hiking is just walking with a change in elevation....

 Boise city in the valley. (To make any city sound hicklike, put the word city after it.  Boston City, Miami city.  Also must be said with twang.  It works for even the flashiest of cities.  Exception: New York City.

 I crossed a guy wearing the exact same hat as me, considered making a comment like "nice hat!LOL!!", but he was running much faster than I...

Question:  Is an activity (such as hiking) still athletic if it can be done in a flannel?  Discuss.

Is what Mr. Boyfriend and I decided on Saturday when we went for an uphill jaunt in the foothills this past Saturday morn.  We woke up at the crack of 8 am (which is considered sleeping in at our household), and felt like doing some moderate hiking.  We drove to a trail head out off Bogus Basin, and  it was so delightfully breezy and warm and the sun was shining.  Despite us feeling slightly pathetic because we, two young healthy kiddies in their 20's, were doing this thing called "hiking" (aka uphill walking), while multiple 40-and-50-somethings with their wind resistant marathon gear, jogged past us in both directions.  Which made us question, what is hiking?  We both decided it was walking from one elevation to another, but hiking sounds much more rugged and athletic.  So really, we were hiking.  I mean, which would you say?  I just went on a treacherous, physically demanding, North-Face-esque hiking expedition, or I walked from point A to point B, which was slightly higher up than point A.  Personally I'm going to take the North-Facey option.  Never stop exploring.

Notice Nick's face in picture dos.  That is his "I'm not really interested in smiling for this picture, this is just a girlfriend requested mandatory picture smile" smile.  It is featured in many holiday and vacation pictures we have together.

Did somebody say vacation?!

Why yes, yes I did.  Because it reminds me that boyfriend up there and I are going on a 4 year anniversary/spring break vacay!! (Do people use the word vacay?  I feel like they do...)  We're going to go stay with my grandpa in wine country/San Francisco area.  And I'm excited times a billion.  There will be many pictures .  Hopefully enough stories so I won't have to go two weeks! without blogging again (oh, you thought I wasn't going to go there, but then I did.... awkward...)  Sorry bout that.

I supposed that's almost all I have to say.  Oh, and this past weekend I played a game called "but a bunch of whatever you have into the croc pot and hope something edible is turned out 8 hours lately"!  Are you intrigued?  I knew you would be...

Let's hear it for the boy

You know the girls who are all "Blah blah blah my boyfriend/husband is soooo great, he did this and this and this for me, and I'm so spoiled and then he bought me a giant golden chocolate fondue fountain, and then he did all my laundry and folded it while I ate chocolate dipped brownies, and then he gave me a unicorn for a "just because" present, and he said we could watch TLC all evening while he gave me foot rubs, and then he told me about how much he can't wait to have babies one day, and how he is afraid NOT to be committed.  Isn't that just great?!?"

And then you look at her and you're all, "Yeah.  That's great.  Oh, P.S. nobody cares so shut it..."

Well, I'm certainly NOT trying to be like that.

But I do give credit where credit is due.  And Nicklaus made both the above dinner of baked lemon garlic salmon, with garlic roasted red potatoes, and spinach-greens salad with basalmic dressing* (*It has been decided by me that coming up with fancy names for food dishes is JUST as important as cooking them...).  Me = impressed.  Then he proceeded to bake banana bread via his grandmothers recipe for dessert.  I would try to describe how delicious it all was. But I would not do it justice.

There were no chocolate fountains involved, but it was still, nonetheless, like wow.

Let's hear it for the boy, let's give the boy a ha-aaaaand.*

*In reference to the original Kevin Bacon Footloose, not that new, re-make crap.  BTW, my degree of separation from Kev is now a 3 due to recent events.  Which is pretty awesome.     

The End.

Oscar's best and worst dressed according to someone with no fashion credentials...

Last night was of course the Academy Awards which, really, is the only awards show I ever watch.  My parents are pretty cute about it and we all fill out ballots (despite the fact that we have no idea what we're talking about) and it's a pretty darn good time.  Of course, we all LOVE to love/hate what the stars are wearing.  And before I get the whole "What do you know?" thing, I'm gonna start out with "nothing."  I know close to nothing really about high fashion and dress design and blah blah blah, but I do have eyeballs.  So I'm gonna say that gives me a little opportunity say when something looks awesome (in my opinion) and when something looks like a hot mess, minus the hot.  Which equals just a mess.  ALSO, I understand the whole "Who really cares, there are SOOO many more pressing issues than what some people wore to a big party" bit, I'm gonna agree with you.  But I don't feel like talking about any of those things at this moment.  So without further ado, here is the best and worst of the Oscar's according to me. Oh, and I didn't include the designers because a.) I don't know most of them, b.) I don't really care that much.

worst

Melissa McCarthy - Hey lady, I adore you.  You made me crack up in Bridesmaids, to the point that i almost* peed.  (*Almost was added in to avoid my personal embarrassment, but I may or may not have actually peed. Minus the may not...)  I understand that a curvier figure is going to be slightly more challenging that those other skinny minny starlets who wear whatevs, but this is definitely not the best I've seen you in.  The cape sleevey thing, I really just don't quite understand it.  And I don't like it. That's gotta go.

