The London Bridge.

Other than lots of old people, Lake Havasu City has the London Bridge. Yep, from London. When the bridge was being replaced in 1968 in England, they disassembled it piece by piece, every granite brick was numbered and was then reassembled in Lake Havasu across a man made canal exactly the same as it was in London. This is the second most visited tourist attraction in Arizona, right behind the Grand Canyon. 
We fed some birds too, like we used to do when I was a kid at Mingus Park. Except that these birds weren't rabid and covered in slime. 
Around the bridge is a little tourist village that has a bunch of souvenir shops. This one had a cute door, but all the stuff inside was crap. You know, bumper stickers and shot glasses. There was a candle factory though that was pretty cool if you like candles. They make really elaborate candles right there in front of you. I'm not much of a candle fan. My mom was really paranoid about fire when we were kids and she passed on her dislike of candles to me. Plus, most candles smell like ass. I prefer Bath & Body Works' wallflower smelly things. They smell so good and are about half the price right now during Christmas. I just went and stocked up yesterday. 

Whimsical Art.

I saw this image and I absolutely love it. In fact, I love pretty much all of the art in this shop. Her style is adorable.

That print reminded me of a book I read awhile ago and have passed along to my sister. It definitely isn't the greatest book I've ever read but Hector and the Search for Happiness was cute. Hector is a psychiatrist from France (the author is apparently also a psychiatrist) who is wondering what makes people happy. In his search he travels the world, finding questions and some answers. He has a one night stand with a call girl, he gets accidentally kidnapped, and he has other misadventures on his search. This is a little book, it only takes a couple hours to read, great for a wait at the doctor's office or if any of you are subjecting yourself to the TSA, for a flight. The thing about it though is that it's written in a childlike prose which can get a little annoying after awhile, and Hector is pretty naive, so it's good that the book isn't long. If it were longer, it'd stop being charming and start being really annoying. Overall, it's like a self help book on the lite side.

party hat.

I'm not sure why this hat would ever be necessary in Arizona. It's nearing the end of Nov. and is still 65 degrees outside. I think I would make a great lumberjack though and therefore believe I should go back and spend the 10 dollars on this hat. Plus, it would be perfect for Utah's weather where it's snowing already and it matches my coat. 

Kingman, AZ.

Jake and I are down in Lake Havasu City, Arizona visiting his sister and her family for Thanksgiving. Today we went to nearby Kingman so I could buy a new power cord for my laptop and to run some other errands. We were going to stop by an animal sanctuary but it's closed on Tuesday of all days so we're going to go back on Friday. Anyway, we ate some of the worst "Mexican" food I've ever had in my life at El Palacio. Seriously, if you ever happen to be in Kingman, avoid that place like you would the plague.

After lunch we stopped by a museum we had noticed that is all about Route 66. It had the cool little miniature towns that are seen below. There were also some photos by a local photographer and a gift shop that was clearly geared toward the elderly. I haven't seen anyone under the age of 65 wear a visor in years, especially one that had a license plate design all over it. Yay for sequins. 

Someone has a lot more patience than I to make these things.

They should probably dust them once a decade though, you know, to keep them looking fresh.

half birthday.

Speaking of birthdays, my half birthday was on the 20th. Jake took me to see Harry Potter 7 and I got these awesome cupcakes. There was more frosting than cake, just how I like it. I love cupcakes, but only if they're chocolate cake. White cake is a waste of time. 

I love my half birthday. It's awesome! 

I also got a new tomtom gps from my mama. More on that later. 

Happy Birthday Brookie!

My sister turned 30 years old on the 18th. She is now officially old as fuck. Happy Birthday sissy. I've figured out what I'm getting her but she doesn't get it for awhile for two reasons. One being that I don't have a job, and two is that it's a Birthday/Christmas gift. 

card found here. 

The Fancy Lamb.

The Fancy Lamb is an etsy shop that sells all kinds of awesome vintage items. Below are a few of my favorites. 

Potato ricer.

Candy cane striped mugs.

Book spines.

Soup mugs.

Snakeskin Samsonite Suitcase.

Cake carrier.

Metal scale. 

Framed print. 

HP 7 Part 1. Harry Potter, Bitches!

In order to get ready to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, I watched all of the previous movies and re-read the Deathly Hallows book. It is still my favorite Harry Potter book, I love the final fight at the end, when the castle helps defend against Voldemort. Anyway, the movie was great, and I understand that they have to leave things out so that the movie won't end up being 7 zillion hours long, but having just read the book, it made me sad. Plus, they completely change a lot of things, it kind of pissed me off. 

Aside from the movie, the theater in Ogden was super cool. It has assigned seating, like a concert though, which was weird. Every other theater I've been in is a first come, first serve deal. Anyway, the cool thing about this theater is that they have a food court and you can take your food into the movie with you. So we got some mini Pizza Hut pizzas and a quesadilla and enjoyed our movie. 

I must say though that I have been to one theater that was even cooler, it had couches and ottomans and served alcohol. Thanks for that experience, little brother. 

