Yogz.

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Yogurt! What a good breakfast or snack. I really don't need to talk about how great yogurt is. But I will anyway!

This Yoplait Greek blended coconut yogz has been my fav for the past six months or so.

Even if you don't like Greek, you'll like this. There are pieces of real coconut inside, and it's just so thick and nice. Get on the case!

And yes, yogz does indeed refer to both yogurt and yoga (in my world, at least). A yoga post is coming soon!

Sparty Jell-O!

Have you guys seen those NCAA-themed Jello molds?

Who would buy those?

YAY.

 ... I woulddddddd!

I actually bought one for my Mizzou-loving coworker, as well. They're $7.99 apiece on Amazon, so not a huge investment! You get two trays, four packets of Jell-O and some instructions.

 I can't imagine myself making plain old (ew, green-flavored) Jell-O.  But Jell-O shots? Those I can get behind. Maybe I'll even pack some for the MSU-Oregon game! It appears we're road-tripping north next month -- what a great way to make some fast new Sparty friends.

Definitely one of my newest and most ridiculous favorite things.

What a great Amazon delivery. (I got season one of "Orange is the New Black" too! Because I'm the only person on the planet without Netflix apparently, and I can't stand to be left out of a conversation).

 This is my work desk! Two calendars, two beverages and way too many lists.

The new sched!

I realize it's only day one of the new schedule, but I have a feeling it's about to be one of my favorite things!

So, as of today, I'm now working Sunday through Thursday instead of Monday through Friday.

Here's why I like it: It's familiar. This was my schedule the entire time at WOOD, so I remember the benefits. Having Friday off is almost better than having Sunday off (well, ask me again when the NFL season starts and I might be singing a different tune).

But anywayyyyy, at KCRA I've been working Fridays 11:30a-8:30p and it has felt like the longest day ever. I begged for a switch. Coming in at 11:30a meant wrapping up morning things, and then working UNTIL 8:30p meant starting up nightside things. With everything in between. Then I'd usually get home, relax for a hot second, then finish up the nightside work -- which basically just meant I was working 11:30a to 11:30p. On a FRIDAY.  News, man. I wish we could just flip the switch OFF sometimes. Especially online. People with 9-5 desk jobs, be thankful. People who don't have to work holidays, be thankful!

Also, Team Digital was pretty overstaffed on Fridays. We had all five of us in the newsroom, meaning I spent a solid amount of time looking for projects and scrolling TMZ.

So, off to the Sunday schedule I went! It's nice actually. No management is here. I'm typing this on my dinner break, and I've been very productive today. My schedule switch will also be a nice change of pace for the on-call web person (read: me or Shawn) -- in that we won't have to deal with working Sundays. Web on-call basically means you work the entire time from home. I'm not going to lie: It sucks.

But this weekend was lovely. I left work around 11p Thursday, came home and was inspired to watch a movie. This is incredibly unlike me. I never want to watch movies. But nothing was on my DVR, so I ordered the $5.99 On-Demand "Wolf of Wall Street" and thought to myself, yolo, bitches!

Maybe I'd finish it Friday. I poured some wine, got into my sweats and curled up on my couch.

Orrrrrrr maybe I'd stay awake until 5a, finishing the movie and then reading "Sharp Objects." (Once I made it past 3a, I was upppp). Might have been a bad decision, but I had nothing urgent to do the next day.

By the way, Wolf of WS was excellent. I can't imagine anyone having played that lead as well as Leo. And I'm not even a huge Leo fan. Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie were so so good, too!

I proceeded to sleep till 11:30a Friday, then got my ass to noon yoga.

It had been a few weeks away from the bikram studio, so it was hard! But in a good way. I was so sore the next few days. (Still am, really. I curse the leg series).

So, after that, I came home, took a shower, went HAM on my teeth (flossed, used my pre-brush whitening mouthwash, Crest Stripped, shined 'em up with baking soda), took a break on the couch (watching Kardashians, Botched and Fashion Police), then tidied up the apartment. Walked to Sandwich Spot for my new fav sammy, changed into a cute outfit, then before I knew it, my fav person to share weekends with was home!

We lounged for a bit. Strolled over to Karma for the cinnamon sangria. Tried a beer at University of Beer next door, then nommed some Thai Canteen, which is quickly becoming a Midtown favorite (blog entry is coming!) Walked back home, watched a Veep or two on the couch, then both fell asleep relatively early.

I woke up Saturday to all the major news outlets sending me push notifications on President Obama speaking live on the sitch in Iraq. I was like, "arghhhhhhhhhh, REALLY, Obamz?! It's so early on the Best Coast!"  Can't the comments wait?

Despite the fact that it was like, 6:55a, I got up, popped a livestream to the site, pushed it on social media and worked from bed for two or so hours. Obama said his piece and finally let me go back to sleep.

So I did -- until noon, which is when I really started my Saturday. 

