Category Archives: Life

Thankful to be back! NaBloPoMo November Round-Up!

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I really wanted to do this at the beginning of the month. Then I was bombarded with work, being sick, and all that fun stuff… now that I finally had some time to relax and catch up from the Thanksgiving Holiday, I can FINALLY play catch up on the millions of blog posts I need to finish!!

Thursday, November 1, 2012
Tell us your favourite quotation and why.

One of my all-time favorite quotes would have to be from good old Dr. Seuss!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

I’ve always loved this quote. A good reminder that you can go wherever you want to in life if you are willing to put the effort into it and steer yourself in that direction in which you want to go.

Friday, November 2, 2012
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

I don’t have any exact location in mind, but somewhere warm, tropical and beachy would be nice. :-

Monday, November 5, 2012
What are your thoughts about tomorrow’s election in the United States?

Ummmmm No comment on this one… DON’T even get me started on this one… >:/

Tuesday, November 6, 2012
If you were President of the United States, what would be your first act in office?

I would change sooo many things if I was the President of the United States… the FIRST thing I would most likely do, is help out the poor schools in our nation that are suffering terribly. I would take a lot of the money that goes to these big wigs that mishandled our money as it is and put it directly into the hands of the EDUCATORS, the ones that ACTUALLY TEACH our students. NOT to the folks in the district offices, who most likely would also use the funds to their own personal advantage and NOT towards the students it was originally intended for… I would make sure that without a doubt the money went into the schools to REDUCE class sizes (30-33 KINDERGARTEN students in ONE classroom with ONE teacher with NO HELLP?? THAT IS INSANE!!!!) Yet, I  SEE. IT. EVERYDAY. It’s not cool folks. And its YOUR CHILDREN that are suffering from this (as well as the teacher attempting to teach this many students at once) I also would make sure to put in Principals that are NOT so disconnected with the classroom and give off such unfriendly, COLD vibes (just an FYI to any principals out there… treating your subs this way is the QUICKEST way to LOSE ANY GOOD SUBS like myself from EVER wanting to go to “YOUR” school EVER AGAIN (well as long as “YOU” are in charge anyways) and would be why your school always gets the “bad” subs. I recently had a sour experience with a principal that had NEVER heard of the game “SILENT BALL” REALLY?? How could you have EVER been in a classroom and NOT know what this is??  I grew up in this said school district, and we played it in ALL of my classes growing up (sitting on our BOTTOMS on TOP of the desks!! GASP! SO DANGEROUS according to the above mentioned principal) UMM sorry, but that’s just how you PLAY THE GAME if you even KNEW WHAT IT WAS!  We ALWAYS played sitting on our desk and I’ve NEVER been told that it was not ok to do this and ESPECIALLY not in such a DEGRADING way with the principal making a point to tell me that SHE was the principal and this was “HER” school… anyways this principal was just looking at me like she had never seen or heard of this rainy day game and was NOT VERY NICE AT ALL ABOUT IT!! 🙁  You can check that school off my list of schools I want to return to! Even though the kids were awesome… awful administration is SO NOT worth it. There’s a thing called KINDNESS, some people (hint hint) need to use more of that! It’s really not that hard to smile and be polite to your guest teachers that have sacrificed a lot to make the pennies that we are currently making as this is NOT where the majority of us had planned to be by now in our careers due to all of these so-called “budget-cuts” that I am sure could have been avoided if the upper administration had done their jobs correctly and not been so greedy with their own paychecks as their main priorities… We got our credentials to TEACH in the classroom full-time with our OWN classes, not to stay up all hours of the night clicking away on the sub website to maybe get a job working at your school bright and early the next day with little or no sleep depending on how late we had to stay up to get said job!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Talk about the last compliment you received.

Sometime last week, from one of the kids about how pretty my hair/shirt I was wearing was… heh  You’ll get that a lot when you work with kids… don’t know if they are truly being sincere or if they are just trying to suck up to you though!! lol 😉

Thursday, November 8, 2012
If you could have any job (and instantly have the training and qualifications to do it), which job would you want?

I’d love to have my own property with a full service hunter/jumper barn and train horses/riders from beginners on up through the Grand Prix Level. Yeah, that would be nice. To be my OWN boss would be even nicer. I would also love to just blog full-time, if I could make a living from it. That would be perfect. 🙂

Friday, November 9, 2012
If you could change one thing about your life right now, what would it be?

