My Afflation

Resolutions or No Resolutions?  I don't make resolutions, but I do try to maintain any good habits that I may have picked up in the previous year. Currently, that's journaling. I started in April 2017, and I haven't been consistent, but I am working on it. That, and going to the gym.

If I ever have the need to absolutely destroy something like Hulk under the influence of the Scarlet Witch, that would be the time to make me eat crab (in the shell, crab cakes are another story ). Otherwise, I just want to eat my food, not work for it. I mean, anything that needs a nutcracker and a tool that looks like seam ripper just to get to the meat ... too much work. KJ Steampot Snow crab, seared scallops and mussels in a light Kendall-Jackson wine sauce with hints of garlic, pepper and notes of citrus. I do have to admit that the scallops, crab, and mussels were delicious, I just didn't want to work for my food, get crab juice shot into my eye, or get so messy that I needed baby wipes and to wash thoroughly with soap and water. That kind of stuff should only be reserved for BBQ ribs. I mean, I haven't worn a bib since I was 4! Crab Lover - only if it's already out of the shell Dessert made up for some of it. What's left of the Campfire S...

7-Day Western Carribean Cruise on the Disney Magic It's the night before our latest Disney Cruise and this time we are hitting some new destinations. This makes me very excited. What am I most excited about? Probably the first day at sea where I plan on going on full introvert mode. I haven't had any serious downtime in over a year and the stress of it is showing to those who know how to look. After that, I will probably have enough energy to deal with all the Disney Magic ... on the Magic . We will be exploring ruins in Cozumel, viewing sea life in Grand Cayman, pretending to be the Jamaican Bobsled team in Jamaica, and then enjoying the day at Castaway Cay. I might need a vacation from my vacation! Tonight we are just chilling at the Hyatt in MCO. It's an awesome hotel, you don't even hear the airplanes even though we can see them taking off and landing. View of the control tower from our room After we had all settled into the room, we headed down to Mc...

Read more about my  Grand Junction roadtrip  and see the full slideshow (just realized most of the photos were taken with my T-Mobile Dash!) I can't believe it's been seven years since I decided I wanted to camp in Zion. We passed right by it on this trip and I realized Utah was only a day away. Pin It

Taken on an epic road trip with Jes back in 2007 . I'm not sure which one of us was holding the camera to be honest... Pin It

This one was not easy.... I ended up crowd-sourcing some of the answers because I couldn't choose just one. In addition to travel, mobile and food photography, I'm apparently also obsessed with Nathan Fillion, coffee, chocolate, and Girl Scout cookies (hey! It's the season). These were just the suggestions from Twitter. Pin It

I am a lousy swimmer , but I love snorkeling (thank goodness for vests!), especially when I can get a shot like this one. This turtle was actually out of place according to our guide. We were in Shipwreck Cove and Turtle Cove was a bit away. But he wasn't scared of us and followed us for about 5 minutes before going back to eating. This was taken on our Disney Fantasy Cruise and I highly recommend Castaway Girl for excursions if you're ever in St. Thomas. Join in the Photo Friday fun and leave a comment with your link. Pin It

I am so ready to relax Pin It

Boston Museum of Science Pin It

Autumn in Vermont Pinnacle Peak, Stowe, VT Read the short recap of the hike to get this shot here . More Photo Friday posts here Pin It

This week's Challenge: ' Heavenly' . Pin It

I was looking for a few new recipes over at PaleOMG (like OMG, best desserts for this plan!) and realized that I do sort of cleanse on Mondays after the weekend. Though, after our amazing reunion weekend, we started last night with stuff I pulled from the freezer. Family sing-along Cooking with Cousin Olivia She couldn't get enough of the birds Sunday : Tilapia with green beans and tomatoes -- this recipe is so quick and easy, we love it. My mom and I had tilapia, the kids had Cajun Salmon. Monday : Curried Turkey Cutlets with Apricots - (we usually end up using turkey patties, but everything else is the same) with green beans, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. Tuesday : Chicken Salad . Might as well use some of those apples I brought back from NorCal Wednesday : Mahi Mahi Grilled Fish Tacos Thursday : Steak Salad Friday : Turkey and Spinach Stuffed Sweet Potatos  - I love PaleOMG because she introduced me to sweet potato brownies. I can still have brownies!...

It's Christmas, Snoopy! Who doesn't love a deal?  Thanks to USFamilyGuide.com I'm able to offer you a coupon to "Knott's Merry Farm." How cool is that?  If you haven't been to Knott's at this time of year (sad to say, I haven't. I usually go to Disneyland) here's what you can expect: Knott’s Merry Farm Thanksgiving Day – January 1 Knott’s Berry Farm is filled with the magic of the season as it transforms into Knott’s Merry Farm and celebrates “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with seasonal entertainment, spectacular decorations including a 65 foot tall Christmas tree, and a colorful Christmas parade.  Now a holiday tradition in Southern California, Knott’s Merry Farm is proud to present the holiday ice spectacular, “It’s Christmas, Snoopy!” The show, performed in the 2,100-seat Charles M. Schulz Theatre, is hosted by the famous skating beagle and his PEANUTS friends as they look for the true meaning of Christmas and features Knot...

With the best intentions we planned to be on the road by 6am. I'm not a morning person.  And we were up late with last minute prep and of course the keys got misplaced. But the dogs got a good walk. My Zoe knew something was up and tried to make a break for it and almost made it to the car.  Damn dog is getting too smart for my own good.... You know, it takes what seems forever to get out of LA County, let alone California. After getting some required coffee we finally got on the 5. It was after rush hour, thank goodness. We had to pull over a few times. Pluto  isn't quite a car dog yet and wasn't too happy. A few potty breaks later and we were finally making good time. Pluto is a lover. There is only so much doggy love I can take, so I practically jumped at the chance to drive until my eyes fell out. Luckily, we made it to the Grand Canyon before that happened. We made it in about 4/430 (surprised me, I did the speed limit the whole way! Cruise control). That gave...

Road Trip time!  Read all about the trip from Pluto's point of view over at The Adventures of Squiggly Dog . Pin It

As mentioned in my previous post , there's a lot going on at Knott's Berry Farm this month. I am so glad I finally went! Check out the rest of my photos *Disclosure - This post sponsored by Gigasavvy and Knott's . I received admission for myself and 2 guests to attend this event. Pin It

Image from http://www.duy.im/2011/10/happy-new-year-2012.html   This has been quite the year! Last year about this time I thought I was dying, but it was just a kidney infection . This New Year's Eve I am stuffed up and alternating between being a mouth-breather and imitating Niagra Falls. I can't remember the last time I had a good New Year's Eve. Probably back in Oregon when I threw Shindigs (as in Browncoat parties). I've been debating for days what this last post of 2011 should be. A Best of? A collage? A worst of? A general summary? I'm still debating. I'm just glad it's over. It wasn't a bad year overall, started out sick, ended sick, and in between ... I managed to finally lose ten pounds and gain about five of it back in the last two months. I have about (1)50 posts in drafts, so if you read my blog via RSS, you're not going crazy, I'll just be knocking out the relevant ones. So let's try the recap approach. I take photos a...