To die for..

Joseph Gordon Levitt sings to me in French...

5. Read 10 "Motion Picture" Novels. (3/10)

Just because I'm an English major, doesn't mean in the least, that I enjoy reading as much as everyone thinks I should.  But as I'm getting older I've given reading for pleasure another try. I made it a goal on my DZP list to finish at least 10 books that have all been made into films.  Novels are generally always better than the films, but I really like being able to compare the two and making my opinion. 

I've completed 3 "Motion Picture" novels since the start of my DZP list - one was last night! So I thought it was a perfect time to dig into what I've completed so far.

I'm really big on not giving away too much information so that I don't ruin anything for anyone who may want to dabble in these stories - so don't expect a huge story line.

1.  The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud - Ben Sherwood

This book was a page turner to say the least.  I think I finished it in only a few days and when it was over I wanted more! The film that came from this is simply Charlie St. Cloud with Zac Efron.  I was watching a preview of this movie when I was only half way through the book and it didn't seem as thought it would follow Ben Sherwood's story line, BUT I haven't seen the movie yet so I can't say that is 100% true.  The film looks like it is going to be pretty great, but will it keep up with the book? Hard to say.  I'll let you know when I find out.

2.  A Walk to Remember - Nicholas Sparks

This is pretty much a classic for most - although I recently found out my own boyfriend hasn't even seen it, which was pretty disappointing. I'm sure that since the film has come out almost everyone knows the films version of this story, but I'm here to tell you that the book is dramatically different.  At least I thought so.  I saw the movie first years ago - I remember it to this day.  It was the night that Erin shattered her ankle and I was forced to leave her and go home with my other siblings.  When we got home we decided to watch this movie... Therefore, not only was I totally emotional after seeing my sister crash, but now I'm sitting watching this heart wrenching movie.  Anyway, the film and movie have quite a lot of differences but both are very good!

3.  My Brother's Keeper - Patricia McCormick

Not to get this confused with My Sister's Keeper - this is a much different story.  It was on a film-novel list that I picked up and I had never heard of this before.  The author is one of my favorites so I figured it'd be pretty amazing.  This story is not really meant for adults, its more about the struggles of teenagers and what this young boy is going through. As a future high school teacher I'm glad I read it because now I know I can put it on my bookshelf in class.  If you want a quick read that is pretty simple then this is a perfect choice.  I checked out information on the film and, of course, it seems very different.  I plan on watching it soon to compare to the novel, but it seems as though these were not meant to be related.  We'll see...

Next on my list - Push by: Sapphire

This is based on the film Precious.  I've already been cautioned that this book is a bit of a struggle because of the language, but I'm willing to give it a try.

Relax

A little poem I wrote for a class that I thought I'd share.  It's about my fears of students teaching.. but in the end theres light.  (The beats and structure is derived from a poem by Ellen Bass also called Relax)

Relax
Bad things are going to happen.
My master teacher will hate me
and tell me I’m not qualified to be in their classroom.
A student will come to me with goo all over their hands
dripping all over themselves,
me, and the brand new carpet in the brand new building that I promised to keep neat.
My car will run out of gas
on the way to my first day,
less than one mile away from the parking lot.
I will spend all waking and sleeping hours on my TPAs
to make them exceptionally perfect, and I
still won’t receive my credential. Another student –
the one you never really liked – will come to class
sick as a dog
right after I got over a flu virus and cough all over me.
I’ll break a heel.
No matter how much I observe my master teacher,
how many notes I take, I’ll forget it all,
and my mind will go blank. My mom
will start asking me to pay rent
even though I’m jobless, as she knows,
and once I figure out how to come up with the money
I’ll come home to my dad watching Big Brother
on a huge flat screen TV my rent money has paid for.
There’s a poem written by Ellen Bass.
She comes across the most awful situations
no one would want to encounter. But it’s also reality.
Seems so unfathomable, but anything can happen.
I see a light at the end of the tunnel,
I walk towards it, slowly at first.
Then at a swift meaningful jog because I know I’ll see the other side.
So here’s how my student teaching will play out,
a student will hate me, I’ll trip and fall –
stumble on a skateboard a student uses as transportation
and my dress will go over my head.
The experience will be unforgettable and meaningful as
the days will go by and hopefully my master teacher
won’t hate me after all.

8. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the Alphabet

In one of my firsts posts I mentioned that this goal was in progress - but I just wanted to do a little update as to where I'm at with my alphabet movie watching.

This weekend I added a new movie to the list and a week ago or so I have a bonus for another letter I've completed already.

B - Brothers

(Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, & Tobey Maguire)

This is my new addition! I watched it this weekend with David and I don't want to be a spoiler and give away anything for anyone who hasn't seen it (I know how much that sucks) but I will say that it wasn't too impressive for what I expected.  Erin disagrees and liked the movie overall, but for me it was a little slow at the beginning and the ending didn't solve anything for me. But Jake Gyllenhaal made it worth my time!!

G - (The) Goods

(Jeremy Piven)

David ordered this from Netflix and we took two nights to watch it, I think.. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep round 1 and finished it the following evening.  I personally liked it as a rental movie.  If I would have seen it in theaters I wouldn't have been so jazzed but it was good laughs.  I fell in love Jeremy Piven in Entourage and he kind of keeps that same a-hole persona here and I thought it was pretty great.  It doesn't take much to make me laugh when I like the actors, so you may not agree with me on this one, but it's worth a try..

I - Inception

(SO many great actors to name so I'll keep it short!

Leo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, & Ellen Page)

I definitely don't want to give ANYTHING away in this movie because it is still in theaters and a must see for sure! All I'm going to say is..

1. I loved it!

2. If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for?!!

O - (The) Other Guys

(Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg)

This also is still in theaters so I won't say too much.

Pretty funny from what I saw.. I saw this with David and Kyle and they came out saying it was O.K.  They're huge Will Ferrell fans and thought there were good liners and the overall movie was good, but not great. We probably need to watch it again to fall in love with it.

S - Shutter Island

(Leo DiCaprio)

I really really REALLY enjoyed this movie.  It definitely took me a long time to convince myself to sit through it, but in the end I really enjoyed it.  My best friend Lauren told me she and her boyfriend saw it together and talked about the twisted plot and ending for about 30 minutes straight - just going back and forth with support for their interpretations of what happened... Therefore, I knew I should definitely see it so that I could see what the hype was about.. and what do you know! - I LOVED IT! If you're due for a great mysterious kind of film and haven't seen this I would recommend it!

*S - Step Up 3

(Rick Malambri, Sharni Vinson, & my favorite Adam G. Sevani)

Call me a dork but I love all the Step Up movies and this was no exception.  The dancing was so amazing and this girl, Sharni Vinson, is hot! I know David wasn't upset to sit through this one.  These movies get better and better, I'm a little bias towards the first one because I love Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan but this one didn't disappoint.  If you're interested in a good dance film, this one is one of my favorites.

AND Adam G. Sevani is better in this one than Step Up 2! If you can even fathom that, I fell in like with him in the second movie and this one I definitely fell in love. I mean whats not to like.. Really!?

Well.. thats my movie round up! WHEW! There was alot to catch up on.. but I'll continue my goal to see all 26 movies and keep posting!

i heart breakfast

On my DZP list I have to try a new recipe every month and I've began looking through a ton of recipes online and in books that I want to try - the White Bean Minestrone soup was my dish for August.  I figure that along with completing this goal I should make a habit of cooking.. I mean everyone needs to start somewhere, right??

I came across a recipe I may not try anytime soon, but that looks so amazing AND it's low in calories, fat, and sodium.. you'd never guess that its a BREAKFAST BURRITO!

