ok, thanks to the iphone and the crazy-cool-scienceteacher-author we met, I was highly entertained while we waited around the shop.
Also while at the motorcycle shop we learned that HWY 1 was going to be closed the next day due to a marathon (what's with all these marathons going on in the area?!) That was the biggest bummer I think we ran into, at least for PO. We had planned to drive down the coast, stopping in at vista points, and cool seaside towns, but NO! New plan was going to have to include a long boring stretch through farmland in order to get to our next destination, Pismo Beach.
After the tire fiasco we got back to Carmel and praise the lord-the sun was shining! The vacation gods were starting to work in our favor! On to the beach we went.
After some much needed fun in the sun we headed back to our hotel and hung out outside on the patio while PO smoked a cigar and we sipped on tasty beverages. We were accompanied by an older couple who also had a cigar aficionado in the pair.
We had dinner at Little Napoli's and it was AMAZING--Gorgonzola gnocchi, yes please! The rest of the evening we just walked around and hung out at our hotel.
We woke up early Sunday morning, hit up the continental breakfast, and were on the road again, this time headed South to Pismo Beach. Remember that big long stretch of ugly farmland that I mentioned early?! Well, it caused me to have an insane allergy attack. Usually I can handle them, but when you are on the back of a motorcycle, going 90 mph, wanting to stop but only desolate land in sight, you start to freak out. Then came the panic attack. I won't elaborate, because it got ugly, but lets just say I wasn't a happy camper at this point!
We arrived in San Simeon and stopped in for lunch at a pretty cool place right on the water. Here is when I was really starting to get psyched about the trip, and about going to visit Hearst Castle (next on our agenda.)
After we ate lunch we headed towards Cambria and Hearst Castle. As we pulled into the parking lot of the castle's visitors center I realized to myself "Wow, there are A LOT of people here!" I ran inside while PO parked the bike to see when the next tour began. This is where the biggest disappointment of the trip (for me at least) happened-- tours were completely sold out for the rest of the day. I went to the parking lot and told PO the bad news and I'm not sure, but I think I shed a few tears and stomped my feet a bit too.
We just kept truckin. . . onto Pismo Beach. Luckily we got to ride a little bit along the coast between San Simeon and Pismo, and were able to pass through Morro Bay which was beautiful.
Finally we arrived in Pismo we checked into our hotel and things started looking up! Rooms came equipped with hot tub, mini bar, ocean view, and even plush, luxurious robes hanging in the closet! While unpacking our bags I realized I had broken a flip flop the night before and that I forgot my bikini at the last hotel! Bummer! After getting settled in we took a walk to the pier and to check things out a bit and try and find me some new flip flops and bathing suit! I was able to find some reasonable priced flip flops, but I didn't feel like forking over $80 to $100 for a new bikini. Unfortunately we were no where near a Target or a Ross so I just made due without a swim suit.
One of the best parts about where we stayed was our balcony overlooking the ocean. I think we spent more time out there than on the beach!
PO and I were sitting on our balcony, relaxing, listening to music, sipping on some beer, snacking and recolecting about all of the mishaps we had been having since we left on Friday. We were listing things off one by one when all of a sudden I chomped down on a chip and cracked a tooth! Fortunately it didn't cause any pain, but was just one more thing to add to our hillarious list of misfortunes!
One thing I can say about Pismo is that they have some GREAT grub! Between Mo's BBQ, Splash Cafe, The Crab Shack, and two trips to Hoagies for their awesome 'Pismo Wraps', I think I gained 7 lbs! Ouch! Splash Cafe has the most amazing clam chowder served in a bread bowl. PO and I are STILL talking about it, that's how awesome it was!
Another fabulous thing Pismo Beach has to offer is a beautiful stretch of beach filled with powdery sand and spectacular sunsets!
Monday we had planned to get up early and join a group of other people staying at our hotel for a bus tour around the area. It included stops at wineries, a goat farm, lunch, as well as a visit to a lavendar farm. I thought it would be a great way to see some sights and take some pictures and do something we have never done before. When breakfast arrived late (YES, the hotel delivers breakfast to your door in a basket every morning!) we decided to ditch the tour and make it a beach day instead!
We spent most of Monday relaxing on the beach, which was exactly what we needed to finally get into 'vacation mode'. We enjoyed some more good grub, watched another awesome sunset, and made use of our spa on the balcony for the remainder of the day.
