I Love Sushi

Not only do I love sushi, but I love the restaurant "I Love Sushi." I've gotta say, it's my pick for restaurant of the year. We found out about it earlier this year from some friends and have been hooked ever since. It's a big, casual place downtown Santa Cruz that tends to host big parties and has a karaoke bar set up in a back room with a stage and everything. See, what's not to love...how can you go wrong with sushi and karaoke?

Here is a photo of my newest obsession...the yam roll, short for the "wham bam thank you yam" roll. It consists of tempura yam, macadamia nuts, and cream cheese rolled up with rice and seaweed, covered in avocado and some sort of sweet sauce. Dip it in some soy sauce with wasabi and your mouth with thank you!


When visiting, be prepared to be inundated with free things...they give you appetizers when you arrive, after you order they bring you miso soup (so delicious) and edamame. Also, expect a visit from the crazy, fun-loving owner. He will most likely give you a few shots of sake or some beer on the house.

Next time you are in need of an inexpensive, casual dining experience hit up I Love Sushi. It won't disappoint!

Recovery Time

Brian's second knee surgery was last week on October 13th, our second wedding anniversary. What a way to spend a speicial day :-) I can't complain because #1) last year we traveled throughout Asia and spent our anniversary on an amazing beach in Thailand and #2) when B told me that he rescheduled the surgery for October 13th I told him, "perfect, that's a great date for it." It wasn't until hours later that I started thinking, "why does October 13th sound familiar? I think that might be an important date..." That's when it finally dawned on me, that yes, it is an important date, it's the day we got married.

We had been so busy the weeks leading up to this surgery that we were both actualy looking forward to it. I know, weird, but it gave us an excuse to slow down a little bit. I had been getting pretty tired of eating Subway, Little Caesars (yes, I said Little Caesars, I know, gross) Vallarta, and lots of pasta...when you need dinner for multiple people fast and cheap these seemed to be our only options.

Since we are on the topic of junk food...let me just say that once you get in the habit of eating bad food it's hard to stop. I usually crave "good for you" food, but lately all I have been wanting is the "bad for you" stuff and sweets. I need to get back to a healthy diet and a workout plan!

Back to Brian's recovery time. He will have to be on crutches for the next 3 weeks and then will slowly be able to put weight on his leg. I'll be excited to have him walking again...I miss my bike riding partner!

I can't tell you how amazing he has been throughout this whole process! He hasn't complained at all and has been uber productive. By the time he will be able to surf again it will probably be February, which means he will not have surfed once in 7 to 8 months. That is huge for someone who surfs everyday! I am so proud of him and the way he has handled this little "set-back." I can't wait for him to get back in the water again...it makes me happy to see him do something he loves so much. Also, I will be able to feel guilt-free again when I go to the gym...I hardly get to the gym anymore these days, but when I do go I feel horrible because I know he is just sitting at home with his leg propped up on pillows.

Cheers to next year...may it be a year filled with lots of walking, no crutches, and being somewhere other then a surgery room on our anniversary!

Cell Phone Trauma

On Sunday we had some cell phone trauma. Not just one cell phone, but both cell phones. We thought we were doomed. You know when you make a big purchase and then right after everything around you starts falling apart? I told Brian, "Be prepared, once we buy this house everything is going to start having problems...something will happen with the cars, we'll have some major, unexpected payment on something, etc." Well, it was true. All of this started happening this week. I'm to the point where I think it is amusing...God has quite the sense of humor!

Back to the cell phones. I had to run to Orchard Supply for probably the 6th time that day and decided that I would take the Acura. Little did I know that Brian had left the black cell phone on the hood of the black Acura. I was walking through Orchard trying to find Henry's concrete floor primer when I finally found someone to ask. Lo and behold, they don't carry it...time to head to Home Depot for the 4th time that day. This is when I called Brian to tell him that Orchard had let us down again and I would be making the "trek" up 41st Ave. to grace Home Depot with my presence.

But no, Brian didn't answer. It was a woman and I was greeted with, "This is the second cell phone that I have found today! I'm just trying to be a good citizen. These Blackberry's are expensive phones, you should be thankful that I'm the one who found it. I'm trustworthy you know. I try to be an honest person. It says Brian Baer on the front. We were just bike riding down Portola when I saw something shiny and I said to Kyle, 'Hold on Kyle!' Kyle is my son. So then I found this phone and when I turned it over there was no back on it and the battery was gone. Then I told Kyle, 'We need to look for the rest of this phone.' Then we found the battery and then I saw something shining in the middle of the street, and it was the back!" You're lucky because it could have been run over and I'm an honest person and I want to get the phone back to you...." Wow, the woman could talk! Yes, I was thankful that she found it and yes, I was thankful thankful that she was an honest person. I was thankful for the non-stop talking lady in the tight, mid-drift showing, sequence enhanced Playboy Bunny shirt for finding the Blackberry and hunting down the rest of it's pieces. Oh, and of course I am thankful to Kyle for participating in the whole process.

Later on that night I was cleaning rollers and paint brushes...a large paint filled water puddle was forming in the trench where I was cleaning them. Next thing I know something in the puddle was glowing at me. What is that? Of course, it was my cell phone which i had forgotten was in my sweatshirt pocket. When I pulled it out it was covered in mud and of course some paint streaks. Those of you who know me well know that I have horrible luck with cell phones...they always get water damaged. I ruined many a cell phone during my waitressing days by keeping my phone in my apron pocket. Bad idea. When you work at a bar you should know that drinks get spilled often. Anyway, I figured that I would tack on another number to the running total of cell phones that I had drowned.