EDIT: I forgot to mention there was a vendor at the theater selling wands. I seriously considered purchasing one and then remembered that I can make my own. Hell yeah! Now who has a phoenix feather I can use for the core?

Door to Door Atheists.

This is a video of Australian filmmaker John Safran going around Salt Lake City knocking on doors of Mormons and sharing Atheism. Mainly because he's past being annoyed with all the Momos knocking on his door and preaching their craziness. I mean really, it's obnoxious. At least Jake and I don't have to deal with them. They stopped by here once, he answered the door, they saw his tattoos, said something about repenting and having them removed, he said no and they've never been back. I guess they know a lost cause when they see one. Lucky for them they got Jake because he was a lot nicer than I would've been. 

Thanks for the link, Buzzy. 

The TSA Gets a Little Handsy.

So if you watch the news or read any kind of online anything that talks about the news on occasion, you will most likely have seen that the interwebz and a lot of the nation is up in arms over the new TSA security measures at airports. Basically, you either have to be zapped by the backscatter machine that shows an image of a person's body underneath their clothes, they see all your bits, or you have to agree to a pat down, complete with ball touching. If you get chosen for the backscatter machine you can opt out but you are required to get the invasive pat down or you don't get to fly. 

I find this completely ridiculous. The TSA has not caught a single terrorist from pre-flight screening, not one. There are potential health risks with the machines, and nobody knows what kind of damage they might do to the human body later on. 

Anyway, as someone who has been flying a lot recently and enjoys my personal rights, I've written my congressman, senator and signed a petition to end this nonsense. Visit www.flywithdignity.org for more information on the backscatter machines, the new rules, and the TSA. 

Ahi Loves Catnip like Miley Cyrus Loves the Cock.

My beloved cat, Ahimsa, hasn't had much experience with catnip. Most of her toys are little balls that make noise, not those catnip stuffed mice. Catnip affects about 50% of cats, and apparently my fluffy little hairball is one of them. Jake had some in a little pile that his cats like to eat. Ahi jumped right in and rolled around in the stuff. Once sufficiently coated she came and jumped on my freshly laundered clothing. Gee thanks. Good thing she's cute. I've been wanting to start an herb garden and since Nepeta cataria (catnip) is an herb, maybe I'll grow some for Miss Ahimsa.

Didn't You Know...

hangers = love. Last time I was in Utah I went to Wal Mart specifically to buy hangers and they only had white. I hate white hangers, talk about boring. So while I was in Oregon stressing out and trying to get ready to move, Jake was out buying me an assortment of pretty hangers. I like the yellow color the best. 

Utah.

My photo is a little blurry, I was hanging out a window going 75 mph. That's okay, every photo of Utah could be blurry and you wouldn't be missing much. 
The clouds were really pretty here. If they were a little bit darker and full of unrelenting rain, it would've reminded me of home. 

Home, Home on the Range.

Here are some photos of the area near Jake's hometown of Dietrich, Idaho. His hometown boasts a little market that sells deep fried burritos, and a tiny tiny tavern. That is all. There's not even a gas station. Oh, but there is a giant Momo church (that's how I'm referring to the Mormons from now on). I'm pretty sure the church can hold more people than live in the area. 

Shark Bites.

Today Jake and I went to Shark Bites Seafood Cafe for lunch. Even though I've heard amazing things about it I've never been before because this crazy chick used to work there and I didn't want any saliva in my food. She's moved her angry, fat, leprechaun ass out of town so now I'm free to eat as I please. 

Jake got the halibut tacos which come with chips and salsa and black beans. He said they were really good, especially the beer battered halibut, but he thought the salsa was lacking. I tried it, it was good but not spicy at all, it was the super mild version of salsa. The black beans though were phenomenal. I don't know what they cooked them it but it was so yummy. 

I had the tomato bisque soup and a salad. Let me tell you, that was the best tomato soup I have ever had, hands down. It was so yummy I ate it all and wanted more. 

Aside from the food, this place is really cute. They have burlap coffee bags all along one of the walls as a sort of wallpaper, and glass floats hanging in the window. They aren't solely a restaurant though. They also have a surf shop in the back where you can get a board and wetsuit. 
This is the owner in the new fresh seafood market they opened. It's a cool idea but at the same time, you can walk right down on the boardwalk and buy it straight from the fishermen if you want to. That's what is cool about living on the coast, direct access. 

Backseat Blues Part Deux.

Remember this post? Well, I'm moving to Utah tomorrow so I figured I should probably finish the cleaning out of the inside of my car (obviously I am not a procrastinator). Here is what was in there. 4 boxes and bags of canned goods from the Aunties, 3 bags of old homework from college, random books, a box of clothes, and my canning pot. Oh, and a bag of twinkle lights and glass jars from my sister's wedding over a year ago. woot! Now to pack it full of shit again, hopefully in a more organized manner. 

Movember.