Car shopping was up first (for him, not me), which was really just a test of my patience. It was hot outside and someone was unimpressed with the entire process. Didn't like anything. I tried to be as helpful as possible. Finally, we found a winner at Carmax. And he picks it up in a few days. Success, right? "Michelle, stop saying that it's cute. I don't actually want it to be 'cute,' so please."

Quick trip to Sephora, quick bite to eat, quick Ulta run and then grocery shopping. We got home like, eight hours later and I was exhausted. We were going to make salmon and broccolini for dinner, but neither of us ended up being that hungry. So I ate ice cream on the couch, read some more and then fell asleep by 10:30p. I'm just killing my late 20s with excitement, I know.

Sunday morning involved another late sleep-in (I swear, I crash like I'm in high school still), a trip to the bakery for more sammy bread (and a doughnut!), a Starbs run and an hour of CNN before work.

I arrived here right after 2p, feeling like I had a pretty solid weekend. Didn't that feel long?! I'm still gonna make some homemade spaghetti sauce for the week once I get out of here. So productive, right? New weekends = best weekends.

The most wonderful ways to prepare chicken.

Sometimes I just like to whip up a batch of protein for the week -- and it's usually chicken. So easy to prepare on a Sunday, then have for the next few days to toss in salads, soups, pastas or just in some Tupperware with a baby salad or some carrots for my work dinner. (I work 2p-11p, so I pack dinners, not lunches).

My first go-to is this: Take a pound or so of chicken (any kind, although I usually buy chicken breasts), dump it in the Crockpot, cover with salsa verde and add in a jalapeno or two (I usually do one diced, one whole. Seeds in tact because SPICY). After 6-8 hours on low, I shred the chicken with a fork, either strain some liquid or add more, depending how heavy-handed I was, and add salt/pepper/crushed-red to taste. Voila! Mexican-ish chicken. It's especially delicious with some salsa and sharp cheddar, piled on chips (makeshift nachos are probably my favorite meal of all time, although I'm trying not to eat them quite so often).

My second go-to, which is actually more of a recipe, I actually stole from a blog I've been reading for years and years. Rachel calls this "the perfect chicken" and I agree 100 percent. Here's the recipe off her blog.

I do however, make some tweaks. Here's my version:

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb. chicken breasts
2. 1/2 tsp salt
3. 1/2 tsp pepper
4. 1/2 tsp garlic powder
5. 1/2 tsp onion powder
6. 1/2 tsp paprika
7. A couple large shakes of the following: Poultry seasoning, Tony Chachere's, Lawry's, chili powder, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper and lemon pepper seasoning. 
8. 1-2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Combine spices in a small bowl, then sprinkle over both sides of the chicken breasts, rubbing in to coat.
3. Add olive oil to the bottom of a Dutch oven and cook the chicken over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side.
4. Put the pan uncovered into oven and cook for 25 minutes.
5. Let the chicken rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

My tweaks mostly consist of #7 on the Ingredients list, and also: I strictly use only a Dutch oven. I tried a cast-iron skillet once and it just wasn't as good and juicy.

(If you don't have all the spices listed in #7, feel free to go without. Or experiment. I just like to play around with other randoms in my spice cabinet).

For real, chicken can be kind of boring, but this recipe is not!

Just be careful with the Dutch ovz! I miiiiiight have burned off several fingerprints today, grabbing that thing without an oven mitt on.

Raindrops on roses and REALLY BIG TREES.

Big trees, you guys. Biggggggggg trees.

I've lived in California for more than three years now, and with the exception of a redwood or two at the Golden Gate State Park, I've gone the entire time without seeing any big trees.

I had an open weekend and I knew I had to change that.

Sooooo, off to the big trees I went!

I knew this was going to be a good trip because LOOK WHAT I DID TO MY HAIR!

See, a group of friends and I did have tentative Big Sur camping plans for the same dates, but they fell through a few weeks prior. I knew I didn't want to waste the weekend -- even though I've been spending a lot of $$$ lately; #YOLO -- so I was just like, one last short trip! (For awhile. It's so hard controlling myself in Northern California. I just want to visit ALL THE PLACES).

My favorite travel partner and I got out of work around 3p Friday, made a quick Target stop and were on the road by 5p. The town of Murphys is only about 90 miles from Sac, so it took us about two hours in the car. The real slow-down was, you really can't take major freeways to Calaveras County. The backroads were really pretty, though. Lots of rolling hills and horses and a gorge sunset.

Rolled into Murphys around 7p. Checked in, unpacked -- we actually had a huuuuuuge room, it was a suite, so we brought a few snacks/drinks/breakfast items -- and decided to hit the pool. It was like, 107 (degrees) in Sacramento, and still pretty warm in the Sierra Nevada foothills. (I think Murphys is around 2,000 feet). Decided to skip dinner and eat our snacks instead, and lounge the rest of the night. Went to bed early since we knew we wanted to hit the road early Saturday morn.

