End of Summer Village Party!

I've blogged about the Village Parties before.  They are beyond amazing.  It's like going to a club, but in my complex and the food is free.  Best. Club. Ever.

This time, the passed appetizers were AMAZING. They were doing "deconstructed" versions of all sorts of foods.  And everything was on sticks.  It was so cute and so clever.  At one point I was literally hunting down one of the waiters for the corn dog.  That makes me sound like a crazy person, but OMG it was ridiculously amazing.

On the left is a deconstructed "chicken and waffle."  These were Andrew's favorite, though he looks pre-ty happy with the corn dog on the right!

Here Andrew models a "Potato Tornado" (fried potato on a stick) and a "pastrami sandwhich (complete with mustard and pastrami) yummmm!

He clearly enjoyed the food.

Then we began the dancing.  I like to think of myself as a dance machine.  When I was in my early 20s I hated going dancing at a club.  I grew up dancing, so I felt weird without choreography.  Though, I would have probably felt weirder WITH choreography at a club. ha.  It took me a while to grow into my dance-machine-status, but now I'm on the dance floor until the very last song (with the exception of running off for corn-dogs).

haha. It looks like he dances like a zombie.
They  totally fill the floor  with smoke!

Obligatory sweaty dance picture

I clearly learned 2 VERY IMPORTANT lessons tonight.  1. I take a lot of pictures of my husband and of food and 2. if we take a picture together, it should CLEARLY be taken BEFORE the dancing!!!!

Becoming a Lady Who Lunches..

Though my lunches are rapidly coming to an end.  Summer is almost over BOOOOOOOOO!

Because my mom is an aide at a school, we get to hang during the summers.  Monday I had to head out to Laguna Beach to pick up Andrew's new glasses ('cause that's how we roll - eye doctors on the beach!), so I invited my mom for a day at the beach.

We decided to hit up Crystal Cove in Newport/Laguna area.  There are times when I COULDN'T LOVE So Cal more, and today was one of those days!  The area down on the beach is so cute - there are a bunch of little 1920's cottages that you can rent and there is one restaurant- The Beachcomber.  The day was fab and delish!

Working a Food Bank

I grew up in a family that volunteers for everything.  From working grad-night, volunteering at various events, working carnivals, volunteering time, to even dressing up as Clifford the Big Red Dog.  I have done them all.  Even the husband has been gently nudged (or forced...) to join in the family volunteering.  My parents are the kind of people that still are actively involved in the boy scout troop that my brother "graduated" from 4 years ago.  They're sort of crazy people.

My mom has been trying to get me to join the same charity group as her for years.  I'm just too busy during the school year, but Andrew has been working so much, that I think another activity would be good...so I've been seriously pondering it and am attending some of their events.

Thursday night my mom and I went to a food bank to sort food.

It was pretty much back breaking work, but I got to hang out with my mom, catch up with a HS friend, AND help out people that need the help.  I'm just one step closer to being a woman who lunches and does philanthropy work.  I'm becoming my mother....

AntiGravity Yoga

Last week I took this class with my friend, Megan.

I'm pretty sure I looked exactly like these ladies....
and not at all awkward or man-ish...

This was TOTALLY my favorite pose.  It felt so good.  I kept
 putting my hands on the floor though, cause my brain kept freaking out.
  I don't think it enjoyed being upside quite as much as I did....

Obviously those last 2 pictures aren't my own, I couldn't exactly get a self portrait while we were doing it.  And, let's be honest, I didn't look ANYTHING like those women.  I'm sure I was all red-faced with messy hair and sweatpants.  Luckily I had to take off my glasses to do these poses, so I literally couldn't see what I looked like.  phew!

Here's what the studio looks like:

Best use of a giant warehouse!

At first I was more than a little nervous about the putting-my-whole-body-weight-in-a-fabric-hammock-then-hanging-upside-down business, but they assured me that I would be fine.  Megan had taken the class 3 times before and also assured me that I would not be on my face at anytime during the class.  I trusted them (and rightly so, there was never any floor-to-face-time....)

So it's like yoga in a hammock.  It was a pretty good yoga like workout, with some minor cardio at the end.  I was REALLY feeling it for the next few days.  The ONLY thing that I didn't like was the bruised-like-feeling on my pelvis for the next few days (from, you know, the just my pelvis holding up my whole body business...) But it was a super fun class to take with a friend! :)

OC Fair Shenanigans

Every single year of my life, I have gone to the Orange County Fair.  Well, I lie.  The year we got married we couldn't go, since our honeymoon was 5.5 weeks and we missed the entire fair!  When I was younger we would ALWAYS ride the rides, but then once I hit high school, I decided they were pretty unsafe.  But then the last few years I guess I changed my mind because I'm back to riding them all again.  They're still super unsafe, but also super fun.  I figure I've lived a pretty good life.  Well, that and Andrew hasn't gone with me for the last 2 years in a row (he's been working and working and working), so he's not there to tell me how unsafe they are (he is not a fan of any sort of roller coaster, especially those put together for only a month).

