Must Do Activity in the Bay Area

We try to see a Bay Area sight or two every weekend so we can take advantage of our time in California.  One of our favorite activities yet, and something we will never forget, was the Pebble Beach 17-Mile Drive  in Monterey.  It was seriously gorgeous. 

Tips for doing the 17-Mile Drive: 

Consider bringing a picnic.  The restaurants aren't cheap and the reasonably priced one we visited wasn't that good. 

Bring a jacket.  It was very windy the day we went so it was pretty chilly most of the time. 

Bring cash.  There is a 10 dollar fee that can only be paid in cash.  Oh and bring some quarters for the telescopes if you have any interest in seeing wildlife. 

Plan at least 2 hours for the drive.  It technically doesn't take that long to drive the 17 miles but you will want to stop often to take pictures and explore.  

Go to the bathroom before.  For a large portion of the drive the only buildings around are private (huge and gorgeous) homes. 

Back Into the Kitchen I Go

We lived the past few years with my husband's family and for various reasons I did not do much cooking during this time period.  It has been and will continue to be an interesting journey as I jump back into full time cooking. This means I might be focusing quite a few posts on my adventures in the kitchen and the recipes I find, try, and like from around the web.  

To get things started, I thought I would share with you the following two recipes: 

Spicy Baked Falafel Sandwiches from Poor Girl Eats Well 

I ran into Kimberly's blog the other evening when I was trying to figure out what to make this week.  I decided to try my hand at the falafel sandwiches because we had extra tzatziki sauce left over from a previous meal.  I have only had falafel one other time so I don't have much to compare this meal to but the hubby and I did enjoy it.  I wish the falafel was a bit less crumbly but it wasn't that big of a deal.  It tasted delicious, was a decently healthy meal, and super easy to make.  This is a recipe I plan on using again.  

Stuffed Shells from 101 Cookbooks

101 Cookbooks is a blog I recently discovered while searching for blogs that focused on whole foods.  The hubby and I love Italian food so I thought I would try out Heidi's recipe for stuffed shells.  Considering the sauce is made from scratch, I thought the ingredients list was pretty short which I liked.  The recipe was easy to follow and the ingredients were easy to find.  I also took Heidi's advise from the comments section and froze the extra shells.  I just stuffed them, put them on a plate and froze them a bit, before putting them in doubled zip lock bags.  

I think if I were to make this again I would either add more lemon to the recipe or add something to make it a bit more spicy.  The hubby and I have really weak taste buds from all the hot foods we eat.  Overall though, I enjoyed the meal and can see myself using this recipe again and again.

Remembering 9/11

It seems impossible to me that 11 years have already gone by, that I was only in high school when our country was attacked and changed forever.  I was in science class and a student came by telling the teacher what had happened.  My teacher did not believe the student.  I remember being confused about the news and shocked the teacher would think the student was making it up.  My teacher eventually went and asked around to see if something really had happened.  By then the news was much worse.  Students began to be pulled out of school.  Parents spend the evening in front of their televisions.  Sorrow, pain, anger, and fear could be felt everywhere.  I can't and wont forget.  There were too many lives lost, too many families left broken, too much pain felt, and too much sacrifice to allow this event to just fade away.

With that, I wanted to pass along the following article:  Father's note changes family's 9/11 account.  It is a 9/11 story with a unique but heart breaking twist.  Have the tissues ready. 

"Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children." - President George W. Bush

California is....

 

gorgeous
sunny
friendly
delicious
fun

yet...

lonely.  So very lonely.  I feel the distance from family and friends.  The husband's long work hours leaving me even more alone then ever.  The weekend coming up that I will have to spend with myself.

I just want this week over with.

I know I am still blessed.  I  have much to be thankful for.  A tiny blessing just yesterday being the extremely nice homeless guy relaxing outside of the library who talked to me for a long time.  Who made me realize that I don't go completely unnoticed in this world after all.

But I just hate feeling lonely.


P.S.  We moved into an apartment a few weeks ago and have been working on getting settled in and getting the internet, hence the long absence.  I really do promise to post more often.