On Friday, I cooked dinner for Selina and we had our first one on one time in at least a year. She treated us to cupcakes from my favorite cupcake place in Austin.

Saturday, I woke up super early to drag my little from Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America to a We Are Girls conference. It was a great experience and I learned a lot in just three workshops. I hope to hammer out a recap this week. There was a lot of information I want to help spread out into the world.

Then I did some Christmas wrapping.

On Sunday, I woke up super early again and “ran” the Susan G Komen’s Race for the Cure 5k.

It was a treat to see most of the people at Juan in the Million were wearing their Race for the Cure t-shirts too. We felt like we were part of a community.

Not pictured from the weekend:

Walking another 3 miles in the afternoon with my friend Brandi and my dog. (Leaves me quite sore this morning!)

Picking up the boyfriend from the airport. Just in time! I was missing him.

A few episodes of Felicity.

Lots and lots of chores.

1. Vancouver is now my favorite city. It used to be New York for all its glorious nooks and crannies. Then I temporarily gave the number one spot to San Francisco. Only temporarily because I figured, I will grow tired of SF and that’s something I couldn’t foresee doing with New York. It is now Vancouver and I cannot wait to go back.
2. Hailing from Texas and freezing at anything lower than 60 degrees Fahrenheit, I didn’t think I was an outdoorsy person. In Vancouver, I loved being outside. The weather was cool and the scenery is perfect.
3. I was gawking at the gorgeous views of blue and green in Colorado from photos of a friend’s recent vacation but knew in my heart, I love urban living too much to ever be passionate about the pretty lakes and greenery. Vancouver is the compromise between my need for skyscrapers and city lights and fanciful desires to admire natural landscapes. A city nestled amongst ocean and mountains.
4. The sushi here is phenomenal. And much cheaper than in Austin, Houston, and Dallas Texas.
5. I walked around downtown at night and sometimes by myself and never felt like I should be running to my destination with my phone pre-dialed to 911 or a key ready to gouge out eyes.
6. Regarding chains: Surprised to see a Dairy Queen in Vancouver! Also had my first Fatburger experience. There’s tons of Starbucks. I usually look for an H&M when I travel in the states but didn’t do that for Vancouver. Was giddy with joy when I found our hotel was 2 blocks away from an H&M.
7. Alan could not get up for the early morning departures for neighboring cities, like Victoria. So this only means, I have to go back to Vancouver and see it on my own while he does his thing for a day or go with a few girlfriends. Maybe, I’ll do it when I go to Seattle!
8. I love Canadian hospitality and accent, eh!
9. The Asian population in Vancouver is astounding.
10. I’ve never seen so many parks just walking about in a city. It seems every 2-3 blocks there’s a darling park with inviting art, benches, fountains, interesting seating, just beckoning passersby to lounge.

Post Update: I scheduled this post to publish early on the weekend but must update you on my hometown. Vancouver may be my favorite city to visit, but Austin is where my heart is. Central Texas is burning, the biggest fire being in Bastrop, TX, just 30 minutes away from Austin. If you can spare a few dollars to donate to the Red Cross, it can help go a long way. Last I checked, the biggest fire is 6 miles by 16 miles big. 250,000 acres have been charred. Here’s a facebook image of Austin’s capitol building for some perspective.

Today’s VEDA (Vlog Everyday in August) topic is to vlog something neat from your hometown.

Well, I find it mighty awesome that Austin, Texas has bats.

It’s a happy day in Austin, Texas. We have been so dry and dying for rain that yesterday’s late night storm was received by joyous tweets. I tweeted that I loved that rain was building community in our town. And it really has. Here’s just a small sample of Austinites tweeting about the happiness that is rain.

photo credit

@Hipstercrite: i dreamt that it rained last night. i also dreamt that gene wilder gave me ice cream. at least one of these dreams came true. :(

@statesman: Extra! Extra! Rain falls in Austin! Citizens surprised & confused! Dead lawns get water!

@Mutinybikes: Rain in Austin? Weird.

@stetted: The thunder scared me awake last night because I forgot what it was.

@lindaeatsworld: @stetted Love how being deprived of rain has made the prospect of rain& rain itself noteworthy. It’s almost like it’s building community.

@stetted: @lindaeatsworld I think rain has been taking marketing lessons from Steve Jobs.

@atexastwist: AM truly thankful for the rain. Not so much for the power outage, subsequent surges, and the not going back to sleep that followed. Ugh.

