Recession?

I think everyone has been hit by the recession in some way. It is glaringly obvious in some, but in others you have too look a little bit to notice. I have recently been shopping at a local market that sells local produce and I was a little disturbed by what I found. The first thing I bought were Brussel Sprouts. I love to roast them in a hot, hot oven with garlic and olive oil until they are nice and caramelized. Sooo good!
Nothing odd here, just your basic sprout.

What the? Huh, those are quite small now that I think about it.....

Ok, well they may be on the small side but that just means I don't have to cut them in half to roast! See there is a silver lining to everything! Next on the list is another of my favorite things to roast, also with garlic and olive oil. Mmmm double good!

I love, love, love sweet potatoes! Probably more than white potatoes!

Again, they seem a little on the small side.... :) Seriously, these were CRAZY small. It was like a fingerling potato, only the sweet version.

So I came up with 2 theories. The first being the farmers are struggling so much, they are being forced to to pick their crops early in order to make money. The second being that since I am buying local and in Vegas, there is simply not enough water for the crops to grow any bigger. We are in a desert after all. To add to that theory, maybe these crops are not being poisoned with chemicals or injected with growth hormones and this is how a normal crop should look! What do you think?

On that note, I am on a mission to try something new every time I go to the grocery store. This week I went with the Prickly Pear.
Has anyone had one of these before?

Small Sacrifices

Sometimes you have to wonder if the cost of something is worth the rewards.

Seriously it not only took me 20 minutes to get all the seeds out but I had Pomegranate juice all over my counter, my ipod and myself. Thank goodness I had the foresight to put this on over my work clothes......

My Saturday as a 12 year old boy

Saturday I decided to release my inner 12 year old boy and went to the National Skateboarding Championship. It totally rocked!!!
My friend Chava invited me to go and I thought it might be a good way to pick up on hot tattooed skater boys. Unfortunately the majority of the males were under the age of 18, there with their wives and children, or drunk and annoying.
Regardless, I still had a good time. Funny man Rob Dyrdek (I love him!) was the host and we were sitting only about 50 feet from him. He was covered in security though so I was unable to stalk him efficiently. Even though you know he is short, he is even shorter in person. There was also a booth where you could meet and get your picture taken with Audrina Patridge (you know from "The Hills") Yeah, I didn't.
There were 3 events on this little skate park set-up and the finalist ranged in age from 14-28.
The tricks these guys can do is amazing! It made me want to buy a skateboard :)
Nyjah Huston (AWESOME dreads!)
Chaz Ortiz (He was one of my favorites)
Chris Cole (Getting old in skateboarding terms, 28!!!!! and my personal favorite who missed winning on the very last trick)

Now I knew skateboarding was a big deal but I did not realize the amount of money involved. The winner received $150,000... Seriously? Can you imagine winning that much money as a kid? Crazy! I did get some prizes myself like this kick butt poster...
I am totally hanging this on my wall in my room, lol. I also got this awesome bumper sticker which is doubly cool because it is also my initials!
Totally Rad

Alright Already

I get it, I get it, it's time for me to update. It's summer in Vegas and I would rather be out at the pool than blogging, so sue me! Ha Ha No I really have been putting this off because I honestly thought I had nothing to blog about but as I was looking through my pictures I realized that I actually have done something other than get skin cancer this summer! Be prepared though, it is a lot of pictures!

First off, I had two cute boys come into my life this summer...... My sweet, sweet nephew
And my beautiful friend popped this little one out

We are pretty sure she is the mom
I was able to go home and visit the fam over the 4th of July. I got to see (or rather NOT see) my brother in law
My Cuz
My pops and the other little man (we will have a special bond as middle children!)
My uncle who appears to be looking at my chest, but is actually not. He is only a little creepy, not that creepy.....
My sweet momma
My sassy sis
My retarded bro
My sis in law who makes the most incredible, funny children in the whole world!
And my precocious niece, who can make me laugh harder than anyone! Yes, those are my shoes, next will be a tattoo :)
Life at work has of course been really difficult by I am managing. First off my boss and friend called it quits.
Then my other boss and friend decided she was done as well.
Then my good friend Pam decided she wanted to get married and leave me all alone in this hell hole. She did stay with me for 6 weeks though before she moved to San Diego so we had some good times together. Some of the pictures are not suitable for this family blog so those will stay off..... (kidding)

To thank me for my hospitality, I was invited up to San Diego for a week for a vacation and it was HEAVEN!!!! (Yes, I am back on a mission to move there) Pam and James on the beach
Me soakin up the rays
Yeah, that's right. I'm in a bikini. I wear it all the time. I don't care
Awwww, sand on my feet
That's all for now folks, it's late, I'm tired. I will try to be better ;) Yeah right

Back to basics

It has been WAY to long since I blogged! It's partially because I really need a new computer and it takes me hours to do a post because this one is so slow!! I am going to try and be better.
I recently watched a movie called Food Inc. I think EVERYONE should watch this movie! I have been eating healthy (for the most part, lol) for quite some time now, but have recently kicked it up a notch to organic foods. This does require some effort and I by no means am eating everything organic, but have been buying my fruits, vegetables, and dairy this way and a limited amount of meat. During my last trip to "whole paycheck" i.e. "Whole Foods" I was having difficulty finding organic pickles. Pickles are the one thing that I cannot live without. If I had to pick one food to eat forever, it would be pickles. So, I decided to make my own today (all organic ingredients!), and I am so excited!!!
I will let you know how they turn out as soon as I am able to crack them open! It is really hard to be patient! I also made molasses cookies for work on Friday and ate a couple of them and they were by no means organic or healthy but they were really, really good!

On another exciting note, this beautiful girl is about to have a baby!!!!
She started having contractions yesterday and she just texted me that she is at an 8 and should be ready to push in an hour. I can't believe it! I am so glad she waited so that it would be a Gemini, although I was really pushing for my birthday, lol! I am so glad we got some pool time together as that is probably it for the next couple years! :) Love you so much Celeste!!!