TSL Package

During the month of May, I participated in Bobbi's Simple Life Challenge, called The Simple Life - which reminds me of an amusing old tv show. ha Anyways, we tried to be simple and frugal. This wasn't a stretch for me, I mean, I am a Nadalet now, but I did learn some new things. For instance, I really started using my reusable bags, at all stores, not just for groceries. And I thought 2 or 3 times before eating out (that was -5 points!). I also started using reusable dishes (not just the plastic throwaways) at work. It was a good reminder that we can always be doing more to save money and the environment.

To finish it off, we were given a buddy and instructed to send a package about TSL. I was a bit wary of this at first, but then I "met" my buddy and feel like we've bonded. Leslie is a girl right about my age who lives on the other side of this country. She's much more fitness oriented than I am, but we do share similar interests (Britney, a good beer, the color pink). As I started making her gift, I got more and more excited about sending her something fun, who doesn't love getting a package? I forgot to take pictures, but she posted all about it, so here is the package:



That's her dog Jackson with the frame, isn't he cute? I also added some recipes and coupons. I think she really liked it.

And in return, she sent me this awesome tea-glass. It is called Libre Tea and she did a review of it here. That's how I knew I liked it! I was super excited when I got the package in the mail. However, I was sad because I don't have any loose tea and do not know where to buy it. I thought maybe trader joes, but no. I bet stell has it. I need to check there tomorrow. Anyways, I'm putting up some of her pictures, because my pictures would be boring. This post should be titled "the one where Megan stole all of Leslie's pictures" haha




If any of you have loose leaf tea, please send it my way! I'm totally excited to try this thing out!

Smile in a Picture?

My mom recently pointed out that I have a problem with smiling in pictures. I apparently like to make funny faces. I have NO idea what she is talking about... just kidding. When looking back at my pictures from San Francisco, I see what she means. I have come up with a few theories:

1) If I'm having a bad smile day (it's a real phenomenon) I will just pucker up or make a smirk. Example A:
2) Sometimes it is more fun just to make weird faces to upset the one taking the picture (heh heh) See below:


3) Sometimes I am just so dang cute when I'm making faces or drinking a cream soda...


4) Sometimes it is just plain boredom. This was taken when avoiding a paper that I had to write. Matthew is making a "who-face" in one too (but I can't find it. I also have one of the Nadalet siblings making this face, but no idea where it is)!





And then sometimes I think my face-making is a learned experience. I mean, can you see what Sarah is showing me here? (I love you girl, don't kill me for putting this up!)


In this example, I am just following my man's lead...


Or maybe it just runs in the family... (3 pictures to prove this point)




And I picked someone who encourages it?





Lastly, it could have started as a childhood game, that I never stopped playing. Or maybe my parents were just so mean and took away all my toys, that this is a learned response.


But what do I really think? I think my dad has been doing this for years and I am just a Daddy's girl following his footsteps... unfortunately all of the good pictures of him being a weirdo are on my other computer. Maybe this one will suffice:

Kevin and Lindsey

I bet everyone is confused as to how there are suddenly somewhat regular posts, after a long period of no posting. There is no real reason, except I have been trying really hard to get back into the habit of blogging. There is a new blogging adventure that will keep me really focused, so I'm getting back into the swing of things on here. Plus, we have had a lot of really great things to do lately, and I know where my camera cord is!

Back to the reason for this post. Kevin and Lindsey are a couple of great friends of ours. We are actually both going to be in their wedding, as Matron of Honor and Best Man. We are quite honored to be in those positions and really excited to share this special day with them. We recently took them to my parents house for a prebuild. We have been talking about doing a SF trip for about 2 years now, so it was about time that we went! Here are some really cute pictures that I took of them at Baker Beach (where our engagement pics were) and the last one is from Lombard Street, that was Kevin's one request of our trip! Enjoy!









Just in case you forgot... this is one of our engagement photos. At the same beach as above (Joel is a much better photographer than I!)

