Category: Life

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Life

Go Me!

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If you haven’t noticed, there hasn’t been a bacon post in a while. This is in part due to the fact that I have been dieting for the past two months. I’ve just been counting calories and exercising. I’ve lost 10lbs and I’m not too far off from my goal. I didn’t really say much to anyone at first because I felt like it would’ve been weird. If you wake up one morning and say “I’m going to start dieting today” and then tell everyone about it, there’s so much more room for disappointment. If someone asks you if you want to go get a burger and you reply “I can’t today, I’m watching what I’m eating” people’s expectations are much lower and they are surprised if not shocked when you actually lose weight.

So, my goal is to rock this R2D2 dress. Some people diet for a wedding or to fit into their old jeans. I just want to wear this dress! I want to be that chick at the nice restaurant/bar or whatever rocking the R2D2 dress with a classy black jacket and some high ass heels… yup.

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Life

Decorating for Halloween

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Look out Christmas wreaths, it’s Halloween!

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Life

Football Time!

Well, it is still early enough for me in the football season to be really excited about it all. Unfortunately, I have had children’s birthday parties the past two Sundays preventing me from watching a lot of games. Fortunately, my team’s games were not at the same time as the parties. I’m not sure what that says about me if I care more about a football game than my friend’s kid’s birthdays. That last sentence sounds bad when I read it back…

Anywho, I’ve been crazy happy with the Dallas Cowboy’s running back DeMarco Murray in fantasy football. If you have a chance to add him, DO IT. Whenever I draft I never go for the very top rated running backs, I feel like they always disappoint and I’d rather go for a QB. My first fantasy pick of this year was Peyton Manning… I couldn’t help it. Finally, I suck ass at picking who is going to win games this year on Pigskin Pick’em on ESPN. My success rate is something like 58%. BOO! I hope you guys have had some fun rooting for your team!

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Life

Meet Jaffrey

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This is Jaffrey. I recently got a new bedroom set and Jaffrey came with it. I didn’t want Jaffrey to come with the set but he did. The person I got the set from actually said I had to take him if I wanted the rest of the set. When I put him in the truck with the rest of everything I told him that he was weird and ugly and that I wish I didn’t have to take him. I feel really bad about that now.

Jaffrey is made out of paper mâché. He is a paper mâché giraffe with leather ears. Since taking Jaffrey home I have told him that I am really sorry for calling him ugly and even though I still think he is weird, he is my friend and I am happy to have him. I have even put a pretty scarf on him that I think matches his personality very well.

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Life

Feels like Fall?

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Last week I was so excited because it seemed like I could start to feel the season change. I even took this picture… seems a little like Fall right? Not right. The past four days have been the hottest all summer : (

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Life

Are You Ready For Some Football?

If you are not a football fan, you can stop reading now. Otherwise, hell yeah another season is upon us. The Packers play the Seahawks on NBC tonight at 8:30 ET. My team hasn’t really done shit in several years anyways but, hey, your team is your team for better or worse. I am a San Diego Charger fan by the way. We have a tough division, ongoing coaching problems, and I think Phillip Rivers acts like a baby sometimes.

I heard something funny a few weeks ago on ESPN. The Dallas Cowboys sent all of their season ticket holders tickets to not only the regular season games but also playoff games including the NFC championship game. They are the first team to ever do this… That’s a nice thought Cowboys.

If you have never played fantasy football or anything like that, I encourage you to. It is actually very easy to do and makes all of the games much more interesting. I assure you that drafts are easy and all you need to do is spend about five minutes per week managing your team. There is also a Pick’em game that ESPN does where you just pick which teams will win their games each week.

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Life

Nauticat

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I was kayaking in Ventura and found this little gem. I believe this is my favorite boat name of all time

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Life

Gluten Free

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Gluten-free foods have been super trendy lately. Im not sure what the benefits of gluten-free eating are for people who do not have celiac disease or a sensitivity to it but I’m sure there must be something. One thing that really gives me a chuckle is all of the gluten-free signs on foods that are clearly gluten-free. I do know that some products that one might think would be gluten-free might contain small or trace amounts of gluten which could be dangerous for those with celiac but those people seem generally used to checking labels closely for things like wheat gum or other gluten something or others. However, do I really need a big “gluten-free” sign in front of meat at the deli counter? I don’t think so.

