Halloween

My sister Maya and I have really bonded through text messaging. Now we are in contact like, twice a week rather than twice a year! Anyway, she texted me that I need to post photos of my Halloween costume. So here it is. I was Sarah Palin. Do you think I look like her?



Matt was much more creative than me. He made his costume himself. He is so crafty! Or, maybe he just didn't know what to do with himself while I was in San Diego for the week preceding Halloween. No, seriously, he is super creative.



We went to a party, and someone else dressed like Hillary Clinton. Perfect photo op!

Food

Well, I wouldn't be me if half of my photos from a trip weren't food pictures. So here they are. I love the food in San Diego....lots of Mexican food, frozen yogurt and salad. Mmm! It's all "comfort food" for me because it is so familiar. I have a few places I always go when I visit home.

Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt.


It's the best! And now it's even better because they have tart frozen yogurt. Yum! I forced my sister to come here with me, and then I tortured her by taking her picture.

Now there is a new Frozen yogurt place that I love, but it is only downtown. Pinkberry! I love it. It's not for everyone, because all ofthe flavors are tart. I prefer that because I don't like things that are too sweet. My favorite flavor was green tea.



Souplantation


I know, I know...a chain restaurant...but I really love it because I like salad bars and soup. Matt doesn't like it because one time we went to a Souplantation in Clairmont and everyone was stuffing their faces in a gross way. But the one in Mira Mesa isn't like that...anyway, I try to go here with my family when I can because it is not on the East coast.

I also love Mexican food in San Diego...no other place is as good! My favorite spots are Sombrero and El Indio. My favorite "real" restaurant is Parkhouse Eatery. I LOVE it. The breakfast, the lunch, the dinner...it's all good! I especially love the mussels mariniere. The only problem is that they have remodeled since I lived in SD, and it is just not as cozy and cute as it used to be. They added a bar and Ifeel like that changed the dynamic. I still love it though.

Also, I have to mention my mom's cooking. That is always really good, especially her guacamole and her tuna (not together of course). And her twice baked potatoes. And the general abundance of delicious food that is always in that house. Mmm, now I can't wait for Christmas!

Halloween Fair in San Diego

I got lucky this year for two reasons: 1) The American Public Health Association conference was in San Diego, and 2) I won a ticket from my school to attend the conference and was given a travel grant to help cover the cost of the airfare. WOO HOO! So, I got to spend a week in beautiful San Diego and see all of my old coworkers and my family.

The only sad thing was that I didn't get to see more of my extended family and that my immediate family had just returned from India...so they were still jet lagged and recovering from an illness that they all caught in India. Still, it was a lot of fun. I was SO happy to see my family again, it seemed like it had been forever since I had seen them. The last time I spent time in San Diego was last December during my wedding, but that was so hectic that it didn't really count as family time.

I saw my old coworkers, and that was great. I loved living in San Diego; I loved the weather and my job and all of my coworkers. Why did I ever leave??

I got to go to the Halloween fair at my little sisters' elementary school, which was a lot of fun. I had to take a picture of this "litter box". It is all edible treats but it looks so revolting...perfect for Halloween! (By the way, the person in the photo below is not one of my sisters. She is a random girl from their school.)

Apples!

One of my favorite parts about Fall in New England is APPLE PICKING!!! It is so much fun. I am going to miss it SO much. They taste so much better when you eat them straight off the tree. So crisp, so sweet! And then you get to take them home...LOTS of them. But I like the challenge. How many apples can I eat? How many things can I make out of my 20 pounds of apples? And believe me, Matt doesn't help with either. (Although he does help eat my creations...so I appreciate that!)

I eat a lot of apples year-round, because I have one with my oatmeal everyday. So that sort of relieves the "burden" of having so many apples in the house.

I have had a lot of fun making things with the apples, and I am proud to say that most of my recipes haven't been the old apple stanby's, like apple pie or crisp or applesauce. This is what I have made so far (I still have lots of apples left!):

1. Carrot-apple-yogurt salad from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook

This was easy and SO delicious! I brought it to a potluck. I think I liked it more than everybody else because I brought most of it home.

