Snack Attack!

Theresa and I decided to make some good stuff to eat on Friday night.  So I made my own tortilla chips out of some corn tortillas while Theresa made the guacamole.  My parents liked it so much they made me do it again for our Sunday dinner.

She wishes she could smile like me

 

We also decided to make some vegan brownies, which tasted amazing.  Between Theresa and I we ate maybe 2 1/2 brownies.  I left them out because usually my vegan stuff is VERY safe from anyone in my family.  To my surprise the next day this is what my brownie pan looked like!

Some Pirates took me booty!

Shaving fun!

I forgot to add this... after our hike to Mount Diablo Theresa wanted me to shave her head.

 

So I did.

I'm no Edward Scissorhands

I am now officially a hair stylist and will be taking appointments.  Please call.  One word of advice though, I offer my services at a greatly reduced price (free) and the saying 'you get what you pay for' definitely applies.

At the end of the day though, I think her hair looked great and she was happy with it which can be proven because we are still friends!

Mount Diablo can suck it!

Theresa was still suffering from jet lag which caused her to wake up at 4 a.m.  Obviously desperate and lonely she  called me  in the morning knowing I would be her only friend awake before noon.  So we went on a hike up Mt. Diablo with no real goal, just to go on a walk.

Theres a sniper in the bushes

I was planning on just heading back when Theresa wanted to, but before we even realized what we were doing we were almost at the top.  When we got to top we saw the whole 492 boy scout troop from the ward.  Connor didn't even recognize me when I asked him to take this picture of us.

 What is wrong with her hand?!

We got lost on the way down, but we couldn't stop singing The Beatles "Here Comes the Sun" (deedle doodle).  The irony was the fact we had no sun, it was heavy fog the first hour of our descent.  The greatest accomplishment of the day wasn't the hike, it was the fact that both Theresa and I could sing the entire Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody (with instrumentals of course).

On top o' da world

Shooting range

My dad wanted to go shooting with me and his friend Jeff on Thursday.  I asked them to wait until Clarkie got out of school, then I abducted him and forced him to go shooting (OK it wasn't a very difficult thing to convince him to do).

Clarky: Natural born killer

After playing video games with Clark like Call of Duty, I forgot how hard it is to shoot a gun in real life.  We were only 15 yards away from our targets and none of us could consistently hit the middle of the target.

 

Smoked 'em

Afterwards we went and shot some clay pigeons.  I won with a 16 out of 25, not too shabby.  Guns are a fun activity at the shooting range, but I don't think I'll be joining the NRA anytime soon.  Guns don't shoot targets, I shoot targets!

The Staples in my Diet

When I moved back to California I wanted to find the cheapest and best food I could find.  I have my perfect trifecta that I eat daily and provide me all the stuff I need to be a growing and healthy boy.  Pinto Beans, Brown Rice, and Orange Juice I LOVE YOU ALL!

 

25 pounds of pure pleasure

I love the beans and rice, they give me just enough protein for my post-workout meal and to top it off, it brings me back to my time in Guatemala!  Orange Juice and I have had a very intimate relationship for years, but my new loves (beans and rice) have only been in my life for a little over a month.

Also, so I squelch any complaints before they happen, I DO EAT OTHER FOOD, I just usually have beans and rice everyday for a meal or two.   If anyone wants to try some of my meal come and drop by its an extremely healthy and cheap meal that isn't processed and packed full of nutrients.

Vegan "Cheese Cake"

I was inspired by my trip with Gavin to the raw restaurant, where we had vegan cheese-cake and decided to try and make my own.  We had it for some valentine's day dessert.

The cheesecake was my valentine

I thought it was simply amazing, and I even got confirmation of that from my family.  My mom, of course,  reached straight for the whipped cream before she even tried the vegan cheesecake.

 

My mom - totally missing the point

The most awesome part about this whole experience, was I only had to go out and get one item!  Here is the recipe and the website that I found it from.

Ingredients

For the crust

• 2 cups almonds
• 1 cup dates

For the Cheese

• 3 cups cashews (soaked for at least 1 hour)
• 3/4 cup lemon juice, fresh
• 3/4 cup raw honey
• 3/4 cup coconut oil (when liquid, see 2nd step)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt

 http://www.recipezaar.com/Lemony-Cheesecake-With-Berry-Sauce-Raw-Vegan-316719


Here is a quote I liked from the book I'm reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" -"Whenever I hear people say clean food is expensive, I tell them it's actually the cheapest food you can buy.  That always gets their attention.  Then I explain that with [clean] food all of the costs are figured into the price.  Society is not bearing the cost of water pollution, of antibiotic resistance, of food-borne illnesses, of crop subsidies, of subsidized oil and water--of all the hidden costs to the environment and the taxpayer that make cheap food seem cheap.  No thinking person will tell you they don't care about all that.  I tell them the choice is simple: You can buy honestly priced food or you can buy irresponsibly priced food." p. 243

My Man-Date with Gavin

Gavin and I went to the temple to catch the 11 o'clock session, but we missed it.  I guess you have to be ready by 10:55, so the 11 time mark is deceiving! So we went to the visitors center and watched some movie about a girl that falls into a sinkhole instead of picking gum with her family.  They also got a K'ekchi Book of Mormon in their display a year or so ago, so I love to just go and look at it for some reason haha.

 

Tincuac ri'lbal li templo

Gavin took me to Cafe Gratitude in Berkeley, which is a raw vegan restaurant.  I had the best tamale I've eaten since Guatemala, it tasted almost exactly alike.  We also had the cheese cake, which was amazing. 
We dropped by my dad's house in El Sobrante and then went to the pinewood derby!

 

Gavin was more excited about his Doritos

 

Our date was spiritual, full of service, and we even had nutritious and uplifting food, so what more fitting way to end it than to slaughter people in Call of Duty until 1 am?

New Year's type resolution

So, I didn't consciously say to myself that this would be my new years resolution, but I wanted to go on a hike at least twice a month.  I have hiked up Mount Diablo a few times, mostly with friends like Sam & Blair, and also one time with Theresa Lenz.

 Theresa Smile!

Today I went and ventured up the mountain alone.  I didn't go anywhere in particular, just found some smaller trails and followed them around for 2 1/2 hours.

 

I was even able to spot some pretty calm deer, who weren't startled by my presence.

Its time to start

I wanted to make a blog for myself. I don't plan on this being a long winded blog that no one ever reads, but more just a few lines here and there about whats going on with some pictures hopefully.

I figure that most people who want to know every intricate detail about my life probably already know it, and most of the rest who want to know about that stuff are just creepy.