@gardens123: I stayed up to see the glorious rain. So sleepy, but I don’t even care.

@FranishNonspeak: Whoot! Woke up to rain drops clinging to the windows. Looks like we got a decent soaking overnight.

@jkru: rain… it’s like a free lawn watering service.

@caeseroct: How do I know it’s raining outside? Because it’s raining inside my apartment too. #leakage

@foodiethenew40: RAIN!!!!

@julieboolietran: I love the rain. Now I can sleep in peace.

@julieboolietran: Loud car outside? Nope… Just loud thunder lol

@robertbanh: RAIN!!

@MisoHungry: I see lighting. Can rain be following soon? #Austin

@racheldaneman: LIGHTENING AND THUNDERRR @themarissagreen your rain dance worked!!! Ahhhh rain is coming!!!! We’re saved!!! (not really…)

@gardens123: Wow, rain is so close. Please, pretty please?

@lisaiscooking: running was slightly less horrible tonight. still, wish I’d been running in rain.

@alm1969: 74 degrees in Austin, Texas this morning. Rain changes everything.

@brandflair: Finally, rain last night in #Austin. My garden is now full of #happytrees. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

It’s that time of year again! I share with you my personal recap of 2010. This year was much better than 2009 (which was much worse than my 2008). It was a year of recovery and regaining balance. I feel very fondly of 2010 but I’m ready to embrace 2011. Bring it!

Note: All links open in a new window.

January 2010

• Rung in the new year with Alan, Jen, and friends.
• Started a book club.
• I finally organized my books.
• An old high school and college classmate randomly invited me to Gourdough’s. I’ve since had 13 of their donuts.
• Made a cooking video with my mom. Significant because it’s the most popular youtube video I’ve posted with over 10,000 views.

Celebrating New Year’s Eve

February 2010

• Will came to visit from Dallas.
• Launched a separate food blog.
• Sent out Valentine cards and socks.
• Had a Valentine’s Date with Alan at Joe DiMaggio’s and received beautiful flowers from Cindy and a lovingly abusive voice mail from Jon.
• Progressive meal in Houston that took us to three restaurants for one meal.
• Organized a trip to San Antonio to eat a 42 inch pizza.
• Spotted a car hoarder. This blog entry got a lot of Austin search hits.
• First real book club meeting. Discussed The Shack.
• Despite all of the above, it was still a tough month.

March 2010

• Watched An Education by myself.
• Had a crawfish broil.
• Went to Austin’s first annual Bacon Takedown!
• Participated in a food blogger’s workshop, called TechMunch during SXSW.
• Celebrated two years with Alan.

Crawfish Boil

April 2009

• Saw Anthony Bourdain speak!!!
• Went to Houston for my daddy’s birthday.
• I piped my first cake (disaster) and saw the famed albino squirrel at the University of Texas.
• Posted my first video blog.

May 2010

• Made my first lasagna.
• Learned to be more careful. More specifically, not to roam gas stations at night.
• Treated Alan and myself to a date with Conan.
• I ate a double down.
• Austin Wine Festival with Brittany.

The back of Conan

June 2010

• Went canoeing for the first time.
• Moved out of my 2 bedroom apartment which I shared with Brandi and into a 1 bedroom by my lonesome. Meanwhile, Brandi moved to Dallas for culinary school.
• Started a weekly writing exercise with my best friend.
• Celebrated Brittany’s birthday at a bingo hall.
• I ran into the same cat, dog, and mouse that I had previously first seen in San Francisco the year prior.
• Saw Anthony Bourdain speak for the second time this year. Also had the pleasure of meeting him. And touching his tricep.

July 2010

• Celebrated Fourth of July poolside and downtown.
• Seriously started to write letters and my pen pals actually wrote back.
• Hosted a girls’ weekend. Alex and Hillary drove in from Houston and San Angelo and we ate, drank, and were merry.
• Celebrated my 27th birthday with two celebrations. An one-on-one date at a fabulous new sushi restaurant and then a group birthday with a handful of friends.
• Jon who flew down and was able to make it to my birthday dinner, was in town an extra day and we spent all day eating, drinking, and being merry.

Jon and Me at my Birthday Dinner

August 2010

• Participated in VEDA and met some wonderful people.
• I vlogged my scoliosis scar which was a difficult feat for me.
• I had my heart broken by someone dear to me.
• Participated in an attempt to set a world record of most amount of people icing cupcakes at one time.
• Finished my 21st book of 2010 : A Man Without a Country. One of my favorites.
• Went to Houston to celebrate Aishah’s 27th birthday.