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Life

Old Timey School House

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I’ve driven by this school house many times. Each time, I wait for that perfect moment when the building peeks through the trees and you can admire it in all its beauty. It took me a year of driving by it every month or so to finally stop and get a picture of it… I don’t know why.

I wonder what the children that attend the school think of it. I wonder if there’s some warm, older teacher in there whose idiosyncrasies match those of the school and who can tell you stories about the history of the school and the valley that it’s in.

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Life

The Flower Within

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I’m sure there are thousands of great bougainvillea pictures out there but I just could not resist. Also, besides cropping, I did not alter the picture in any way. There is a lot of bougainvillea at the beginning of my half of a mile long driveway and I am always entranced by how it looks and feels completely different depending upon what time of day it is. This is what it looks like a little after the sun has started to set. More often, it is more fuchsia or pink looking but here it is more electric purple… its hypnotizing when I see it like this.

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Life

Hat Store

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If you go into a hat store… try on hats! I love this hat store because they have all sorts of hats and I really can’t help myself. I wondered if the ladies that work there are sick of people like me who just walk in there and take pictures in hats but then I remembered that I bought a knit unicorn hat from them once… so there’s that.

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Life

Misty Mountains

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I was taking the dogs for a walk at dusk… I love when the mountains look all misty… no wonder dwarves love them.

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Life

Dark Lord of the Grill

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This is a t-shirt I picked up for myself in the kids section at Target. There’s actually a lot of things going on if you look closely. Love me some weird Star Wars stuff.

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Life

I Am An Addict

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Fireworks are addicting. I live in an area where some fireworks are legal and I went to get a couple things this past weekend before getting my main haul on the fourth. One trip to the fireworks stand for a couple small fountains turned into a second trip to get all of this and then we had a fun evening. All of these were gone in one night. The fiery frog was cool it’s eyes and mouth lit up different colors as the fountain emitted different colored sparks.

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Animals Life

Jacaranda Tree

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Loki and I went for a walk just before sunset and we stopped to stare at the gorgeous Jacaranda tree. The blooms on the ground are almost as beautiful as the tree itself. They just transfer their colorful, unique natural status to the otherwise ordinary pavement.

A gorgeous Jacaranda tree picture after the jump!

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Life

Enjoy the Ride

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Everyday, I drive a windy canyon (not like the wind that blows but like a canyon that has a lot of twists and turns… blasted homonyms) to work. However, a couple days last week the canyon I normally drive was closed after 6pm and I drove a little bit out of my way to take another canyon home from work.

I love taking different routes to places that I travel to frequently, even if it means taking a baby detour through a residential neighborhood. I was happy to have an excuse to take a longer way home especially when the majority of the drive looks like this.

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Life

Dreamy Day

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70 degrees, light breeze, blue sky, toy story clouds. Days like this are best described in one word: Dreamy.

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Life

Welcome to Angelgrrl.com

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Welcome! Today is the grand opening, the first day that I’m inviting all my friends (and everyone else in the world) to visit. I love cooking, animals, and family so that’s what I write about. You can count on seeing one of my recipes here every Friday.

If you’re wondering where the name “Angelgrrl” came from, it was something my Dad thought of when I was a little girl. I insisted on wearing dresses almost everywhere, but I was a very aggressive soccer player and loved almost all sports. He bought me the domain name for Christmas back then and it sat on the shelf for a long time, but here we are. Most importantly, while I was growing up he taught me to believe that I can be or do anything I want to.

My Dad is my editor, I do the photography and writing and he catches most of the typos. He also designed the site style.

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Life

Angelgrrl C’est Moi

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I think of myself as a sort of punk Martha Stewart who also likes animals, guns, the outdoors, hockey, and a handful of other nerdy shit. One’s livelihood is everything. I didn’t get my BA in Philosophy to make money, I got it because I love challenging myself as much as possible and I want to continue living in a constant state of education forever.

One day, probably after focusing on my family for a while, I will go back to grad school and teach philosophy. I have a tremendous passion for animals and love working at a veterinary hospital. I love living on an organic orchard, because I’m nowhere near street traffic and the only neighbors I can see from my doorstep are trees and birds.

I love to read and stare at all my books. My books tell me where I’ve been, and where I am, and where I want to go. I love to cook and marvel at all the wonderful things we can do with food. Most importantly, I love focusing on my family.

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Life

Morning Walk

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Sunlight through the trees on a morning walk at Los Padres National Forest.