That it wouldn’t be so hard to find a full-time job. Wether it be with blogging, tutoring, or teaching (or whatever else!) I would just LOVE to have a stable, full-time job so I can finally move on with my life, instead of living in limbo 24/7 and not knowing when I can “move-on” with my life and get my own place and everything else I dreamt I’d be doing with my life by now.

Monday, November 12, 2012
Where is your favourite place to blog?

In my room.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done?

Started substitute teaching, since there haven’t been any full time teaching positions… Trust me. If you’ve been in a classroom, then you know what I mean… If not, get yourself into a classroom. Even if it’s just for 30 minutes or so. You’ll see in an instant that you need to be an extremely brave person to step into some of these classrooms… you never know what you are getting yourself into, until it’s too late to back out of it.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Tell us about the best meal you ever cooked.

Steak, pasta salad, fresh veggies, potatoes, and cheesecake. YUM! 🙂

Thursday, November 15, 2012
Tell us about your favourite pet.

I love all my pets I’ve ever had. Mandy (my first dog) whom I loved to pieces. Sadly my parents gave her away, which broke my heart as I never understood how you could do that to a member of the family.  Then Paige, a Bernese Mountain Dog we had for almost 13 years, and our cat Moe (a black and white tuxedo cat that you’ve probably seen tons of pics of if you follow my blog, Facebook page, Twitter, and/or Instagram accounts!) He’s been a part of the family since he was 8 weeks old, and he is now 15 (will be 16 in April!!). Then there are the countless stray animals I took in, to try to find their families or at least find them a nice new home as sadly my parents wouldn’t let me keep them all!! You also cannot forget all the horses I’ve met, ridden and leased throughout the years… I love them all just as much. <3

 Allie having a grand old time in the turnout!!

Moe in his Spiderman Costume!!

Friday, November 16, 2012
Would you buy your dream house if the price was right BUT you also were told it was inhabited by ghosts?

Yes, I don’t see why I wouldn’t at least give it a try to see if we could make it work for us or not. I mean it is my DREAM HOUSE, right??

Monday, November 19, 2012
If you had to get locked in some place (book store, amusement park, etc) overnight alone, where would you choose to be locked in?

Disneyland. How can you feel alone at Disneyland?? 🙂

Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Talk about the opening of your favorite book.

I have so many favorite books… my mind is on overload right now and I can’t think straight of an opening to just ONE of the books. 😉 Some of my favorites include; Bridge to Terabithia, Where the Red Fern Grows, Digital Fortress, Devil in the White City, The Help, and The Pillars of the Earth.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Where is your favourite place to read?

Somewhere nice and cozy.

Thursday, November 22, 2012
When was the last time that you cried?  Why?

It’s been awhile since I don’t cry very often. This was very memorable though so I remember it very clearly. Last December when my EX-boyfriend made me cry because he did not like the lovely simple BLACK cocktail dress I was wearing to go to his company’s christmas party… he didn’t like black, so he demanded me to change. I refused. I know I wasn’t in the wrong at all and we needed to leave so we wouldn’t be late. What I had on was perfectly acceptable. He refused to leave and continued to criticize what I was wearing… Funny thing since when we FINALLY did get there (and NO I DID NOT CHANGE) EVERY. OTHER. GIRL. there had on some kind of black cocktail dress, skirt or outfit on as well!!! Needless to say, I wasn’t with him much longer after that. NO WOMAN deserves to be treated that way and talked down to in such a manner as I was that night!

Friday, November 23, 2012
What is the hardest word for you to say?

I don’t know, I do remember though one of the teachers I had during my student teaching had said one of the hardest words for people to say in general is “picture” since the way most people actually say it sounds more like “pitcher.”

Monday, November 26, 2012
Do you speak more than one language?  How did you learn the additional languages?

Not really.. I speak English, and a little bit of Spanish. 2 years in middle school, 2 years in high school, and 1 semester in college…. yeah. I still can’t speak it worth anything. I wish they would have concentrated more on the speaking part in school… not so much the writing. Since I can write it much better than I can speak the language!! >:/

Tuesday, November 27, 2012
If you could instantly know any language in the world, which one would it be?

