he ate octopus.

about a week and a half ago, i spent the day with my eight-year-old nephew, jesse. i told him that we could do whatever he wanted. he decided that he wanted to go and see the smurfs movie. (it was a lame movie, but he loved it and that was all that mattered.)

awhile before our day out, i asked jesse if he wanted to go to dinner and he said that he did. and since he is the coolest eight-year-old i know, i asked him if he wanted to go to sushi and he did. we went to this little joint in a little town just south of the point of the mountain. jesse was introduced to sushi at a fancy little place by where he lives. the sushi there is amazing and so i was a little hesitant about taking him to a new sushi place. but it turned out to be quite an adventure...and i have pictures to prove it.

while we were perusing the menu, jesse saw that they had tako sashimi on the menu. yes, octopus. and he was insistent on getting the octopus. i knew that sashimi probably wasn't the best idea, so i talked him into tako nigiri. i told him he could get it, but he had to eat it. all of it. he said he would. this is the tako nigiri...so gross.

one piece down. he ate it like a champ. and he even liked the flavor. but he said it was too chewy so he wouldn't get it again. after he finished his two pieces, he said he was full. i asked him if he was sure because he barely at any of the sushi rolls. he said that he was. he then informed me that he could feel the tentacles sucking to the inside of his stomach. i think that he over thought the octopus and lost his appetite. hilarious. but i was super proud of him for trying it.

don't worry, we didn't eat it all. jesse only had a few pieces before the octopus attacked his stomach. it was way delish, though. i heart sushi.

and of course, the obligatory self-portrait. i love this kid. to pieces.

it was a super fantastic day and i loved spending it with jesse. he cracks me up. at one point, i about lost it i was laughing so hard. i wish i could remember what he said, but it was funny. super, duper funny. can't wait to spend the day with him again. we must do it soon.

do you love sushi?
are you adventurous when you order sushi?

that's all.

random afternoon.

a few weeks ago, my friend blew out her knee playing softball. she is a hairstylist which requires her to be on her feet all day. because of the blown out knee, she has been forced to take some time off of work. a couple of tuesdays ago...my regular day off and her forced day off...we decided to have an adventure and we hung out. it was almost like we were in high school again and playing hookie. it ended up being one of the best days i've had in a long time. and all we did was went to lunch, a movie and to her parents house. i took pictures along the way...so i decided to share them with you.

sara, my friend, is getting married in a couple of months and her fiance just so happens to be a chef at a local restaurant. and he is a fantastic chef at that. on our adventure, ted (the fiance/chef), offered to make us lunch. it was the most delicious lunch ever. sara's fiance is a genius. it is grilled halibut on a bed of jasmine rice with asparagus covered with pineapple salsa. to.die.for. i'd kill to eat it again. for real.


after lunch, we went and saw crazy, stupid, love. it was super awesome.
i love, love, loved it.

when the movie was over, we went to sara's house because she needed help ordering photos from costco. as i previously mentioned, sara is getting married this fall and she needed to order photos for their announcements. while we were ordering the photos, sara mentioned that her brother needed help, or rather, a ride. he had to take his car to get fixed and needed a ride back to their parent's home. i was down with helping out because, you see, their parent's home is on a ranch. the ranch that is also known as my favorite vacation destination.

like i said, sara is getting married this fall. she is going to successfully top her brother's wedding...which was dubbed the best wedding in the world ever. i promise you will hear about it. but taking a trip to the ranch was a perfect opportunity for us to take some photos of the wedding venue and such.

this is one of the amazing views at the ranch. i just can't get enough of this place. i can't wait for the wedding.

the drive into the ranch. i don't know why, but it is magical to me.

the ranch dogs are hilarious. the corgi is ruby and the other one is nelly belle. she was born this spring. they get so excited when people show up. it took them awhile to calm down. especially nelly belle.

ruby is sara's mom's dog. she is so funny looking to me. have you ever seen a corgi in real life? they are hilarious. i love their tiny, little legs.

