Nice shootin' Tex

Prepare to be shocked:

I, Laura, the avid anti-gun person who swears there will never be a gun in my house, went shooting. Sam has a shooting qualification test next week, so he had to go to a shooting range once to practice (and I got dragged along). Now, since I know you are all wondering, I wasn't converted by any means, but it was kinda fun. I almost peed my pants when we first walked in because it was SO loud, but I got used to that. I never, however, really got over my trepidation of touching the gun.

Don't I look like a she-beast? (That is one of my friend's made up words to describe really manish women)

We call him the Terminator.

It may look like I am aiming . . .

but apparently not! I was not the best shot.

My new favorite treat

If there is one thing all Westover women lack, it is self control. We are constantly GORGING ourselves on sweets--brownies, cookie dough you put in the freezer hoping that out of sight will be out of mind, fruit snacks for the nursery kids on Sunday . . . you get the picture. Well my latest junk food obsession is chocolate covered almonds. Something about the roasted nut dipped in rich milk chocolate is just SO addicting. I keep buying these big jars from Costco (even though every time I say it is the last one I will ever purchase) and then making Sam hide them from me so I don't eat all 3 lbs on my own.

Well yesterday I was feeling especially motivated in the fitness department, so after my usual cardio at the gym, I came home and put on a toning video. As I suffered through countless sit-ups, I saw something gleaming, calling to me from under the couch . . . a lid. I found them!!! So what do you think happened next? I ditched the sit-ups and dug in! Mmmm . . . delicious. I should do sit-ups more often!

Coldplay

I definitely go on blogging kicks. I will have weeks where I want to post but have nothing to say, and then really fun weeks when I just don't feel like posting. Well, last week was one of those fun weeks and I am still trying to play catch up. So be prepared for a few post right in a row.

Last Thursday we went to the Coldplay concert! We both really love the band and were pumped to see affordable tickets. We had to sit on the lawn at the very back of the amphitheatre, but it was nice to have room to stretch out and relax. It was made even better when Coldplay came back to us! I have never seen a band do that before but it was a thrill for those of us at the back (especially the annoying high school groupies and drunk college students back there with us). We saw the technies preparing an area with guitars and stuff only about ten feet away from us, so we had to brace ourselves to be tramped. We were dead right. After being smashed, shoved, and having to punch some girl in the butt, we found a place to breathe. But here is our proof:

You can see sweat pouring down Chris Martin's face. Eww.

Just in case anyone reading this is a fan, here is a clip.

Take me out to the ballgame

Sam was pumped to go to the Padres game last weekend and so was I. Why would I be interested in a long, boring baseball game, you might ask? One word . . . churros. I have a weakness for those delicious, cinnamon covered, deep fried goodies. They didn't have any at the concession stand near our seats, so I pouted through several innings until Sam went on a search to find me one. He took one bite, shook his head, and said, "I don't know why you think those are so good." Mmmmm . . . more for me.

Don't we look like fans? Sam found these "vintage" Padres shirts online.

I guess I should mention that my second favorite part of the game was the view. The park is RIGHT downtown and near the water--gorgeous!

Our "wild" andventures

For my bridal shower in Provo, Sarah put together one of those videos where she asked Sam questions and recorded his answers in advance, and I had to guess his answers before they showed the video. Well, I am proud to say that I got them all right except the question, "What is Sam's dream job?" I said (very confidently too) to be captain of a ship. WRONG. His answer? A zookeeper. Um, excuse me? Apparently he is more of a closet zoo fanatic that he owns up to.

Well we now live one block from the San Diego Zoo, and Sam is in heaven. One of the first things he wanted to do was buy season passes. We have had fun going for just a few hours in the evenings when it is less hot and crowded. My favorites are the koalas--don't they look so snuggly? Cutest.Our memberships also get us into the Wild Animal Park, another zoo-ish place in Escondido where they try to make it more safari-esque. They mix some animals together in wide open areas and you ride around on a little train. I went a few weeks ago with Amber and her boys, and it was pretty neat. However, after being on a real safari, it is a bit of a let down. I mean seriously, that is a tough act to follow.

Somehow this . . .

Just can't compare to this!

Online Photo Class

My sickening sister-in-law told me about a free online photography class, and I decided to give it a try. It teaches you how to manipulate your photos using photoshop tricks. Now these are just my first attempts and since I just have the free trial photoshop, I don't have many options for brushes, frames, and whatnot. But it is fun! Maybe I will get hooked . . .

Day 1: Adding a frame and word art

Day 2: Adding a brush (although I don't know why they don't call it a stamp--that's all it is)

Day 3: Creating a vintage look with sepia and hand tinting

BEFORE . . .

AFTER . . .

Funnest.

Some Like it Hot!

Yesterday, instead of dealing with this:

Sam and I decided to do this!

We LOVE living so close to the beach. We spent the whole day on the beautiful Coronado beach (which is only ten minutes away--heaven).

The highlight for me was standing on the same beach where Some Like it Hot was filmed. I mean, come on, Marilyn Monroe once lounged on that same sand (and most of you know that I am somewhat of a closet fanatic). I just HAD to get a photo in front of the Hotel Del Coronado where the movie was filmed.

Aren't my white legs glamorous? :)

Friday Beach Day!

One fun thing about moving to San Diego has been spending so much time with my cousin Amber, her husband Josh, and their ADORABLE kids. We hadn't seen each other in years, so it has been great to catch up. She is great about inviting me along to things, and I am all too happy to tag along!

Amber and the boys go to the beach every Friday with some friends, and I have tagged along twice. I LOVE being so close to the beach. Especially when I get to go with these cuties.

Um seriously . . . could little Dallin be any cuter? I don't know if you can tell, but he has sand ALL over his face (even in his hair).

Nathan and Jack--snoogs.

The proud mama.

Cookin' with the Oldies

I seem to have a knack for hunting down activities that attract the older generation. I have been desperately trying to find something to fill my days here since I am jobless and friendless, and I happened to discover that community college classes in California are free! On a whim, I signed up for "time saving cooking" thinking that I need all the help I can get and maybe it would be a good place to make friends. So I spent four hours in class today, chopping veggies for the most delicious black bean and corn salsa in the world and listening to conversations about grandchildren and hip replacements. I was the youngest person in there by (at least) 40 years. I suppose the only people with four hours to spare on a Thursday morning are retirees. Oh well. It was actually still really fun and I am not opposed to hanging out with senior citizens. :)

Our new place!

When we saw a listing for a two bedroom apartment less than a mile from Sam's work and right on Balboa Park that was within in our price range, we braced ourselves for something truly ghetto. Seeing this posted in the (surprisingly nice looking) lobby, it didn't do much to raise our hopes:
But we were shocked when we walked into the apartment and found this:

We lucked out big time!!! We happened to be in the right place at the right time when the landlord dropped the rent and we nabbed it.

Now the funny thing about this apartment is that the landlady is an extremely quirky old lady who wanted to do some renovations to make it more "luxury." This sounds all good and well, but she really should have gotten some decorating advice from someone a little more hip. For example, she took out the tub shower and put in a nice glass one. The problem? She thought it would be nice to choose the glass with white, leaping dolphins printed on it. TACKY! So if you ever make it over to our place, don't blame me for the pervasive old woman influence. :)

But look at our cute street! We are really excited about living here.