The OC Fair is basically a place to fill your arteries, have a chance to pet some farm animals (since we are all city kids), and enjoy the rides.  Which, we did all 3 to the very fullest.

I don't know if it's because I'm old now, but I thought the fair was SUPER crowded this year.  It was a Wednesday night, but we drove around for like 35 minutes to find a spot!  It was packed with lots of OC residents.....many had very interesting (putting it lightly) looks about them.  People watching is one of my favorite fair activities!

WARNING:  the following pictures have all been fried enough to clog the arteries of a whole army.  HOWEVER, in our defense, it's the fair!  Also, all 7 of us shared!!!!

First, we started with this little fried dough that is very new to the fair world:

It basically tasted like a sweet, kind of cherry flavored donut.  It was OK, but since everyone has been talking about it, I'm glad we tried it......

Deep Fried Kool-Aid?

Next we moved onto many other fried things.......

GIANT donut with maple & bacon on the top.  My mother, who only eats veggies
 & string cheese totally bought this one.  She described it as like breakfast that all
touches.  I was not such a fan.

Nest was Australian Potatoes.  We get these every year and they are delicious!!!

This place was a treasure-trove of grossness/deliciousness.  You choose.
This is a chocolate covered corn dog & a beer-battered-bacon-sandwich with fries
 cooked in bacon fat.  Both were pretty good and pretty gross at the same time.

Then we went to go visit the farm animals.  We have a big farm on campus at my HS, so I was not all that much intrigued.  However Sara and Jenna were ALL ABOUT petting all the animals.  Then they decided that they really wanted to pet these 6 day old goats.  The mom goat was not having it and kept giving them the stink eye and was clearly ready to bite them. They didn't seem to care.  Then my city-mouse mother decided she was jealous and also wanted to pet one.  Though she was concerned that they all looked "dirty."  She chose this goat because she felt like it looked the cleanest.  Oh silly mom.

There was much hand washing done after these pictures were taken.  The OC is so "city" that there was even a booth where everyone could go and watch a cow be milked.  Kids were oohing and aahing.  It was pretty funny.





Next were the rides.  I am a big fan of all types of rollercoasters.  The higher, faster, scarier, bumpier, etc, the better.

We went on one ride that drops you down (which honestly doesn't seem like it's going to stop.  For real.  We were a little nervous.  It went WAY faster than the one at Knott's.  Funny story about a ride like that.  When I was a kid, we all went on the one on the top of Stratosphere in Vegas.  We bought the picture and left.  When we looked at it later, the woman sitting next to my brother was throwing up in the picture.  Amazing memories!!!)  The other one spun around and then flung us up and down.  It was WAY more fun than it looked!

Then we capped the food & ride filled evening with a lovely family picture.  Yes two were missing (husband=Andrew and bff=James), but otherwise it was really a perfect evening.

Wild Rivers

Yesterday, we took a family trip to Wild Rivers.  Unfortunately my little brother wasn't free, but otherwise we were all there.  My mom wanted to take a family picture while we were there, to which Jenna and I said "Heck No!" (Honestly, who would want their picture taken A. in a bikini and B. After riding slides all day and rocking the drown rat look.

My FAVORITE ride - the blue one - Congo.  We went on it like 10 times!

Half way through the day we sat down for a picnic.  My mom packed the lunch, so we were all a little concerned at what would be in it (she only eats veggies, and only like 2 bites at that).  But, because she loves us, she brought all the fixing for sandwiches, pretzels, cherries, water, soda, etc.  it was SO good!  Funny thing is that my mom brought a table cloth for the table. ha.  She's the only person I know that would do that.

It's the ONLY picture I got during the day!

Afterwards, we went back to my house (since we are pretty much walking distance) to get ready for dinner.  There was some booze and dog snuggling.  Then we headed out to dinner.

Maximus does not look happy in this picture, but he was actually VERY happy when we all walked in.

I made Jenna a Lychee martini.  I've been drinking them since we got home from Hawaii. Yummmm!




Honestly, it was an amazing day.  Mom wasn't planning on going on any rides, but then ended up really enjoying them.  We spent like 45 minutes in the wave pool (even though we are 5 minutes from the real beach), took a few tours of the lazy river, and rode as many rides as we could.  I love hanging out with my parents (which the 14 version of me would be REALLY UPSET to hear me say that).

All in all, this was the perfect day!

To Do

So, I'm officially bored.  I made it until July 22 until it really happened.  Andrew has been working until about 9-10 every night! ZOMG.  That's a long time to entertain myself.  Then my sister started her job this week, so I lost my shopping partner.  AND my best friend has been in Italy all summer.  Arg.  I have gone to the pool, taken a dance glass, shopped the heck out of South Coast Plaza, had lunch/happy hour with friends, organized the house, made a million dr. appointments and done all the stupid stuff that you plan on doing when you "have some time off".  But, alas, I'm officially bored.  (I do, however, have to admit that I'm bored after I start writing a blog, so when I say I'm bored, husband pretty much ignores me).