Anna Faris - You're adorable, but the hair is not awesome.  And that dress is very boring and cheap and tacky.  I'm sorry, but I probably could have picked up the same thing if I wanted to at Forever 21, which makes you silly for not saving your buckets of dough.

Jennifer Lopez - I don't like the arm cutouts and I'm about 98.5% positive I witnessed nip partway through your presentation.  And is it just me, or do you wear that bun thing a lot?  Very Jenny from the block, but let's mix it up a little bit.  And -10 points for doing that "I'm going to turn around and make everyone look at my bum while I present" thing.  You really need to make someone else's award about YOU?  Disappointed.

Emma Stone - I'm just not a fan of the dress with your hair color.  I L-O-V-E LOVED your pale peach dress and blonde hair you wore that one time.  (Anyone know what I'm talking about?)  But this bow thing on your neck.  Yeah, I'm not feelin' the love this time around.

Enough with that negativity!

best

Mila Jovovich - Asymmetrical sleeves are a little hit and miss with me, but this is definitely a hit and battleship sink.  I love the soft, glamorous hair that seemed trendy this year, and the red lips give the pop of color that her dress is lacking.  Kudos, Mila.  Kudos.

Cameron Diaz - Despite your involvement in making the presentation of Best Make-Up into a "look at me" joke (shame, shame), you did look stunning while you did it.  Beige has received a lot of criticism for being boring, but with her bronzy glow I think it looks bomb.

Giuliana Rancic - I think this dress is absolutely stunning.  The glitz, the flowy, the makeup, the hair.  I can really think of nothing other than perfection.  And for that, I salute you.

Penelope Cruz - This woman here always seems to be one of my favorites at award shows.  I feel like I have never seen her not looking beautiful.  The color is gorgeous, and there's that glamorous, vintagey hair I love.  

unsure

Viola Davis - I adore the natural hair.  People are used to seeing her in a wig, I understand, but I still am annoyed with everyone criticizing her for wearing her hair naturally.  You can't blame Hollywood for celebs setting false expectations for beauty for young girls, then get upset and bash someone for going au naturale.  On the other hand, this dress is still iffy for me.  Color: exquisite.  And I do like the bottom of the skirt,  but let's be honest, I'm seeing more than I would care to of the twins.  And I'm not even a prude.

Michelle Williams - I also think this color is fabulous, and I like that she's sporting her platinum Marilyn-esque locks,  but I'm not sure I'm crazy about that extra little skirty thing going on.  No, in fact I think I can say I do not like it much at all.

Stacy Whatever Her Name Is George Clooney's Girlfriend (That's your name from now on) - Once again, color yay!  Shape, possibly a nay...  You're a beautiful girl, and I love the hair and BASIC shape of the dress.  Just not quite feeling that whirlpool in your sea of gold.

Natalie Portman - You ladyfriend, are one of my favorites.  And I applaud you for your vintage Dior choice.  However my jury is still out on the polka dots...

Wow.  So that's where I'm at with this whole Oscar's fashion thing.  Congratulations if you made it all the way through!  Now I am going to go about my day in my holy socks and rag tag jeans.

Happy Monday!!

cheater, cheater, frozen yogurt eater

So you know that whole chestnut where I said no sugar.  Well I basically cheated.  Last night, after going to the performance of one of our favorite littles, we joined him and his family for dinner!  And to celebrate his outstanding acting performance, we naturally followed up dinner with some Blue Cow Frozen Yogurt.  BUT, a percentage of the profits went to a local elementary school!  I think that counts for something.  AND, last time I had sugar I did not KNOW it was my last time for a while, so I didn't enjoy as much as I should have.  AND, those are about the only excuses I can think of...

SO!  No sugar starting.....

now.
For reals this time.




Plus look at boyfriend's happy frozen yogurt eating face.  What an enabler.  He didn't even try to stop me from consuming that sweet sugary mess.  He practically forced me...  