Tuesday the rain came! Fortunately we were prepared. (We had been watching the weather forcast like a hawk.) We scheduled a couples massage that day and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening planted in our hot tub again, relaxing, and we even ate dinner in bed! Now that's what I call relaxation!
Wednesday we woke up early, packed our bags and hit the road back home! We were chaising the rain storms and hit some pretty attrocious wind (which scared the be-jesus out of me and had me clinging to PO the entire ride home.)
All in all we had a wonderful trip spending some one on one, quality time together, which was the whole point of the vacation. We had a few minor misfortunes and things didn't go so much according to plan, but that's life! We set out on an adventure, with a possitive attitude and the wind in our hair and made some great memories!
Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful time on our trip, but at one point we had to just sit back and laugh at all the misfortunes we kept having. And at that exact moment, I cracked a tooth. Lovely. Lets start at the beginning. . .
PO and I departed early from Lodi on Friday, April 23rd. Our first destination was Monterey. We had planned to stop in Hollister before that to check out a famous biker bar. Needless to say, PO missed the sign and we got a little turned around!
We got to Monterey sooner than we expected, since we missed our first stop. Next on our agenda (that we had meticulously been planning and routing out for some time) was to stop in at the Mucky Duck in downtown Monterey, our favorite hangout where you can sit on the patio, smoke a cigar (PO, not me!) and enjoy the cool vibe and atmosphere. As we got to the door, we realized they were closed. Blah!! Onto Cannery Row we went and enjoyed a few beers at Sly McFly's. Afterward we went beach combing and found an insane amount of sea glass on the beach!
No more than a few minutes after we arrived and checked in at the place were were going to be staying for two days, PO found a nail in the rear tire of the motorcycle. Lovely. We decided there was nothing we could do about it that late on a Friday afternoon so we decided to head down to the beach. We strip down out of our jeans, leathers, etc. and began dawning our beach gear when I realized somehow I managed to only pack one of PO's flip flops (still not sure how that happened?!) After being in big heavy boots all day, he was dying to slip on some cooler shoes. We had to walk all over Carmel looking for a surf shop that sells footwear. An hour and $45 later he had some new flip flops and we were finally beach bound.
We took the short walk down to the beach, only to be greeted by cloudy skies and cold, chilly winds! No worries, we still made the most of it and had a fun time!
After hanging out at the beach for a while we decided it was time to go have some dinner. We stopped in at the Hoggs Breath Inn and had the luxury of having the bar entirely to ourselves! We enjoyed great food and great drinks for the latter of the evening!
Apparently there was an early morning kids marathon taking place in Monterey Saturday, and a lot of competitors happened to be staying at the same hotel as us, including the people RIGHT ABOVE US. We woke up at 3:30 am and were never able to fall back asleep with all the noise they were making above us.
Around 6:30 am we decide it's pointless to try and fall back asleep, lets just get going with our day. There was a cute little cafe that I wanted to check out called Carmel Belle so we took the walk down there only to realize that it wasn't PO and MJ friendly (translation: too many stuck up snobs and weird over priced food.) Continental breakfast it was!
We spent all morning Saturday searching the depths of Monterey for a motorcycle shop that could check out the nail-in-the-tire situation. After finally finding one (and squeezing in an awesome, late breakfast at Old Monterey Cafe) it was confirmed, the tire needed to be replaced! Only problem, it was going to take two hours. . . that's ok, thanks to the iphone and the crazy-cool-scienceteacher-author we met, I was highly entertained while we waited around the shop.
Also while at the motorcycle shop we learned that HWY 1 was going to be closed the next day due to a marathon (what's with all these marathons going on in the area?!) That was the biggest bummer I think we ran into, at least for PO. We had planned to drive down the coast, stopping in at vista points, and cool seaside towns, but NO! New plan was going to have to include a long boring stretch through farmland in order to get to our next destination, Pismo Beach.
After the tire fiasco we got back to Carmel and praise the lord-the sun was shining! The vacation gods were starting to work in our favor! On to the beach we went.
After some much needed fun in the sun we headed back to our hotel and hung out outside on the patio while PO smoked a cigar and we sipped on tasty beverages. We were accompanied by an older couple who also had a cigar aficionado in the pair.
We had dinner at Little Napoli's and it was AMAZING--Gorgonzola gnocchi, yes please! The rest of the evening we just walked around and hung out at our hotel.
