California Adventure.

As a Christmas gift my parents purchased Disneyland tickets for my husband and I. We did not hesitate to use them.Wednesday we after a long day of work we drove directly to their house in Los Angeles and crashed for the night. 

The next morning we headed to Anaheim extra early. It was 80 degrees and gorgeous outside. We had a ridiculously good time riding everything we could and eating as much food as possible. 

It was exhausting.

 

We ate strawberries, giant turkey legs, chocolate covered bananas, macaroni and cheese, popcorn, and giant pickles. I may or may not have indulged in a churro while Joe was riding splash mountain. The park was still decorated for the holidays, including the Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted Mansion. It even snowed during the fireworks finale. Friday morning after coffee with my parents we made a quick detour in search of lunch and the seaside. With little time to spare we decided on Venice Beach since neither one of us had been for several years and my parents live around the corner. It was just as I remembered it. We walked along the boardwalk stopping for a bite at Poke-Poke. 

 We had the Wasabi and the Spicy Tuna poke. They were both amazing. Portable, inexpensive and delicious. We wandered around the beach for a while watching the waves and picking up shells.

I could have stayed all day and watched the sun set, but traffic from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on a Friday evening is not something I like to participate in. To make the drive home a little less brutal, we made one more stop on the boardwalk for a snow cone and a slice on the walk back to the car.

So this is the new year.

I am not one of those people who makes new year resolutions. I am especially not one of those people who makes them involving a diet. I come from a family of foodies and we know how to eat. Any kind of family gathering, holiday or travel usually revolves around food. That being said, we also know how to eat healthy. We (my steak loving husband excluded) only eat meat occasionally and use strictly seafood and poultry. I make a mean turkey burger and I believe sushi should be it's own food group. We purchase the freshest, preservative free ingredients we are able to. Believe me, my mother is high fructose corn syrup's worst nightmare. Cooking something delicious is satisfying and eating it is even more gratifying. It is comforting. Can't. Stop. One goal I have set for myself this year is to compete with my horse at a few local shows. I have spent almost four years, and more money than I care to admit to myself training and caring for Kyle. Our first and only show was an epic failure, but we have come along way since those days! I am hoping to attend a show in March, so I am currently spending all of my free time at the barn and riding four days a week. My husband gifted me with a new show saddle for Christmas and today I rode Kyle in it for the first time. He gifted Kyle with these adorable leopard print polo wraps.

Sundays are our most intense work out and tonight my body is feeling it. Kyle is tucked into his stall under a warm blanket and feeling the same way, I'm sure. He had an extra scoop of grain for dinner and I, an enormous pile of carbs in the form of angel hair with sauteed garlic, mushrooms, spinach and sun dried tomatoes. Yum.

 In my opinion 2012 is off to a fabulous start!

(source)

Sharp shooter.

Recently there was an incident in our quiet little neighborhood involving property theft and home invasion. My lovely husband decided that after five years of trying to teach me all about firearms, it was finally time for me to learn how to shoot. Because we live so close to the edge of Las Vegas, there is a public shooting range located on BLM land only 15 minutes away from our house. My husband grew up learning about hunting and firearms safety from his father and I was raised in a household where water guns were considered violent. I have never been comfortable around guns of any kind, but when I married my husband, they were part of the package!

 I really enjoyed shooting this 22 caliber rifle, mostly because I am pretty good at it.

Not bad for my first time!

Here is a short video of my husband teaching me to fire. We are shooting a Ruger 9mm.

 

Next time my husband goes to target practice, he probably won't have to beg me to go with him like he had to in the past. 

Christmas morning snapshots.

I hope everyone had a holiday filled with joy and family. We did!

Kyle goes to the dentist.

Today my horse Kyle and I were lucky enough to work with equine veterinarian and dentist Dr. Scott Greene for his annual check up and teeth floating. Kyle is usually not a big fan of going to the dentist, I mean who is? Dr. Greene was very patient and knew all the right tricks to use while working with a nervous Arabian. By that I mean heavy sedation (among other things). This is my horse...

This is my horse on drugs...

Kyle no longer had a care in the world and allowed Dr. Greene file down the sharp edges of his ever- erupting teeth.

Dr. Greene and his assistant made the whole procedure quick and painless, even while removing a pesky wolf tooth.

Kyle is now sleeping sound after stumbling back to his barn stall and being tucked into a warm blanket. Imagine walking your 900 pound friend who had one too many shots of whiskey home from the bar. If you would like to see more of Dr. Greene and his equine dentistry (including his power tools) watch this video of him working with some of his other patients.

I was busy writing with a pen, and paper thin dream.

Today we mailed the last of the Christmas cards and gifts off to our families in far away places, and just in time (I hope). The holidays really seemed to sneak up on me this year! I am usually ahead of the schedule and stress free, however that is not the case this time around. With only five days left until Christmas day, I still have a little last minute shopping to do and I haven't even started baking yet. Fortunately for me, my mother has a head start in the desserts department so I am pretty much just left with sugar cookies which happen to be my absolute favorite. Not only does it give me a chance to put to good use my extensive cookie cutter collection (I have over 100!), but nothing is more nostalgic to me than the our tradition of baking them to leave near the fireplace with a glass of milk for Santa. Plus I adore decorating them! A girl can never have too many sprinkles, right?

Just when the holiday stress seems too much to bear, at least I have my two little love bugs Mr. Webster and Wilhelmina to lend a helping paw or at least a sympathetic snuggle. Listening to Ben Gibbard never hurts either.

The happiest of holidays.

This time of year tends to be more hectic than usual in our home, as I am sure is true in most households around the holidays. The husband and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house again this year. My brother prepared a completely from scratch meal as usual with the help of the everybody, of course. We had a wonderful time with my family and a few unexpected guests. Our friends in Icarus The Owl were on the last leg of their US tour and ended up playing in Las Vegas the night before, so they joined us in our holiday feast and we were so happy to have them. A few days later, my wonderfully thoughtful husband took me on a surprise trip to Scottsdale, AZ in celebration of my 28th birthday. Scottsdale is a darling place full of amazing restaurants, unique shopping and not to mention the home of the Super Bowl of Arabian horse shows (nerd alert). My absolute favorite place to stay in there is the 3 Palms where he booked us a room. We had a lovely time dining at The Breakfast Club, Deseo, and Petite Maison to name a few. I highly recommend the ceviche Millionaire Tacos from Deseo and anything your server suggests at Petite Maison. The menu is printed nightly so that the freshest, local ingredients can be used. Reservations are definitely recommended. In true Shapiro fashion we spent the majority of the trip stuffing our faces but we also managed to get some shopping in on Mill Avenue in Tempe, and make a stop off at the Phoenix Zoo before heading home. I just love visiting this town and I can't wait until we return in February for the horse show.