Kickin' the habit

So, word on the street (Sesame, that is), is that Lent is comin' right on up.  And while I don't celebrate Lent as a part of any religion really, I do think it is good to, once in a while, see where in your life you can make sacrifices.  Almost like a mind over matter, test your self-discipline kind of thing.  So I am vowing to, at LEAST until Easter, and, hopefully maybe don't count on it, I will continue after.  Basically what I'm getting at is I'm going to be done with refined sugary oh-so-corn-syrupy treats.  No more orange creamsicles, which have become quite the obsession in our household, no candy, no cake, no dessert really.  Which is why you see me above so distraught.

BUT I am hoping that my body i going to take on that super hero like feeling inside that people say you get when you stop eating like a 6-year-old and start being a grown-up... Sometimes, from being a nanny full-time, I forget that I am not a child and while it is cute for my littles to get all hopped up on their Valentine's candy, it is less cute when I do it... It's mostly just sad...

BUT OF COURSE!  Without fail, this morning a stumbled upon these little sweetums the girls have:

and they are like, really freakin' good.  SO that's my last little bit of sweet sugary bliss.  Promise.

And that's all I got!

I eat what?!

Ok, maybe I'm a little late to the party here, but I just watched Food, Inc, and needless to say I was mortified.  I've heard bits and pieces of information about what this documentary is about, and I thought I had heard it all.  Yeah, meat in hotdogs is yucky, I get it.  Yeah, of course eating organically is a healthier option, duhhhh.  I really thought going into this, everything I saw was either something I had heard about, or something I suspected. But little did I know.  The information, images, and facts I learned from this movie were shocking.  The way we are raised thinking the romanticized idea of the rural corn farmer, or pig farmer, or cow farmer, still exists, when really only a handful, a small handful mind you, of companies control virtually all of the food you seen on the shelves of the supermarket.  Not to MENTION the effect these food companies have on the environment and our health.  The USDA and FDA claim to protect consumers, but just who's best interests are they looking out for really?  And the way vegetables, fruits, and animals are SO often genetically mutated, and they
DO NOT have to tell you.  I mean, how much of what we are eating is real?  Where's the food, bro?

Personally, I love the Capital City Public Market that takes place in downtown boise in the spring, summer, and fall.  I love going, but purchase food there occasionally.  But this movie made me realize just how important it is to support farmers markets and local farms.  Economically, environmentally, and just plain for our own health.  Believe me, I'm not pretending to be a health nut, organic guru.  I mean, you're talkin' to the girl whose high school diet consisted mostly of crunchwrap supremes.  But I'm learning, and if you want to too, here are some websites that I like:

Capital City Public Market

Peaceful Belly Farm

Think Boise First

Boise Co-op

Our V-Day

*Sorry for the blurinessa and funky greenish looking hair

There once was a time, long ago, when we would get SUPER fancied up, go to an expensive romantic dinner, exchange expensive romantic gifts, probably get some expensive romantic dessert if we were feeling EXTRA expensive and romantic, and then proceed to some romantic smooching (just sayin').  But then, somewhere between a LONG time ago (which actually was only really like a year ago) we decided, hey hunnie buns, we are probably going to spend lots of Valentine's Days together, maybe being so expensive and romantic is a little unoriginal these days.  So this Valentine's Day we took a little different approach.  

First, Nicklaus had a basketball game to coach, which I went and watched.  I could say that they got their booties kicked, but they asked Nick at the beginning of the season if when they lost a game, they could just pretend like the won anyway (what an amazing concept courtesy of 5th/6th graders, I think I will start applying to my life.  Oh, I didn't get the highest test grade in the class?  I'm gonna pretend like I DID!  Take that!), so I'm gonna say that they actually KICKED bootay.

Afterwards we got dressed up,  and may I say Nicklaus looked preeeetty dapper!  Then stopped by the grocery store to pick up a lil sompin' sompin', then we cooked ourselves dinner!  You dressed up and got all fancy just to cook dinner, you may ask?  WHY YES.  That is precisely how it went.  I think it's important to, no matter how long you've been together, never forget that it's so fun to get all dolled up for each other (even if you decide to change into pajammies for dinner, but that is besides the point.)  We sat across from each other and ate our chicken and mushrooms in a white wine sauce, over a bed of wild rice, and zucchini.  Which, was DE-LICIOUS!  Hate to toot our own horns, but toot tooooot!  

Then there was the Valentine's episode of Glee and mucho snuggling.  Just writing that sentence makes me wish I could be watching Glee and snuggling right about now.  

So that's it folks! It was a low-key, comfortable, romantic, good-eatin' Valentine's.  And, by the way, it totally rocked.  But I guess I'm pretty lucky, because everyday is pretty much Valentine's Day when you've got a dreamboat like this guy:

        Doesn't this picture just say, "Well hello ladies, my name is Nick, and I'll be your romance tour guide this evening..."  Just me?  Coool.