Let's Go Hiking! Sort Of...

Today was a spontaneous, incredible, beautiful day to the max!

It started off in a pleasant breakfast/lunch meeting with My Johnny and his lovely wife, and ended in my bathtub with a magazine and lots of numbing gel.

Did I hurt? Hell yeah, but it was SO. FUCKING. WORTH IT.

I mean just look at this - GORGEOUS!!

I guess I should explain...

We met up just for a casual nom and chat, and when we got ready to part, my sweet sister-in-law generously offered if I wanted to tag along on their venture to Red Rock State Park.

Needless to say, I was stoked just to get out of the house and see my siblings, but now I was going to see pretty things? Hell to the yeah!!

It wasn't until we got there and Irene impressively scaled a couple hundred feet of rock and dried streams that it occurred to any of us that I probably shouldn't have joined them on a hiking trip.

Luckily I had some supplemental pain medications and no fucks to give, because there was no way I was about to let some stupid inflammation keep me from nature's beauty!!

We hopped around there for a bit, and got some beautiful artistic shots as the sun began it's decline into the west.

If that wasn't enough, Irene had another surprise planned, with an additional venture to Fossil Falls - a place I didn't even know existed, much less only a couple short hours away from home!

If I purveyed the beauty of Red Rock accurately, then I have no descriptives left to achieve the level of amazing that Fossil Falls is.

This place is on the path of runoff from the once volcanic Mount Whitney, and with about a ten minute venture into the park we saw the most impressive chasm, forged by both magma and the strength of a now dried river.

The boulders and cliffs were formed of this porous looking stone, like pumice, but when you touch it the surface feels so smooth! It's almost silky.

I can't even... just... just look!

There's no photos of the anguish I felt when I finally relaxed at home and my knee did it's best impression of a grapefruit to date. I'm not about to try to guilt my already concerned sister-in-law, when the reality is  I would take a week of days with that pain for the beauty and memories we made today.

The Colors!!

I went by my parents' house the other day unannounced,

since another sister was "back home" for a few,

and found all the cars there, but an empty house.

Of course I had to investigate,

and figured maybe with the unseasonably warm weather,

everyone was out back gardening.

I get out there, and the back porch is covered

with bundles of white clothes, and a gaggle of giggling girls.

Say that five times fast!!

I was confused at first, but then my ever-helpful

baby sister filled me in,

"Anna!! I'm so glad you came! Make some tie-dye with us!!"

It. Was. Awesome.

I'm probably the least artistic out of my 6-pack of siblings,

so I sat on the sidelines taking pics and making suggestions,

which turned out well since everyone else was covered in dye.

Our designated friend-sibling was there too,

and she yielded some pretty unique stuff.

Even my not-siblings are more talented than me.

It was an unexpectedly fun adventure,

and I'm going to try to pop in today to see the results.

Oh and then they played Twister. 

Get Your "Aww" Ready

I've been feeling a little down lately,

which has been sapping my creative juices.

I like to roam the internet for inspirations when my brain

quits on me like that, hoping to find some good material.

Hellooooooo Damon

 Sure, I could write some melodramatic angst-filled stuff,

but we all know we'll look back on that and be embarrassed.

Today wasn't nearly as fruitful as I had hoped,

but I did discover a corner of YouTube that need be shared.

 

This may possibly be the cutest thing on the internet.

 

And on the funnier side..

Check out their channel for lots of cute and funny pets!

The Pet Collective

Happy Birthday My Johnny!!

My John is turning 28 today!

I call him "My John" because Husband also has a John in the Army.

It was confusing the first year, until I started "My John,"

which if course is pronounced like one word.

Not me, but Mom, in her youth.

I'm pretty excited because he's actually around this time
so we can celebrate properly.

We're incredibly mature, well-behaved adults.

Obviously.

Does Being Cold Give You A Cold?

 The high today was in the seventies, which has me all kinds of annoyed.

It's January dammit! I have adorable sweaters to wear, and this weather is ruining my fun!!

In light of our unseasonably warm winter, I thought I'd share this fun video, which is just as wonderfully inappropriate!

If you skipped the video, the answer is yes and no.

Bwahahaha!!

My Day Trying to Make Soup

When I made my chicken broth out of leftovers the other day, the glorious scents created by it tantalized Husband, and subsequently, he requested I make soup or pot pie.

Husband doesn't make requests too often, so when he does I like to be accommodating. Thus began my adventure today.

I selected my victim. I'm not too picky on this step, this could have been a myriad of meats, but the man wanted Chicken.

 I realized I had hit a roadblock, as my sink was full of dishes left "to soak."

Washed em, then realized my sink needed to be whiter.

Did baking soda and vinegar scrub, with a nice boiling water rinse.

So shiny!

Remembered I had emptied the sink so I could handle raw chicken, try not to cuss...

Cuss a lot.

 Dumped out Chicken's bidbits and rinsed, setting the unmentionables aside for two lucky bitches.

Shoved Chicken into a barely sizeable pan because I'm not very smart sometimes.

Slathered him in deliciousness and flipped him chest-side down, because in this house we like juicy breasts.

 Browned him up at 400F for 20 minutes, getting those juices flowing.

Dumped it all in a pot with an onion and bay leaf, drowning him with a sadistic cackle. Brought him up to a boil, then simmered for an hour.

Not shown is the fork assault in which both Husband and I tore Chicken's flesh from his bones. It was a two-handed job, so no camera.

Then, I threw it back in the pot with carrots and rice, raised to a boil and simmered 20 minutes.

Decided to dump in some drained corn, And voila!

Success, despite my less than stellar attention span!!