Much to my amazement it kept working. I stuck it in a bag of rice to absorb the moisture and 24 hours later it was as good as new (good trick for any of you who have never heard of that...we know of many success stories). So thankful that we didn't have to buy two new cell phones!

Homeowners

Along with the many words we daily use to describe ourselves, Brian and I can now add the word "homeowner" to that repertoire. This photo shows exactly how we reacted the moment we found out that the house was ours :-) Well, not exactly. I was at work and Brian called me, but we would have looked like this had we been together at that moment.


I have to admit, I was terrified to take the plunge. And yes, I had a small emotional breakdown..."I'm too young to own a house, we are never going to be able to travel again, is it the right time, etc." We had been talking about buying a house since before we got married, and we've been looking for at least the past year, so I don't know why it was so hard for me once we finally decided to pull the trigger.

Now that I am past the initial "freakout" and the home is ours for the keeping I am excited to make it our own. There were so many pieces of the puzzle that had to fit together for this house to become ours...it was crazy watching God orchestrate the whole thing. We have felt beyond blessed throughout this whole process and the house is way beyond anything we could have imagined.

I do find it somewhat humorous that the house came into our lives when it did. We are both working full time, I am going to school, and Brian is having another knee surgery in 12 days, perfect. We (and by "we" I mainly mean Brian, not me) have been trying to bust out as much work as possible before his surgery. Picking out flooring and paint colors on a deadline is extremely hard, but I think no matter what it would have been hard, so this just forces me to make a decision that otherwise would have taken months.

Also, last month some time I had decided that I needed to start spending more time with family, hanging out with my friends that are not in Santa Cruz more often, being a better Auntie, that I needed to learn how to take better pictures, needed to learn how to edit photos, needed to pick up sewing again, needed to pick up a new book, needed to try out new recipes and make better meals, and that I needed to work out more consistently...and there are many more things on my to do list that I was planning on doing, oh well. Some of these things I can still do, but most will have to be put on hold...life is entering a different season.

Though we are way too busy for our own good, I think this is all part of the lesson I am learning on contentment and enjoying where God has me, instead of always looking for what is coming.

Reforming My Fetish

I have a fetish…with traveling. I LOVE traveling. What’s not to love when you are exploring a new place, immersed in a different culture, and experiencing new sights, food, and scents? This may sound weird, but I feel the most at home when I travel; the most myself. I feel tranquil, which doesn’t seem to happen when I am physically home. I guess the feeling of tranquility correlates to me being content. I am the most content when I travel. I never seem to be fully content when I am home because I am longing for our next adventure and wanting the feeling of no responsibility, no timelines, and the anything goes mentality that comes with a trip.

I recently realized (last week) that my not being content at home is a problem…I need to reform my fetish. Time to start working on that one! Please don’t read this wrong, I love my life. I have an absolutely amazing husband, an adorable house, am surrounded by family and friends, we have our health, and we live by the ocean. But even with all of that my focus is on where can we go next? When can we do it? What is the longest possible time we can be gone? Basically I have realized that my focus needs to shift. When I am home I need to focus on what is going on here, and if we are fortunate enough to be on a trip then at that time I can enjoy all of the perks that come with it. I just need to start living in the moment, slow down, and focus on what is presently in front of me.

One year ago yesterday we left for our Southeast Asia trip. I can’t believe that was a year ago…quite possibly the fastest year of my life, scary. That trip was amazing, and Brian and I even got to spend our 1 year anniversary in Thailand. We are so lucky to have been able to do that! We were planning on heading down to Central/South American around Christmas for a few weeks, but with Brian’s knee surgeries and my decision to go back to school we are going to have to postpone…which actually works out well because it will force me to work on myself and will give me the opportunity to implement my new strategy on how to approach life. God has a plan and His plan is perfect.

Lake Trip '09

Yep, it's that time of year again. Lake trip time. This year was a record breaker...at one point there were 34 people on the trip. As always, it was beautiful with perfect weather, nice water, lots of friends, boating, tanning, fishing, card playing, and many other activities.

For Brian is was a little different this year. His day consisted of swimming (more like floating since he couldn't kick), fishing, and lots of dock sitting...not his typical lake trip. He was able to get some good quality time in with Pipe (Pat's dog) though since fishing is Pipe's favorite activity. Don't they look cute?

Ryan gets the prize for best fisherman. Not only did he catch the biggest lake trip fish ever, but he also caught a bluegill by using a Bud Light can, not bad. Oh, and Jordan caught his first fish, ever. This was definitely a record breaking trip!

There was also water paddle ball, skurfing (sp?) and an awesome rock slide...what more could you ask for?

Brian with his new favorite toy...his fishy flotation device. I had my doubts, but it worked out perfectly. It was a good accompaniment to the dolphin that Luke brought.


And the crew. As always a big thanks to Donna and Michael for hanging out with all of us "kids." We love having you guys around. And to Luke and AnnHelen, you guys did a great job shopping for 3 meals a day for 34 people, nice work!

Fun Find

If you love photography and fun weddings you MUST check out The Nichols blog. This link will take you to a recent wedding they shot of Amy & Greg. What a fun wedding! So colorful and creative and full of life. They are a gorgeous couple too....have fun drooling over all of their fun ideas and sassy photos!