the happiest place on earth

Drew and I went to Disneyland last Thursday. The weather was beautiful, and while there were lots of people there, I imagine that the crowd could have been worse. Drew had never been there before, but I had been to Disney World a few times. Even so, I did want to check out Disneyland while I'm here.

Disneyland really is like Disney World, except on a smaller scale. There's no Epcot, but you still have Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

The highlights of the day included the Matterhorn Bobsleds and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. By the way, if you think about it, aren't the Pirates of the Caribbean kind of un-Disney? I mean, there is a ride and a series of movies about criminals. Pirates loot, plunder, and pillage, yet we romanticize them and glorify them. I'm just sayin.'

I love Piglet, but I wasn't willing to wait out a long line to get on the Winnie the Pooh ride, so I settled for a photo. Yes, Eeyore is in the background, but Piglet was nowhere to be found.

Here we are on Main Street:
All in all, it was a good day and we had a fun time. By the way, I don't know how parents survive Disneyland. We were dragging our feet by the end of the day, and all we had to worry about was ourselves. How do parents do it?

anti abortion vs. anti immigration

I don't know whether this is funny or sad. The Nebraska state legislature killed a bill that pitted 2 issues on the conservative agenda against one another: anti abortion v anti immigration. It was in yesterday's LA Times, and you can read it here. Nebraska is a strong anti abortion state, and a state legislator introduced a bill that would provide prenatal care for illegal (I prefer the term undocumented) immigrants.

Here is the question: Should the state provide prenatal care for unborn children of undocumented immigrants? Should the state protect those fetuses?

Here is the answer: Apparently, not all fetuses are worthy of life and protection. In the fight for the right to life, some potential lives are more valuable than others. The right to life isn't for everyone.

Nebraska is about to discover the unintended consequences of a lack of prenatal care. The article ended with an account of a woman who cannot afford prenatal care. Other women are skipping appointments because they also cannot pay. Anyway, the pregnant woman already has a 2 year old and is struggling financially. She had an abortion, and others will most likely follow suit.

baby blankets!

It's been a quiet and low key March so far. We finished the quarter last week, and spring "break" starts tomorrow. Break is in quotes because it's not really a break since I'll be working. So, not a whole lot of news to report. I came across some photos of a couple crochet projects and realized that I forgot to post them.

A couple friends had babies in the past year, so I crocheted each a blanket. Below, a fun monkey blanket. I also made a matching hat.

And here is a colorful ripple blanket:
That's all! Drew and I are going to Disneyland this week, so stay tuned!

yelp reviews

I've been a little under the weather this weekend, but that didn't stop me from updating my blog. Check out the sidebar! I've added a feature so you can check out my recent yelp reviews. Happy eating!

cheesecake ancho chile brownies...and cinnamon raisin bread!

I love brownies. I love cheesecake. I think you can see where this is going. I made cheesecake ancho chile brownies last weekend. Ancho chile powder? Didn't see that one coming, did you? I got a little experimental on this batch. In an attempt to make fudgy brownies, I added 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the brownie batter. Because I am not a chemist, I had no idea what would happen or why I felt so inclined to add the cocoa powder. The end result was a brownie that ended up more on the cake-y side, not the fudgy side. Lesson learned.

So I added the ancho chile powder to kick things up a notch, and it sort of worked. Oh, AND I added cayenne pepper for some added heat and punch. Since I was flying by the seat of my pants, I added the ancho chile powder in 1/4 teaspoon increments, tasting the brownie batter after each addition. After a tablespoon of the chile powder and 1/2 a teaspoon of the cayenne pepper, I was pretty satisfied. The heat wasn't too overwhelming, but it was there. Unfortunately, it mellowed out in the baking process. The brownies are nice and rich, but the ancho chile flavor is subtle and quite possibly undetectable. Regardless, these brownies aren't too bad.

Drew made cinnamon raisin bread! I love homemade cinnamon raisin bread! It was so, so good!

fresh air and hiking

Last weekend, Drew and I headed to Laguna Beach for a quick hike. The weather was beautiful of course, and very green (it rained the day before). I love Laguna Beach, and I would consider staying in Southern California if I could ever afford to live there. There are lots of restaurants, the beach is pretty, and there is a nice arts community.

The hike begins in a neighborhood, so there is a voyeuristic feel to it because we were walking behind people's homes. However, I don't feel too bad for them because this is their view:

I envy the suckers who can afford a house high on the hills of Laguna Beach, overlooking the ocean. Anyway, the hike was a short jaunt to this splendid view:

And lots of green:

bad-ass immune system

I hope I'm not jinxing anything, but I'd like to brag about my bad-ass immune system. A few years ago, 2 of my roommates got strep throat and I didn't get it. And a few months ago, Drew had mono and I didn't get it! Woo-hoo! Go awesome immune system!