When I used to work with a car company in Orange we'd get these breakfast burritos at least once a week, sometimes more, and they were incredibly high in calories but they were so good!! I had to get myself to stop eating them because they were so fattening and I haven't found one as good since - BUT my hopes are that this will top it and not make me feel like my insides are going to stop running at any moment.

Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp olive oil

2 cooked chicken sausage links, diced

1 red onion, diced

6 eggs, lightly beaten

4 whole-wheat tortillas

1 cup black beans, rinsed, drained, and heated

1/2 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese

Optional

1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced

Salt and black peper to taste

Chopped cilantro

Salsa

Pickled Jalapenos

Directions:

1.  Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat

2.  Add the sausage and onion - cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned

Turn the heat down low

3.  Pour the eggs into the skillet - cook slowly, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon until the eggs are firm but moist

4.  Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper and stir in cilantro (optional)

5.  Wrap the tortillas in damp paper towels and heat in the microwave for 45 seonds (or heat them individually in a dry pan until warm and lightly toasted)

6.  Divide the eggs, beans, cheese, and avocado among the tortillas

7.  Roll into tight packages and top each burrito with salsa, more cilantro, and jalapenos (if using)

Bam! Once I try this I will definitely post my do's and dont's and preferences for this recipe.  If you try it, let me know what you thought and what you did!

Makes 4 servings / Cost per serving: $2.42

415 calories

17g fat

625 mg sodium

vs.

Fast food breakfast burritos:

799 calories

49g fat

2,427 mg sodium

97. Try making a new recipe each month - August

I looked up a ton of recipes today and settled on White Bean Minestrone.  I love love LOVE minestrone at Olive Garden but when I went to California Pizza Kitchen I tried a different rendition of this soup and loved it and the difference was the white beans that CPK used.  Erin and I took our cooking skills to the kitchen and sliced and diced our way to a very YUMMY soup! I was pretty impressed!!

White Bean Minestrone

Ingredients

1 large onion, diced

1 celery rib, diced

2 large carrots, sliced in half lengthwise and then sliced width wise into "half moons"

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 large red potatoes, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with basil and garlic

1 14.5 oz can of white beans (cannellini beans or Great Northern Beans), drained and rinsed

4 cups vegetable broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

2.  Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the oil and saute for about 4 minutes, stir occasionally and bring to a boil

3.  Add the remaining ingredients (except the salt and pepper) to the saucepan.

Vegetable Broth

Tomatoes with Basil & Garlic

Zucchini and Red Potatoes

White 'Great Norther' Beans

4. Cover the soup and bring to boil

4.  Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.  Try not to overcook the potatoes so that they don't become mushy

5.  Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to your preference.

Tada!

9. Buy something from Etsy

Wellll as I previously posted I fell in love with Little Shea's headbands from Etsy and I couldn't help myself but to purchase my favorites! I bought two and they came in the mail the other day and I've been so excited to share them!

This one is called 'Kait' and it is white beaded leaves on a white elastic headband.  It is perfect for a summer look which is really in right now with the heat and brighter colors - no one wants to wear black! I'm thinking of pairing it with a cute dress or a t-shirt and jeans casual look..

This is 'Bosco' and I feel like it's a little more dressy than 'Kait' but equally as fun and trendy. It is black and a dark silver metallic flower beaded headband. For this one I think I'm going to wear it on a date night out with David or the girls to try it out.  It too can be paired with a summer look, it isn't completely black, but I see myself wearing it out on the town more than a daily accessory.

I tried 'Bosco' around my head instead of on top just for a different look but both can be worn either way and are displayed on her Etsy page in multiple ways.

#9 Done and done and this was a GREAT purchase!

I survived!

Today was my first day of the Teaching Credential Program at CSUF and I came out of my 4 hour orientation alive and more excited than I was going in!

I only had a week of summer this year but I was still eager to get this program started and learn a whole lot! Today was definitely an irregular first day of school for me, there wasn't a syllabus to go over or any nonsense blah blah blah to get stuck listening to - it was very informative and I'm seriously so excited to get into a classroom!