We woke up early Sunday morning, hit up the continental breakfast, and were on the road again, this time headed South to Pismo Beach. Remember that big long stretch of ugly farmland that I mentioned early?! Well, it caused me to have an insane allergy attack. Usually I can handle them, but when you are on the back of a motorcycle, going 90 mph, wanting to stop but only desolate land in sight, you start to freak out. Then came the panic attack. I won't elaborate, because it got ugly, but lets just say I wasn't a happy camper at this point!
We arrived in San Simeon and stopped in for lunch at a pretty cool place right on the water. Here is when I was really starting to get psyched about the trip, and about going to visit Hearst Castle (next on our agenda.)
After we ate lunch we headed towards Cambria and Hearst Castle. As we pulled into the parking lot of the castle's visitors center I realized to myself "Wow, there are A LOT of people here!" I ran inside while PO parked the bike to see when the next tour began. This is where the biggest disappointment of the trip (for me at least) happened-- tours were completely sold out for the rest of the day. I went to the parking lot and told PO the bad news and I'm not sure, but I think I shed a few tears and stomped my feet a bit too.
We just kept truckin. . . onto Pismo Beach. Luckily we got to ride a little bit along the coast between San Simeon and Pismo, and were able to pass through Morro Bay which was beautiful.
Finally we arrived in Pismo we checked into our hotel and things started looking up! Rooms came equipped with hot tub, mini bar, ocean view, and even plush, luxurious robes hanging in the closet! While unpacking our bags I realized I had broken a flip flop the night before and that I forgot my bikini at the last hotel! Bummer! After getting settled in we took a walk to the pier and to check things out a bit and try and find me some new flip flops and bathing suit! I was able to find some reasonable priced flip flops, but I didn't feel like forking over $80 to $100 for a new bikini. Unfortunately we were no where near a Target or a Ross so I just made due without a swim suit.
One of the best parts about where we stayed was our balcony overlooking the ocean. I think we spent more time out there than on the beach!
PO and I were sitting on our balcony, relaxing, listening to music, sipping on some beer, snacking and recolecting about all of the mishaps we had been having since we left on Friday. We were listing things off one by one when all of a sudden I chomped down on a chip and cracked a tooth! Fortunately it didn't cause any pain, but was just one more thing to add to our hillarious list of misfortunes!
One thing I can say about Pismo is that they have some GREAT grub! Between Mo's BBQ, Splash Cafe, The Crab Shack, and two trips to Hoagies for their awesome 'Pismo Wraps', I think I gained 7 lbs! Ouch! Splash Cafe has the most amazing clam chowder served in a bread bowl. PO and I are STILL talking about it, that's how awesome it was!
Another fabulous thing Pismo Beach has to offer is a beautiful stretch of beach filled with powdery sand and spectacular sunsets!
Monday we had planned to get up early and join a group of other people staying at our hotel for a bus tour around the area. It included stops at wineries, a goat farm, lunch, as well as a visit to a lavendar farm. I thought it would be a great way to see some sights and take some pictures and do something we have never done before. When breakfast arrived late (YES, the hotel delivers breakfast to your door in a basket every morning!) we decided to ditch the tour and make it a beach day instead!
We spent most of Monday relaxing on the beach, which was exactly what we needed to finally get into 'vacation mode'. We enjoyed some more good grub, watched another awesome sunset, and made use of our spa on the balcony for the remainder of the day.
Tuesday the rain came! Fortunately we were prepared. (We had been watching the weather forcast like a hawk.) We scheduled a couples massage that day and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening planted in our hot tub again, relaxing, and we even ate dinner in bed! Now that's what I call relaxation!
Wednesday we woke up early, packed our bags and hit the road back home! We were chaising the rain storms and hit some pretty attrocious wind (which scared the be-jesus out of me and had me clinging to PO the entire ride home.)
All in all we had a wonderful trip spending some one on one, quality time together, which was the whole point of the vacation. We had a few minor misfortunes and things didn't go so much according to plan, but that's life! We set out on an adventure, with a possitive attitude and the wind in our hair and made some great memories!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Welcome!
Hi, I'm Mary and I created this blog so that my boyfriend Paul (also known as PO to some) and I could document our adventures as well as our misadventures together! We have been together for over two years now and we live in Lodi, California. We love living life to the fullest and we are crazy-madly-in love! We thought we'd start a 'lil blog so that we could not only share our experiences, but to document them so down the road we can look back, recollect and laugh at some of the good times (and bad) that we have had!
That's us at Pismo Beach last week!
Stay tuned for more on our trip to Pismo and some of the other crazy-fun stuff we are up to!
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