Squash & Zucchini!

It is squash and zucchini season in Redlands. At least it is in Loma Linda (Nadalet Sr. House). My Redlands plants aren't blossoming quite yet!

Here is just one thing that I made:


Mmmm Stuffed not-sure-what-kind-it-is Squash! There is a mixure of ground beef and bread crumbs (cut up hamburger bun) and zucchini inside. Matt gave it a thumbs up, probably because I added Cajon Seasoning and told him about it! haha

Photoshop

I'm scheduling this post for Saturday. When you read this, I will be in Nor Cal (woo!) pre-building a Lofthouse with my family and friends. We are leaving Thursday night and staying until Sunday. Hopefully I will have some more pictures from this weekend!

I have been trying to play with photoshop (actually I have the free paint.net. I would say it's in between Paint! and Photoshop). Let me know which one of these you think is better...

This is the original, cropped a bit, so that it's not all out of proportion (too much sidewalk in the original pic).

Sepia toned. Gives it that old-fashioned retro look...

And "soft." It's like the original but softened up. I think I like this one the best.

What do you all think? Weigh in (Mom, Krista, & Em) in the comments! haha

Balboa Island

Or park. I can't remember if it's considered an Island or Park. Anywho, the Nadalets and Koenigs ventured over there on Sunday after Church. We had lunch at the Prado, where they have delicious hummus and bread sticks. Well flat bread thingies! mmm mm and the Sangria is also delightful. as are the chocolate martinis.

We had some problems taking pictures with the self timer, but here are a few! In this one, the camera got a lot of sidewalk (I cropped it) and our faces were hard to see)

In this picture, the white balance was so off that we looked like angels. This was my attempt to tone it down. I believe my dad is going to edit this one.

Me and the hubby, for some reason we look dumb. I think it is because Davis did not count to 3!

Royce & Alison are married!

The families (Koenig, Nadalet, Atwood, West) met up in San Diego to celebrate Royce and Alison's wedding (they aren't techinicallyfamily, but our family was invited). It was a wonderful excuse for a mini-vacation! we had dinner at a Portuguese restaurant on Friday and then spent Saturday wandering around Point Loma and then relaxing at the pool. The wedding was at this cute restaurant on the water. Emily took some great pictures, but here are a few of mine. I felt like paparazzi during the ceremony because all that I could see was Alison's face!

I tried my hand at photoshop. I'm not too happy with the results:

We happened to run outside for sunset pictures right before them. Can't you just see how radiant they are??

This cracks me up, it's when my mom was dancing with Joey (a high school friend) and aunt Katie cut in! Emily said it's the mai-tai's... they are miracle workers!

And the winner is...

UPDATE 6/5/09:
Bethany never responded to my email. So I have chosen another winner.
#56, Ali.

I am too tired to take a picture of the name slip, but it is orange! haha Hopefully Ali will get back to me! Thanks everyone for wanting to win my soaps!


I wrote out all 60 names on slips of paper and drew one, that lucky person is...

Bethany said...

Thanks for the great giveaway! I love the soaps. My favorite vacation spot is Hilton Head Island. I have not travelled much for pleasure, and Hilton Head is a great beach with quiet beaches and great bike trails. I just love the calm of the ocean and nature.

May 28, 2009 2:36 PM

She just started a blog if you want to check it out! Even if you didn't win, please keep coming back, as I hope to do more giveaways and tutorials!

She has until midnight PST on June 3 to respond, if she does not get back to me, I will draw another winner!

Final Update from Claire...

So, we took second place. The guys were so dejected, watching Lubbock do the dogpile on the mound, and posing with their National Championship banner.