Since I am half Sweedish, I’d love to instantly know how to speak Sweedish!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Tell us about the worst trip you ever took.

I’ve never really had a truly horrible trip. The worst part about the traveling, is the getting there part. Especially if you are traveling by plane… I’ve had BRAND NEW luggage get ruined by airline workers just tossing it as they please, missed flights because of silly human errors that should NOT have happened (like the airlines not realizing they were going to have to take off on the shorter runway, which they SHOULD have already known about considering the longer runway was CLOSED for REPAIRS!! )Because of this, the plane weighed too much for us to take off. So they had to defuel 4,000 pounds of jet fuel OFF of the plane in order for us to take off…. I could go on and on about all the joys I’ve had dealing with airlines. Yep. Lots of fun those airlines…

Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tell us about three new blogs you found this year.

I’ve found so many awesome blogs this year, from all the amazing friends I’ve made. Here are three of them that I like to read a lot!! 🙂

Rockin Mama,   Metropolitan Money Pit, and Confessions of a Fat Girl

Friday, November 30, 2012
What has been the hardest part about blogging daily?

LOL Considering this is the first time I’ve made it to the computer to blog about this…. I’d have to say LIFE!!??!

LA County Fair Food Preview and Four Pack of Fair Tickets–Giveaway Ends 09/08!

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The LA County Fair officially started today at 3pm with rides, games, shows, concerts,  new animal exhibits and of course, a huge variety of food.  Every year, the food is a huge draw at the fair, and this year will not disappoint as they are more than prepared to appeal to every palette and appetite.  You will see the usual fried fare from longtime fair favorites such as Chicken Charlie, but the fair does have some Gluten-Free options, one of my personal favorites; Terri’s Berries and then there is the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Marketplace. The Fair will run through September 30th.  Fun events and concerts are planned throughout the entire month and are sure to thrill and wow us.  This past Tuesday I was invited out to a food preview, and oh boy, make sure to wear comfortable clothing to the fair so that you can fully enjoy all the food the fair has to offer.  I grew up going to this fair, and by the tastes of food and drink I’ve had the pleasure of indulging in, I am so excited to attend the fair again this year.

There was just a handful of vendors on hand, but nevertheless it was a FANTASTIC sampling of all things fair food, so without further ado, here are the much anticipated  photos of the fair food we got to sample (Which is why you’re here I’m sure is for the fair food photos, not to hear me ramble on and on endlessly… 😉 You can find these food vendors while out and about at the fair this year.

1) Ten Pound Buns

Ten Pound Buns makes wonderful  freshly made sourdough bread topped with all sorts of delicious toppings.  They have a variety of options including BBQ chicken, the ultimate with everything on it,  pepperoni, bacon Nutella, meat lovers, jalapeno and cheese, to just their original with cheese. They have 7 different varieties to choose from. I decided on the BBQ Chicken, it was absolute perfection. The sauce was not too sweet, not too smoky.

The BBQ Chicken

I also had a sample of Jamie’s Bacon Nutella (be sure to check out her blog post about the food preview for more mouth-watering pics. 🙂  I was hesitant to try this, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well the sweet and salty mixed together.

2) Skinny Girl Bar and Food
Next stop was, “Skinny Bar,” as I needed something to wash down that amazing BBQ Chicken creation.  New to the fair this year, these fabulous and delicious cocktails are low-calorie, but still pleasantly flavorful.  These drinks are especially designed for women and come in margaritas, lemonades, and cosmos. My favorite was the margarita. Very refreshing on such a WARM summer’s night!!!

3) Tasti Chips

Tasti Chips with Bacon Cheddar Cheese

For all of you Gluten-Free fans out there, make sure to make a stop at Tasti Chips!! These crispy “Tasti Chips” are made in peanut oil and are completely gluten-free!  My advice to everyone out there is to ADD the Bacon Cheddar cheese to your order (NOTE TO SELF: the cheese isn’t gluten-free!) You can also get them topped with  numerous other toppings if you so desire.

4) Big Kona Huna Shaved Ice

Big Kona Huna Shaved Ice

Hawaiian Shaved Ice has always been a favorite, and this night was no different. The Shaved Ice was a big hit and  everyone loved their personal creations.  What makes it “Hawaiian” you may be asking yourself? Well, they take Sweet and Condensed Milk  and pour a very generous amount of it over your masterpiece of flavors for you.