I think I just scarred my boyfriend for life. He's used to the female looking Jordan, instead he got...
Jordan con moustache. It's Movember, Men's Health Awareness month. I posted the above picture on my facebook to remind all the guys in my life to get a checkup, I want my friends and family to be around for a long long time. Of course to get this awesome profile pic I had to go through several moustaches before I came across the perfect one. Check out the other options below.

Grandpa / Orange County Choppers 'stache.

Guy Fawkes 'stache.

Hitler 'stache.

For more information on Movember, or to donate, visit www.movember.com

Dried Tomato Bread.

I mentioned that I wanted to make sun dried tomato bread but it turns out that I didn't have any sun dried tomatoes like I thought I did. So instead I dried some cherry tomatoes in my oven. I found the recipe in A Slice of Organic Life.

Preheat oven to 200F

Slice cherry tomatoes in half, put on lightly oiled baking pan, skin side down

Put a thin slice of garlic on the tomatoes

Add finely chopped Thyme

Add a pinch of sea salt and a very small amount of sugar

Let dry for 3 hours (I left mine in for roughly 5)

This leaves the tomatoes not completely dry. They were delicious. 

Sidenote: I don't like chopping garlic, it makes your hands all sticky and gross. Also, in the book they tell you to chop the thyme but in their picture it's not chopped at all, in fact, it's like a giant branch. That really annoys me when they say to do one thing but show a picture of something else altogether. 
I then put them in bread. Here is a loaf with tomatoes and pesto. I had begun to run out of tomatoes at this point after I had already made two other loafs. Next time I'll have to buy more cherry tomatoes, or grow them myself. 
This is cherry tomatoes with pepper jack cheese. I put rosemary and thyme in the dough. It turned out so amazingly good that I almost ate the entire loaf at once. 
Last night I made 6 loaves, all spoken for. I guess if I want to keep my bread I should stop posting pictures of it on facebook. 

Birthday Bread.

Today is my dad's actual birthday and since I learned how to make bread last night I decided to get a little ambitious and make some bread for his birthday. First of all, I got out of bed before noon, which is a feat in itself. Then, I went into town and picked up more yeast, raisins, minced garlic and a mini loaf of Tillamook Cheese. If you've never had Tillamook Cheese you're missing out because it's amazing and made right here in Oregon.
So I prepared the dough just like yesterday but when I got to the last step, after splitting it into three sections, I rolled out the sections and added my goodies. I made two garlic cheese rolls with minced garlic and grated cheese. Then I made one cinnamon raisin breakfast roll. After putting all the stuff on the rolled out dough I simply rolled my dough up, and tucked the ends in, then baked as normal. 
I took one of the garlic cheese rolls over to my mom's because my dad isn't home yet and I really wanted to try it and it was SO SO good. I'm making bread all the time from now on. I want to try a version with sun dried tomatoes in it next. 

Yay DeFazio!!

While the Republican and Democratic candidates are still duking it out for Oregon's Governor in a race so close that they are only about 10,000 votes apart at this time, I'm proud to say that those of us in Oregon's 4th District got our asses out of bed and mailed in our ballots to re-elect Congressman Peter DeFazio! So today, the Onion has an article, "Last Remaining Politician Must Rebuild Entire Government Following Bloodiest Midterm Election In American History," featuring DeFazio. The pictures kind of look like the zombie apocalypse just happened in DC. So awesome! 

I'm Gonna Butter Your Bread (kidding).

I decided to make bread so I'd have something to eat the butter I made with. Instructables is quickly becoming my favorite new website because they have all these tutorials on how to make things that are super easy and detailed enough that someone who doesn't know what they're doing doesn't have to feel like an idiot. I love all those fancy blogs about making food but half the time I don't know what the fuck they're talking about. 
So the recipe I followed was enough to make three loaves. That's good because I know when my dad wakes up in the morning and sees them in the kitchen he'll probably devour a whole loaf himself without even asking. If you want to try making bread I would really recommend this recipe for your first time, it's so so simple. 
Anyway, I just tried some and it's super yummy. Yay for making things at home and for warm bread. Next batch I'm going to maybe make a cinnamon & raisin loaf and a garlic & cheese loaf; you can basically add whatever you want.  

Cat Fight!

Taylor Swift recently released her latest album Speak Now. Apparently it's supposed to be songs about all of the things she wished she would've said at certain times but didn't. Mostly they're kind of mopey songs about ex-boyfriends. I was getting pretty bored until I got to the song Better Than Revenge. So, remember when Joe Jonas broke up with T Swift over a 27 sec. phone call back in 2008 so he could bone Camilla Belle? Taylor got all pissed off and went on a media rampage and then the Jonas went on myspace to proclaim that he never cheated on her and blah blah. I don't know why she was all upset, it's obvious that he is the gay Jonas Bro anyway. Taylor's new song is pretty obviously directed toward Camilla Belle with these lyrics:

"She's not a saint, and she's not what you think, she's an actress, whoa

She's better known for the things that she does on the mattress, whoa..."

Holy Shit AWESOME!! I love it. Finally, T Swift is getting catty and it's super danceable and catchy. I hope it gets released as a single and is all over the radio.