All day I was saying, "Win or lose..." - as in "Win or lose, we're all going to go out and celebrate how well we did" or "Win or lose, this has been an amazing experience" or even "Win or lose, I'm really looking forward to going home." #2 and #3 are still true. I'm writing this from home, and the first thing I did was take a nap on my own bed. Dean made a wonderfully simple dinner of broiled chicken, brown rice, and salad. It was heaven after a week of burgers, fries, pizza, biscuits and gravy, and so many things I don't eat on a regular basis.

The game: our starting pitcher just didn't have it. He only went 1/3 inning and gave up 5 runs. His reliever, another of our winning starters, gave up another 5 runs, and the score was 10-7 after four innings.

The positive: Davis made an appearance, and really made the most of it. He pitched three innings. In the 5th he put up a zero, and again in the 6th, and gave up 1 run in the 7th. He had two strikeouts, one walk, and gave up four hits. Dean and I tried not to text frantically back and forth during his outing. He looked great. Dean said the announcers on the web used the word "phenomenal." This mom's heart got what it had been waiting for all week, so despite the monumental team disappointment, I came home happy. I have to admit I was a bit depressed this morning, after waving goodbye to the team bus, to see that the newspaper coverage concentrated on the struggles of our first two pitchers without notice of the reliever that gave us a chance to get back in the game. I guess there's always something to disappoint us, isn't there?

The Point Loma website has some nice things to say, and some nice pictures. I'm even in a couple. Here's the article. At the top there's a link to the pictures. http://www.pointloma.edu/Athletics/AthleticsEvents/Baseball_NAIA_World_Series_vs_Lubbock_Christian_19155.htm

The Lewiston crowd that we sat with all week was as happy for me as I was, I think. I told them my palms were clammy and I was nervous, and after seeing him face a couple of batters they asked why I should be nervous! One man reminded me to get a picture of that zero on the scoreboard after each inning. I did, but my camera doesn't have a powerful enough zoom, so it's pretty fuzzy. I may just have to invest in a new camera!

At the end of the game and the award of plaques and all-tournament honors (several of our players received them, and our team received the character award), the Lubbock team moved to right field to pose for pictures under the scoreboard, and their parents were allowed onto the field to take pictures. Then the towns people were allowed onto the field, and the kids raced to right field to collect caps or any other gifts from the winning team. (The man next to me pointed out his grandson racing across the grass.) Then they came over to our team looking for gifts and autographs. By this time the Point Loma parents were also allowed on the field. Our team prays together after each game, and the kids waited patiently until we were done. Our players gave away hats and signed autographs for kids and adults alike. One man had a tournament T-shirt and was having the whole team sign it. A little boy named Alex had been following our 2nd baseman Alex Cameron all week; he'd had him sign a bat the night before and was having him sign a ball last night.

Another nice feel of the community: the pastor of the church we visited last Sunday came to every game, and sat near me most games. I had Davis' camera to take pictures during the game, and realized about the 3rd inning last night that the batteries were shot. Fortunately they are only AA. The pastor went to the store and bought batteries and came back -- before Davis went in the game. That's just too cool!

I got to share the first leg of the team's flight home. They flew to Oakland, and changed planes to go to San Diego. I even sat with Davis! The team seemed to be doing OK. Many of them stayed up all night fishing and hanging around. Davis and I talked, read, and slept. It was very nice. ... So, this week I changed my flight home twice, extended the car rental twice, changed hotels once, extended the hotel stay once ... NEXT YEAR I'll plan to be there for the whole thing, and then if for some strange reason we leave early, I'll only change it all once. The team tasted it this year -- they'll know what they're playing for next year. I hope we're back next year.

Last night when I came down to the field, Davis had tears in his eyes and said "thank you for being here for this." I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Two pictures - one, the team praying after the game, with the town kids waiting nearby. Two, a mammoth burger we had at the town's famous burger place, Effie's. It's a pound, and four of us split it. They make the buns themselves (where else would you find one that size), and it was really delicious! Former Point Loma player (and older brother of Alex) Taylor Cameron is holding it up for me.

Signing off -

~ Claire