One of the personal favorites of the evening ammong our group was their “Root Beer” Flavor. Here I tried their Bahama Mama and Pina Colada flavors. Very tropical and just want I wanted on such a WARM warm night!

5) Ice Cream and Funnel Cakes

Always a fair favorite, goodies abound of ice cream creations and funnel cakes that will be here for you to enjoy throughout the fair. You can never go wrong with a dipped cone or funnel cake with powdered sugar or a fruit topping!!

6) Monster Grill

Burgers, corn dogs, and fries, Oh my!! You can get your corn dog on a stick fix here as well as lots and lots of fries. Oh and did I mention you can get fries here?  😉

7) Harold & Belle’s to Geaux

Want to try something a little bit different from your typical fair food?  Love some good old Louisiana Creole food straight from New Orleans? Then you  need to stop by this booth.  They had samples of fried catfish, Crawfish Etouffe and for a  delicious dessert they were also dishing up some wonderful bread pudding. This booth was one of my favorites of the night. The Crawfish Etouffe and the bread pudding were both amazing and I will definitely be back for more of this exquisite yumminess!

Crawfish Etouffe

Bread Pudding

8) Chicken Charlie

A long time fair favorite for many who love deep-fried foods.  With deep-fried cookie dough, deep-fried cereal,  deep-fried kool aid ( I STILL want to try this), deep-fried Oreos, deep-fried avocados and for the more adventurous– deep-fried frog legs can you really go wrong?  They even had deep-fried Dodger Dogs! I truly enjoyed the deep-fried cereal! I WILL be back to try the deep-fried Kool Aide as this was not available to sample that night.

Deep Fried Cookie Dough

Deep Fried Cinnamon Toast Crunch

This year they will also be having a “Pineapple Express” location where they will only be serving their  “Naked Pineapple Bowl.” As I have been trying to eat healthier lately, this was one of my  genuine favorites of the entire night. This delectable bowl comes with rice, pineapple, and eight pieces of shrimp. I love anything with pineapple in it and shrimp, so you can’t go wrong with this one.

Naked Pineapple Bowl

9) Fresh Frys

Fresh Frys is a two-time winner of the O.C. Fair’s Outstanding Fair Food award and serves freshly baked French Fries for your enjoyment. They are also well known for their famous Blooming Onions.  However, one thing I was told upon entering the food preview was that I just HAD to try these marshmallow yammies! Sweet potato fries with fluffy, gooey, marshmallow cream goodness drizzled all over them.  The sweet was just what I needed after having the saltier Tasti Chips. Here is a pic of their marshmallow yammies. YUM or should I say YAM?? 😉

10) Pink’s Hot Dogs

The oh so famous Pink’s Hot Dogs are back at the fair for another year. Home of the world’s best chili dog, among other favorites doused in ketchup, mustard, onions and relish. That evening they were sampling their Matt Kenseth hot dog with jalapenos, onions, guacamole, spicy mustard and ketchup.

11) C’est La Vie/Flavors of France

Last, but certainly not least, for the first time at the LA County Fair is “Flavors of France” from C’est La Vie.  These amazing artisans have some great restaurants right here in our own backyard in SoCal; as they are located in Laguna Beach and are here at the fair to bring Paris to us.  Their booth is all about delectable combinations like strawberries and Nutella swirled together into a freshly made crepe and other tasty french pastries, they have some spectacular talent with the endless creations they came up with. Admittedly, being the sweet tooth that I am, this was the first vendor I stopped at and I just had to have a piece of their cheesecake before having anything else. It did not disappoint, and I am pretty picky about my cheesecake! 😉 Chocolate Mousse, Fruit Tarts, Napoleons, Cheesecakes, and many more dazzling options await you from these fine folks.  You must make it one of your stops at the fair, I know I will.  You will not be disappointed. Shown below is the Chocolate Bomb, Fruit Tart, and Chocolate Mousse. Above are their fruit tarts and Napoleons.

A beautiful sunset at the LA County Fair.

