too much time on our hands

the teen's really getting into this photography thing. since they're doing STAR testing at school this week, she hasn't had homework assignments, which leaves us with a lot of free time to play. and yesterday, she decided it would be fun to grab the camera and her friend rock-el, get outside, and take the bean to the park.

the tunnels were fun:

and so were the swings:

there was even a mini-rock wall to climb, although the bean settled for playing peek-a-boo and offering up some wood chips, in case we needed some.

the bean has been really affectionate lately, since she's learned how to give and blow kisses. sadly for the teen, she doesn't do it on command. and she's also learned the dreaded word "no."

after running around at the park, we were ready for a refreshing treat. well, glendora's on the late train in regards to the recent frozen yogurt craze. we've got an ancient yogurt station (gah-ross) and have had a golden spoon for a few months, and while it's tasty, it lacks the delicious, sweet tart-ish flavor of our beloved pinkberry.

but a couple of weeks ago, a new joint threw open its doors, offering self-serve fro-yo and toppings - blizzberry.

we'd heard all about it - apparently, britney spears is a fan, and the owners of this particular pinkberry knock-off are friends of marky-mark wahlberg [cue "good vibrations"]. he was even present for the grand opening a couple weeks ago, according to the local paper. whee!

the teen and i tried their "tart" flavor, and were pretty bummed to discover that it wasn't very good. in fact, it was downright jack nasty. ew. so she and rock-el settled for "regular" flavors and toppings, while i opted for one of these:

somehow, as we always do *yawn* we started a trend. the store had been totally empty when we walked in, but within minutes of our arrival, the poor girl who was working solo at the counter was swamped. the girls got their yogurt and ordered my drink, but it took forever and about four days for it to be ready.

and when my drink arrived at last, i was just barely able to stick a straw in and take a quick photo before someone snagged it right out from under me - and i hadn't even tasted it yet.

little booger.

that same little booger, by the way, was quite fascinated with french whore barbie.

last night's dinner was out of my rachael ray cookbook - stir fried tofu and veggies with coconut jasmine rice. for the hub and me, i cooked some chicken separately and then mixed it in with the sauce and veggies after i'd served the teen. i can't find the recipe online, so just e-mail me if you're interested and i'll be nice and type it out for you.

as i cooked this, i thought for sure it was gonna be a bust. it's very different from anything else i've made, and i wasn't feeling too confident that my family would dig it. i thought it was pretty terrific - it smelled awesome and the flavor was really good, but i didn't have high hopes.

turns out, i should've had more faith in them. while no one really loved the tofu, the flavor of the rice, veggies and sauce was a big hit, and the hub and i liked the way the chicken tasted a lot.

oh! i got the teen to throw on her fabulous betsey johnson dress today and let me take a picture. we're calling it her "madonna-in-her-like-a-virgin-days" dress:

we're working on finding some awesome hot pink satin shoes and lots of strands of pearls for her to complete the ensemble. and i think we're going to curl her hair and throw on a white lace headband. it cracks me up that fashion from the 80's is cool again. hell, if i'd have known, i'd never have tossed my "boy toy" belt, lace bustier, and black rubber bracelets. ahahahahahahaha!

you think i'm kidding.

before i go, i must share this - just down the street from us is the locally-famous donut man. folks drive all the way into sleepy ass glendora from as far as west l.a. for their seasonal fresh strawberry and peach donuts, and their other offerings are really damn good. i rarely allow myself to stop in and pick up a snack, though, because their donuts are GI-normous. i kid you not, the one i got today was the size of my freaking head:

you like how i put a quarter next to it, to emphasize the sheer massiveness of this thing? it's a bavarian cream-filled, chocolate topped monstrosity that i happily devoured all by myself.

to make up for my ridiculously unhealthy afternoon munching (which also included a soft pretzel and iced chai latte at the mall, heh), i made some vegetarian yakisoba for dinner. i again don't have a recipe to post for this, as i totally winged it, but it was super simple: a frozen stir-fry veggie mix, a package of soba noodles, a half cup of bottled tonkatsu sauce, and a splash of sriracha sauce. and it was yummy:

healthy, yes?

getting lost, and a fabulous find

on saturday, we decided it would be fun to go on a nice drive. and since the teen is in the market for a dress to wear to her promotion ceremony next month, we turned it into a shopping trip up to camarillo. betsey johnson has an outlet there, and the teen really wanted one of her dresses. i was really hoping for a great price, so we got ready and hopped in the car.

oh, before i forget - i tried out this recipe, as suggested by Super Mom.Super Wife. a couple of weeks ago.

it got mixed reviews in the wan household. the hub, who isn't a huge breakfast fan, thought it was pretty good. it was kind of weird, i'll admit - as it baked, the egg mixture sank to the bottom of the pan while the cinnamon roll pieces floated up to the top. i liked it, and the bean, while she didn't really care for the cinnamon roll part (!), loved the eggy base on the bottom. and let's just say that the teen's opinion was exactly the opposite of her sister's. but thank you, SM.SW.! it was fun to try out a new breakfast recipe.

when we got off the freeway at the exit for the outlets, we decided that a filet o'fish sounded pretty darn good. well, the teen didn't, but she wasn't hungry. and we ended up going on a ridiculous hunt for a mcdonald's that took far longer than it should've. but it was okay, since the bean was snoozing in the back anyway, and naps are good.

at the betsey johnson store, the teen was dazzled by the wide variety of fun, funky, poufy dresses on the racks. and i was just as dazzled - by the clearance racks, which were stocked with items originally priced at $425 and up...for $75. oh, yes.

after debating between three super cute styles - two that weren't on the clearance racks but still much less than retail, and one that was at the super low price - she finally decided on the latter. of course, that was with a little prodding from me - "you know, if you go with the cheaper dress, that means you'll have some room for accessories and cool shoes..."

with her precious cargo hanging from a hook in the back, we got back in the car and did a little exploring, checking out the local farming areas and giving the teen a chance to exercise her photography muscles. these are her shots:

not bad for having to hobble around with a walking cast.

we rolled down the windows to enjoy the fresh air, and the bean thought it was hilarious to have the wind in her face.



she looks like a pirate in the last one, haha!

more windy hilarity.

somehow, we ended up here:

we thought this place looked cool, although we only stopped to take pictures of it.

we took a different scenic route on the way back.

the twisty, turny, windy road soon put someone to sleep:

we thought these were pretty random:

and then, out of nowhere, this popped up on the horizon.

and that's how we ended up back here:

by then, we were hungry again - especially the teen, who'd chosen not to have a snack at mcdonald's. so we went to an old favorite:

mmmm, pasta. so delicious.

and that was our fun road trip saturday!