Saturday, March 26, 2011

Our Hands His Hands, Our Hearts His Heart

This winter some friends at Church produced a film showcasing the service a friend receives as she lives with cerebral palsy and it has been selected as a finalist in the International Video Contest for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! It was an awesome and humbling experience and I want to share that video with you.

2.) Then click onto "Amateur - US & Canada (10 videos)"
3.) Click "Next" on the bottom right
4.) Then find our video, entitled "Our Hands His Hands, Our Hearts His Heart" somewhere in the mix. The video has a picture of a girl with curled brown hair.
5.) Click directly on top of the video (it should have a play button) to watch.

TO VOTE:
1.) Make sure the box to the left side of our video is checked, and everything else is unchecked.
2.) Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, and click "Next" on the bottom right hand corner.

Thanks for watching it and especially thanks if you voted for it!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Birthday Weekend in Monterey

Our birthday weekend was so fun. We left Friday evening and didn't even hit much traffic! We ate dinner at Serevino's Grill in Aptos. They were a competetor at the Clam Chowder Cook-Off but the line was too long and we didn't want to wait. Scott had a delicious bowl of clam chowder and I got equally delicious salmon. The dinner was really nice.
I took this picture at the restaurant (yes, it is in a Best Western) and didn't realize my flash was on. The map was made out of license plates so I thought it was really cool. I like how the map is so bright from the flash.

From there we drove down to Monterey and stayed at a very nice hotel. We never really go anywhere so it was funny to drive some where so close and stay in a hotel. Scott got a good deal and it was our birthdays that week so I couldn't really refuse. Also, we had an awesome time.
We are early risers and woke up long before the Aquarium opened so we went to see the sights of Monterey.
Here is Scott posing in front of the lighthouse. (He actually didn't know I was talking a picture but I think it's funny so I kept it.)

Here I am texting.

We finally got the automatic timer to work so we could take a picture together!

The post-tsunami surf. (Japan's earthquake was the day before so there were still tsunami warning signs up. Scott wanted to go ocean kayaking but I refused. Maybe another weekend...)

Scott trying to talk me into getting close to the water.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Monterey.
Notice there is nothing to touch in the pool. Sting rays live there but they must have been tired of the kids because they were all hanging out in a corner away from everyone. It was sorta funny.
Feeding time!
We're just happy as a clam!
Tiny seahorses.
The Aquarium was beautiful.

To finish our birthday weekend we rushed home to rotatil the garden and then I beat Scott and the Smith's at Settlers of Catan; much to everyone's shock and dismay.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Clam Chowder Cook-Off

At the end of February there was a Clam Chowder Cook-Off on the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. It was perfect because Scott's friend Kori was visiting a mutual friend in San Francisco so they came down to meet us. The weather ended up being really nice and we had an awesome time. We had no idea there were so many ways to make clam chowder! We decided that we don't like Manhattan style and we want our soup thick and creamy! However, when we went to Myrtle Beach last year we went to a restaurant in Carolina Beach that had the best clam chowder ever. Michael's Seafood Restaurant is worth the drive.
Mike, Kori & Scott
Scott & Cecilie
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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Happy Birthday!


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This week we both turned 27; Scott on Tuesday and me on Wednesday. Since we had a fun weekend away planned we just made dinner for each other at home and hung out on our birthday night. We think it's genius that our birthdays are so close together. Our kids can just have one celebration for the both of us. Scott especially enjoyed it when we first started dating. Since we weren't 'official' on our 25th birthdays he could gauge his gift to me by what I gave him. Also, it's hard to forget my birthday when it immediately follows his. He's got it so easy...

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

My New Truck

First of all, I want to dedicate this to our wonderful readers in Sri Lanka. You guys are great! (FYI - I looked up viewing stats and we had more people from Sri Lanka looking at our blog than anywhere else outside the US.)


After chasing many false leads on Craigslist, I finally found this one over in Fremont on Ebay classified ads. It was great to buy it the old fashioned way - meet with the seller, test drive it, take it to my mechanic. It's a 2004 truck with a bunch of miles on it and a V6 engine (it has a nice kick to it when you step on the gas.) I really enjoy it and yes I am willing to help you move if you buy me a sandwich at Ike's.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Cleaner Endorsement

So I'm not really one to endorse a product but I can't help myself with this one. We hang out pans above the stove and after 8 months of use they look like we don't clean them, although I swear we do. Anyway, my friend told me about Bar Keepers Friend and it's seriously amazing.


I've been using steel wool to clean the tough stains but to not much avail. 5 minutes with this stuff and my pans were sparking. My friend did a mini demo for me so I expected big things but I was more than impressed with the final results. Although my camera isn't exactly super I took before and after pictures that give you some insight into what I'm talking about.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I told you it was awesome.
In case you want some, it's about $4 in basically any store. I bought it at Safeway. Let me know if you need any advice or feedback. (I swear they're not paying me for this post.)