Esperanza High School look out - here I come!

Woodstock 2010

I am beyond excited for Woodstock this year! I have been thinking of a fun outfit to put together for this event and whatever I decide on will hopefully fit right in with the 70's theme!!! If your free August 21 after 2pm you should come out and join us! It's at the Irvine Lake and will have cover bands playing awesome music, drinks, contests, and tonnnssss of people! CAN'T WAIT!

Happy Weekend

"Just wanted to wish you a happy weekend to all of you love birds out there..."

- Cannelle et Vanille

Jersey Shore style..

I am a HUGE fan of Jersey Shore! I love the cast, the fights, the music, and of course the fist pumping!! When David told me that they were in Enrique Iglesias' music video for 'I like it' I had to check it out and to no suprise.. I LOVED IT! I had to share it because it's that amazing!

Little Shea's

While looking for the perfect hair piece idea for Woodstock this year I stumbled across Little Shea's Etsy page and couldn't have fallen deeper in love with her accessories!

'Kait'                                'Newbe'

'Bosco'                               'Amelia'

'Khloe'                                   'Dewey'

I have somewhere on that DZP list to buy something from Etsy and I think I've found my treasure!

The hard part is choosing which one.. or two :)!

Moving is over!

89.  Get rid of all the moving boxes in my bedroom.

Done and done!!!

I moved out of my apartment on August 1 and was having a little trouble unpacking everything back into my tiny room from the larger room I was previously enjoying.  Eventually, after making myself spend some thinking time on this, I have unpacked all of my boxes and am officially moved back into my parents home!  I was pretty excited to be moving back because there is no feeling like home - but I hate unpacking with a passion.. the only thing left were shoes and for some reason it took me a few weeks to get them out and into my closet.  But it is finally done and #89 is off my DZP list!

Scubbie...

First and foremost.. it's pronounced Scooby LOL when I started calling David this I thought I'd be totally adorable and be original in it's spelling, but as you probably experienced when saying it to yourself that it does not phonetically say Scooby.. BUT we're sticking to it!

Anywho.. This man has been in my life for a little more than 6 years and has been my partner for 5.  He's changed my life since the first night he took me on the town and I don't know where I would be without him.  David is my rock and I'd probably be in a world of crap if it weren't for him.  He keeps me grounded and is always my shoulder to lean on.  I just thought I'd share that along with some of our best times together...

.love.

The Bridge to Nowhere

This past Monday and Tuesday I went on a backpacking hike with a few friends and had an amazing time! I was pretty impressed with how well David and I did because we generally aren't the outdoorsy couple... but we had a BLAST! I went with David, Kyle, and Darryl.  Kyle is Davids best friend, who in the past 5 years that I've been with David, has developed into one of the best friends I've ever had.  And Darryl is our friend we met at CSUF more recently.

It was about 10 miles round trip and involved many river crossings, rock climbing, a campfire, Top Roman, a heavy backpack, and the best guys I could spend my time with! It was definitely a challenge to my body but I am so proud that I actually accomplished this hike.  In the end I feel in the river and scrapped up my knee a bit, but it was all worth it!

Here are a few pictures from the hike...

This hike is ALSO #27 on my DZP list!!!

27. Take a hike in the Azusa Pacific area

While on the hike I also completed:

65. Jump into a body of water fully clothed

Pretty successful trip if I do say so myself!

Boog's Exploration

I was reminded that my blog name may not make sense to everyone sooo I figured I'd explain a little my reason behind 'Boog's Exploration'.

Booger is my nickname given to me by my amazing boyfriend David and usually he shortens it to Boog.

This blog was originally created for me to share my Day Zero Project - which is my way of getting out of my rut and being able to explore and live life a little because I feel like I've been lacking on getting outside and actually doing things rather than just going by a routine.

So there you have it - Boog's Exploration!