Aishah’s 27th Birthday

September 2010

• Alan took me to see Joe Rogan!
• Went to the wedding of Alan’s childhood friends.
• Finished Reading Cook’s Tour by Antony Bourdain. My 28th book of 2010.
• Made Bucatini All’ Amatriciana , my favorite recipe of the year.

Me & Joe Rogan

October 2010

• I planned and organized a regional conference for work.
• My dude turned 26! We celebrated for over a week.
• Tried my first absinthe.
• My half sister whom I haven’t seen in over ten years found me on Facebook.
• Dressed up as a cop for Halloween.
• Auditioned for a travel reality TV show after receiving an email from a casting director. I took Neville as possible partner and he totally outshone me.
• A close friend’s brother died unexpectedly. Being with her has been a top priority whenever I’m in Houston. I’ve grown deeper in love for and with her.
• Tried out Breakfast Klub, a culinary highlight in 2010.

November 2010

• Voted!
• Went to Austin’s first trailer park food festival.
• I posted a blog post everyday in November as part of Nablopomo.
• Walked Race for the Cure with Brittany and raised over 500 dollars for breast cancer research.
• Saw Louis C.K. thanks to lovely boyfriend.
• Saw old friends in Houston over Thanksgiving.
• I listed 100 things I am thankful for.
• Sent out Thanksgiving Day cards
• Joined the Sketchbook Project.

Brittany & Me at Race for the Cure

December 2010

• Participated in Reverb10.
• Road trip to Oklahoma! Why Oklahoma? To cross off another state.
• Attended annual Christmas Party for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America with my little and her cousin. This is our third year in attendance!
• Had hot pot on Christmas day twice. Lunch with Mary Ellen and her mom and her brother, and dinner with my own family. I did exactly this last year for Christmas!
• Tomorrow’s plan is to party on a rooftop downtown in celebration of a new and fresh year. A stretch Hummer may have been rented.

Annual Christmas Party with my Little

That was my year! I’m happy to have shared it with you and have your support, comments, and readership. It means an awful lot to me. Thank you!

Brittany and I walked Race for the Cure today. This is my 2nd time doing this race, and my 2nd time doing a 5k ever. Races do not appeal to me. I’m pretty much the most physically inactive person I know but I can’t wait to start doing this race every year. Seeing a big chunk of the city uniting and wearing their pink is awesome and inspiring. Adults, children, teenagers, babies, and even dogs jogged and marched in celebration and memory of their love ones. It’s a beautiful and hopeful vision. See for yourself below. I especially love the first and last photo.

P.S. Just a friendly reminder, there is still time to donate!

I just came back from Austin’s first Gypsy Picnic, a Trailer Food Festival. Austin’s really big on the trailer food scene and the concept of Gypsy Picnic is fantastic but it was WAY too crowded with lines averaging 45 minutes long and vendors running out of food. I ended up discouraging friends who hadn’t left yet into coming. But here are pictures! In honor of National Blog Posting Month – Day 6!

Hope you guys are having a lovely weekend so far! See you tomorrow for Day 7!

Girls’ weekend was so good for my soul. Alex and Hillary left their towns to come spend the weekend with me in Austin. I will bullet point my highlights and then share snapshots of our weekend (save the food, I’ll save that for the food blog. Have you checked that out yet?)

• I saw my very first firefly, thanks to Hillary pointing it out. It was fluttering and lighting itself around my apartment entrance. Sadly, by the time I ran into my apartment to grab my camera to video, it had flitted away. I will say its short presence has made my apartment entrance a little more magical.
• Our conversations, stimulating, nostalgic, hilarious, superficial, and deep never ceased til we literally talked ourselves to sleep Friday and Saturday night.
• We miss high school.
• At the urging of Hillary’s boyfriend (awww!), we went engagement ring shopping for Hillary.
• 3 girls, 3 bottles of wine Saturday night as prelude to a night out.
• Constant eating. Weekend menu: gelato, escargot, duck confit, ratatouille, scallops, Gourdough’s, tacos, chorizo nachos, wines, cheeses, fruits, chocolate bars, chocolate truffles, pho, egg rolls, spring rolls, pear chocolate tart, pumpkin tea cakes!
• Camping out on my living room floor and couch.

In short, a wonder-full weekend and I miss them already. We made plans to do this one more time before the year closes. Next time, we’ll go to Hillary’s city.