The Fair is here just in time for the long Labor Day weekend, at the Fairplex in Pomona, 1101 W. McKinley Avenue, and runs through Sept. 30. This is the earliest opening date ever for the fair, now going on its 90th year.

NOW, what you have ALL been waiting for!!! ONE lucky reader has a chance to win a 4 Pack of Tickets to the LA County Fair!

Retail Value: Max retail value $68 Dollars

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment letting me know what fair food item has your mouth watering and eager to try!

Optional Entries: Leave an additional comment for each entry you’ve done below.

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Like LA County Fair on Facebook

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No purchase necessary, void where prohibited.  Must be a California Resident and be 18 years of age or older.  Winner will be chosen through the use of random.org and will be notified via email.  Giveaway ends at 9pm PST on 09/08/2012.  All other rules can be found here.

Disclosure: I was invited out to the Media Food Preview Night at the LA County Fair.  All food and drinks were provided to me for free, and I was provided with a 4 pack of tickets and a parking pass to the LA County Fair. All opinions stated above are my own.

Stay tuned for more Fair Fun!! 😉

“Home Sweet Home” at the Orange County Fair

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The rides, the food, the exhibits, the animals, the shows! There is something for everyone at the fair and it is one of my favorite summertime hang-out spots to enjoy some good food, good company of friends and family, and some top-notch entertainment or a lazy summer afternoon of wandering around the exhibits, rides, games, or just sitting back and taking it all in.  This is the last week of the fair, so if you have not already had the chance to go, then make sure you head down there by Sunday August 12th!!

Here are some of my favorite things about the OC County Fair:

1. The FOOD!! You cannot go to the fair and NOT have any of the spectacular food options they have. Ranging from the healthy to the not-so healthy, whatever you fancy, I can guarantee you will find something delicious! Fresh Berries. Roasted Corn on the Cob. Deep-fried. Wrapped in Bacon. On-a-stick. Battered. Breaded. Dipped in chocolate. Eating at the Fair is a unique experience. 😉

Two of my favorite things!! Chocolate and STRAWBERRIES!!

I ended up getting a basket of  nice ripe, juicy berries and a chocolate covered strawberry!! YUM!

Bacon Wrapped… everything… I just love this sign.

Fresh Roasted Corn

OMG this was amazing!! Pulled-Pork Waffle Sandwich!! Totally curbed my craving for a funnel cake for dessert! So I ended up getting a chocolate dipped vanilla cone instead. I WILL get my funnel cake fix at the LA County Fair next month! 😉

My Dipped Cone… notice I still managed to get my funnel cake in the picture as well…. 😉

2. The ANIMALS! I’m sure you all know by now that I am a HUGE animal lover. I’m a sucker for a cute critter. The Centennial Farm and Petting Zoos are both great places to make some new four-legged friends.

3. The ENTERTAINMENT! As if the super adorable animals were not enough, since I could easily stay all day just visiting and making friends with them, the fair has endless opportunities for some breath-taking, action packed entertainment. One of my favorites since I was a young child, is the Peking Acrobats. I have to watch them whenever I make it out to the OC Fair!

4. The RIDES! What’s the fair without some exhilarating rides with some of the best views around of Orange County?

Some of the amazing views you will find when you catch a ride on the Sky Ride at night! Just DON’T look down below if you are afraid of heights! 😉

The La Grand Farris Wheel

View from atop the Ferris Wheel

5. FACE PAINTING!! If you didn’t notice already, my friends and I all got our faces painted. Being a kid at heart, the fair is the place to be a kid again and you can get away with doing silly, fun stuff like that. So it is NOT just for kids. Best part was, it was only $5 and we kept hearing comments from others on how cute our Hello Kitty’s were. 🙂

Mary, from Along Comes Mary getting her face painted!

Group Pic!

Close-Up of how my Hello Kitty turned out. I loved it.

6. All of the EXHIBITS & SHOPPING!! I didn’t have time to get pictures of all the Exhibits. I will have to cover that this weekend when I go again. 😉 There are TONS of awesome and unique items at the fair that you won’t find anywhere else. The fair truly is a one of a kind experience that everyone can enjoy.

Have YOU gone to the fair yet? If you’re not in SoCal, have you been to the fair this summer near you? What’s your favorite things about the fair? I’d LOVE to hear all about it! 🙂