2. Apple bread

I made 2 loaves. The first was an experiment. I made it in my crockpot! THe crockpot lady on this blog made banana bread in the crock pot, so I decided to modify another recipe (not hers) and make it in the crockpot. It worked! It was moist and delicious...even Matt liked it even though it was very healthy. (By the way, I am addicted to the crock pot blog I linked to above...I highly recommend it!)

The second loaf was from an "official" recipe. I followed it exactly. It wasn't half as good as my first "experimental" loaf. The problem is that I didn't write down what I did on the first loaf.

3. Yogurt-apple cinammon dessert thing

This was easy...I just grated the apple and mixed it one cup of plain yogurt, cinnamon and chopped pecans. So sweet! This is also from Mollie Katzen's cookbook. I am addicted to that cookbook!

4. Baked apples in the crockpot

This was luscious and warm...but really I think I like baked apples to be baked in an oven. The texture that resulted form the crockpot method was too mushy. I still ate it though, and forced Matt to eat his. (And no, I don't feel bad about forcing Matt to eat fruit...if I didn't he never would. And I only force him to eat it about twice a year.)

5. Next recipe....Curried Apple Soup from Mollie Katzen's cookbook. It sounds strange but I have total faith in Mollie Katzen. After the soup recipe, I will only have about 5 or six apples left. So sad...I don't want apple season to end!

Glorious Fall

Fall in New England is glorious. Sometimes I complain about New England...it is cold...people work to hard...but despite these things, it is truly a gorgeous place, and I am happy to have had the opportunity to experience it.


Usually we go up to New Hampshire and Vermont to hike in the Fall leaves, but this year, with all the mayhem of Matt's parents being here and Matt having just returned from Hong Kong, we decided to enjoy the Fall with little day trips. Plus, it saved lots of money on gas and hotels! We did a little hike on a nearby "mountain". It wa an easy, crowded hike, but the views were great and the fall leaves were so pretty!



On the way home, we went to a pumpkin patch and and a cornfield labyrinth. It was fun! I am sad....this is my last Fall in New England! Sigh....



By the way, Matt told me to stop posting pictures of him. But if he would stop doing silly poses like in the picture above, he wouldn't have to worry about it!

Visit from the Masseys

Matt and I had a visit from his parents this month....it was a lot of fun, and they came at the perfect time, weather-wise...it was perfectly sunny and not too hot or cold. (It was "San Diego weather"). It was Marti's 60th birthday, which is a very important one! Matt, being the wonderful son that he is, treated Marti and Liam to a play called "Wishful Drinking" by Carrie Fisher. Apparently Marti loves Carrie Fisher. Sadly, I couldn't go because I had class.

I love the picture I posted...I think this will be a good one for my children.

Procrastination!

ABOUT ME: Meagan
I AM: procrastinating studying for a huge mid term
I WANT: to know where I am moving to in January
I HAVE: a very good life
I WISH: my good life could continue closer to family and friends
I HATE: it when people die....no one else in my life is allowed to die till I do
I MISS: my sisters!
I FEAR: being alone, being poor and being paralyzed
I HEAR: Matt getting ready for work
I SEARCH: for what I am supposed to be doing with my life
I WONDER: what is in store for me in the future
I REGRET: not spending more time with Dad at the end
I LOVE: Matt
I FORGIVE: myself...or at least try to
I ACHE: not really at all
I ALWAYS: eat oatmeal and apples for breakfast
I TRY: not to take life too seriously
I AM NOT: driven
I SEEM: friendly...I least I hope that is how I seem!
I KNOW: nothing...who really knows anything?
I FEEL: ready to be OUT OF SCHOOL!!
I DANCE: not as often as I would like
I DREAM: of having a large, loving, healthy family with Matt
I GIVE: gifts randomly and not at the appropriate times
I LISTEN: poorly...I am working on this
I SING: whenever the Sublime song "Santeria" comes on the radio
I LAUGH: as often as a I can
I CAN'T: do supta kurmasana...I have been trying for a month now
I WRITE: far to many school papers
I CRY: all the time! I'm ok with it...it feels better afterwards but can be embarrassing.
I SLEEP: early
I AM NOT ALWAYS: organized or practical
I SEE: my messy house
I LOSE: money and time
I CONFUSE: myself?
I NEED: a plan...what am I doing with my life?
I SHOULD: start living more in the presesnt and worrying about the future