nelly belle is darling. she is sara's dad's dog. i love nelly belle's mom and her grandma. they are the greatest ranch dogs. if i could own a dog, i would probably take one of nelly belle's relatives. i'm not kidding, they are the best dogs. i'll tell you all about them if you want. i could go on and on.

she's such a puppy. she was trying to chew on everything.

even sara's brace. oh...poor sara's knee/leg.

this is a view of the yard. can't you see why i love it so? it's just too darling. chicken coop and all.

i'm not joking. this place is magic.

while we were touring the ranch and the "wedding venue" we even checked out the chickens. i mean, can this place be more adorable.

one last view of the entrance.

yep. it was one of the best days. i wish i would have taken a picture of dinner. sara's brother made us bagel dogs...the kind you get from schwan's. i'd never had one, but it was delicious. and the best part is that her brother actually talked to us. back in the day...when he was a big, bad cowboy...ridin' the circuit...he would barely say two words to us. but now that he is all grown up...and learning to fly a-10 warthogs for the airforce (click on the link...it is pretty cool)...he is a conversationalist. well, considering. i mean, he is pretty cool now. cooler than when he was a cowboy...hahaha. anyway, i seriously can't wait for the wedding. it is going to be to die for amazing. you just mark my words.

what have you been up to?
anything super exciting like visiting ranches?

that's all.

fill in the blank.

yay for friday. not that it means much to me, but i will celebrate for all of you that have "normal" work weeks. friday is technically my tuesday. monday is my friday. how ironic is that? yeah, it sucks royally. but such is my life. any-who...happy friday. i hope you have fun plans for the weekend. i'll be at work. but i will enjoy it, so don't feel bad for me. i had a fantastic week, so i can't complain. more on that in a later post. hopefully tomorrow. but don't hold your breath.

image found here. play along.

1. my go to outfit for a dress-up occasion like a wedding is  whatever is most appropriate. i have dresses. skirts. slacks. it really just depends on the event.  

2. this week has been  pretty great. i had a fantastic couple of days off. i will write about it at a later date. but it really was great. i got to spend time with a friend that i hadn't spent time with in a really long time and we had a great day. i really enjoyed it and wish more days were that entertaining. i promise, i will fill you in.  

3. when it's dinnertime and i'm feeling lazy i'll usually eat  a bowl of rice chex or corn flakes. or sometimes, i just warm up corn tortillas and eat them with salsa. that is when i am feeling extra lazy. cereal is for when i feel like eating something warm will be too much.  

4. my favorite pair of shoes is  is any pair of flip flops. yeah, that is what i am going with. flip flops. love 'em.  

5. a random item that i own that is completely unnecessary, but that i could never part with is  a pair of "shit kickers." they are mucking boots...worn to muck corrals. i bought them when i worked for a private girls home that used equine therapy. everyday we would have to take the girls out to muck the corrals. twice a day. and generally, as staff, we didn't have to muck with the girls, but we had to walk through the fields and it just seemed appropriate to have a pair of mucking boots. in the years that followed that employment, i used those boots to shovel snow...they were fantastic because they are pretty tall (taller than my snow boots) and super easy to slip on and off. i'm not sure why i can't part with them...because i currently don't have to shovel snow or muck stalls. but you never know when i will need a pair of work boots.  

6. my favorite person is  ...seriously...you want me to name just one person. i can't do it. i won't do it. i like too many people. and i like them for different reasons...so they are all my favorites. so there.  

7. if i were going to write my own blank, it would say  "i always laugh when..."  

how has your week been?
what random item do you own?

that's all.

the first of the month.

whenever a new month rolls around, i always think of this bone thugs-n-harmony song. it reminds me of my freshman year of college and the summer that followed. and you best believe that we literally did sing this on the first of the month...every month. we were annoying. (be warned...they don't use the best language...rappers.)

i can't believe it is august. this summer is flying by. enjoy it while you can.

happy august.

that's all.