So, anyway, I'm trying to invent things to keep myself busy.  I decided to get crafty (and not just the gluing my phone back together crafty.....).

I decided to make a "To Do" board for the entry of our house.  I already have a white board hanging there where I write what is for dinner each week (Andrew thought the double board was a little over-kill, but it entertained me a for a little while AND, most importantly, I'm a crazy person.........)

I bought a cork board, painted the border black, painted some  wood cut-out letters white, and painted some little clothespins white.

 I think that I'm going to make a little weekly calender to hang in the middle
 (so we can keep track of the busy weeks), but I really like it!

I figure that I'll use it for stuff that needs to be done.  Right now there's a coupon for Wild Rivers (we're going tomorrow) and my dry cleaning receipt (which I need to pick up next week).  Normally I tape notes to the front door, but this will be much cleaner and more organized.

Now, what makes me really crazy, is that I already totally have this system going in the office:

Monthly Calender on the left & "note" board on the right

Some may same crazy (including, I'm sure, Andrew), however I just say impressively organized.  Right?

Happy Birthday to Jenna!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST FRIEND & SISTER - JENNA!

We have had out ups and downs over the years (and I assume we will be down when she sees the picture that I chose.......bawahahahahaha!), but I couldn't ask for a better sister.

Thanks Mom and Dad....

For XMAS, my parents bought this for Andrew:

Needless to say, he was stoked.

Then, my dad bought him this:

Apparently he has been waiting for this game to come out since 1998.....

This is now what my evenings consist of:

Andrew says - "THANKS!"

I say "Thanks"  <----------- insert sarcasm here.

Thursday Night = Date Night!

Tonight I went on a double date with husband and this lovely couple:

AKA my parents

My mom had gotten tickets to see a play I was super stoked about, and it DID NOT disappoint!  When I was in 5th grade, I read The Giver.  Since then, I have literally read this book about 50 times.  No joke, I love it so much!  The play was pretty good, and I thought it was so cute that it was filled with 11-17 year olds who love the book as much as I did/do!!!!! If you've never read it, I would suggest a read! :)

I <3 it SO much!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magic Mountain

This here is my best friend James (well, besides my husband, of course) - Hi James, I know you read this!!!



Clearly they both think they're cool.

Today we spent the day (with my sister and new boyfriend) at Magic Mountain.  I have not been there in over like 10 years and it was awesome.  There were some rides, however, that scared even me, a roller coaster lover.

Tatsu may have been the most uncomfortable and scary ride I've ever been on.  You lie on your stomach and "fly".  It is insane!!!!  The most uncomfortable part was the fact that the people behind me were staring at my feet for the whole ride.  Made me feel weird! 




This is not us on the ride....we took HORRIBLE pictures on the rides and they were expensive!



 The BEST thing about today were the freaks that come out.  They sell super-hero capes at Magic Mountain, which you know means that there were like a million people wearing them around.  Really?  I offered to purchase one for James, but it meant that he had to wear it proudly for the rest of the day.  Needless to say, he was not interested.  Here was the best specimen we saw all day.

I whipped the phone out to get a picture of her when she whined to her large white boyfriend that she was tired and then proceeded to jump up and wrap her legs around his waist for about 3 minutes.  I missed the dry humping, but got the after picture.  She's sexy.

At the end of the day, we had an awesome time riding rides, staring at wierdo's and spending some quality time together.



Yes, Husband is missing.  Rollercoasters + Husband = lots of vomit.  He decided to just stay home with puppy.
AND, yes I'm wearing a skirt.  That's how I roll.



PS - Their thing at Six Flags is to say "have a 6 flags day." WTF does that even mean? I mean, really????

P.S.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! (only 1.5 weeks late!)

I finally got everything uploaded from my camera.  There was quite a bit of drinking happening (open bar at the party...) and my camera battery was so full.  When I uploaded the pictures, I discovered a 16 minute video of blackness.  We are awesome.

Anyway, we went to Lucky Strike for a night of drinking and bowling.  I would highly recommend this for a New Years party.  Super fun and super funny.

Twins

My sister and I look very similiar, yes. We, however, clearly just have verry strong McNair genes - blonde hair, big nose, blueish eyes. The weirdest thing is that we get asked ALL the time if we are twins.

Here is how the conversation usually goes:

Person: "are you twins"

Us: "No"

Person: "Oh, you look like twins"

Us: "No, we are actually 3.5 years apart"

Person: "Oh, you really look like twins."

I always wonder why they even bother answering. If the answer was yes, what difference would that make in their life?!?

That is, until I see pictures like this:

Time Flies!

I was just looking through old pictures trying to find one specific one...and I came across this picture.

The reason that I post it is two-fold: 1. I cannot believe it has been 2.3 years since this picture was taken, and 2. one of the groomsmen is from LA (and his first time to Orange County was about 1 year before this picture was taken) exclaimed "Damn, Orange County has a lot of blondes!" I laugh every time I think about that...