Anddddd we did! Went straight to Big Tree State Park, near Arnold (a 15-minute drive from our hotel), and decided to hit the north grove of sequoias first. They were massive. Words and photos don't even describe. To think about how long they've been here is just unreal. The north grove was pretty, but very tourist-y. The trails were paved, everything was very groomed and polished, the visitors center was bustling and we even bought ice cream cones at the end of our day. 

This is a tree stump. And the other half. Cray!

We went off the beaten path for an hour or two on a hike, and even found a lookout point that was pretty, but like, the morning was just OK, sightseeing-wise. Maybe my expectations were too high? I was still having a great time, but I expected to just be like, BAFFLED by the trees. Maybe they were overhyped in my head? Ugh. I am such a buzzkill sometimes. (Spoiler alert: The south grove blew my f'ing mind).

Sooooo, at maybe like, 2p, I suggested we bail on the trees and get some wine. Murphys, apparently, is known for being a winery town and I was all about restocking the apartment and getting my DRANK on. (Mom: Responsibly, of course. There would be no driving).

I'm just sticking in tree pics randomly at this point.

I'd seen in our hotel brochure that most of the places close by like, 5 or 6p, so I was ready to shower as fast as I could and get going. Which we proceeded to do. It's funny how I can take up to two hours  to get ready on a bad day, but when something fun is looming? No need to even dry my hair, 20 minutes will be fine. Sooooo, we hit up two places on Highway 4, then decided we'd park the car for the night and head downtown Murph. OMGGGG, you guys. Tasting rooms 'eerywhuuuure. And these did NOT close by 5 or 6 -- a lot of these places were open till 8 or so! I was elated. Sooooo, we tasted our faces off, got dinnz and retired back to the hotel.

("Tasted our faces off" almost got a bit too real. I went to go drop one of the bottles in the car -- which was parked nearby -- before hitting the next tasting room and well, misjudged on the whole door-slam thing. My spatial skills might have been ... off. I definitely slammed my nose in the car. And when you drive a big SUV, you might cry about something like that. Sorry I'm not sorry). I'm just glad it's not broken. It's a liiiiiiiiiiittle bruised, but nothing serious. I might have wailed, "my small facial features are all I havvvvvvvvve!"

Crisis averted.

Oh and we ate at this place called Grounds that was srsly delish. We split heirloom tomatoes and basil to start, along with thai red curry mussels, then drank some cab and split the salmon/kale/mushroom risotto entree. It was perfect. Not that I think a ton of people read this blog, but if ANYONE out there is visiting Murphys -- go to Grounds. We heard from everyone to try their breakfast, too, but we were Honey Bunches of Oat-ing it up at the hotel.

Soooo, after a productive day and a few purchases, we strolled back to our hotel -- definitely nice to be walking distance! -- and went to bed. Early again! But like, good for us, walking everywhere and wanting to get another fresh start. Right?!  #oldpeople

Sunday we were up by like, 9a, out the door within a half-hour or so, heading to Lake Alpine. Someone at the front desk recommended it, and I was into the idea of a lake in the mountains. So we drove about 45 minutes up the hill -- to 7,000 feet -- and found the lake. It was just a tad too chilly to swim, but we walked around, ran from some baby lizards (or was that just me?) and laid out on the rocks, just people-watching. And dog watching. There was a very naughty dog named Sophie nearby, and let me just say: Sophie didn't give a shitttttttttt. We laughed so hard, watching Sophie's owners trying to get that dog in line. Team Sophie, yo.

It was so calm and relaxing. Even though we didn't do much at the lake, we killed a couple hours out there. We were right by Bear Valley, which looked like a fun place to ski in the winter. I'd like to come back.

Drove back and hit up the south grove of the state park this time around. OMG NOW I KNOW WHY EVERYONE'S OBSESSED WITH BIG TREES!

The south grove was like, empty. (I'm referring to the crowds, not the trees). You had to walk a mile to the grove itself from the parking lot -- no paved trails -- and then 5 or so more miles to see the biggest tree in the grove.

We aren't obese so we figured we had to, even if my shoes were KILLING me. (For real, you should see my feet today. They are so tattered and bandaged up and gross. But I was beast mode that afternoon, and decided not to complain and make a scene. I'd save that for the blog).

I can't even. To see the trees like that, in their natural states, just like, sitting all bold and majestic among the other trees? They are just so big and breathtaking. To walk around one takes like, 30-45 seconds. Some are burned out around the sides or in a certain area, so you can actually walk inside them. Their coloring is really different and cool. And the biggest, the Agassiz tree, was so worth it. It's 250 feet tall!

We kept having to remind ourselves like, no one set up these trees in any certain way. We aren't at a tree exhibit or at Disney World. We can walk inside some and touch how the bark is different and notice some of their proximity and that's all real. That's just nature. It almost looked like the Hunger Games forest. And we really didn't encounter many people. Five, 10 total in our couple hours? We had the grove to ourselves, and it was just crazy.

Don't even ask when I turned into a middle-aged lady, wanting to go on tree field trips.

Me inside a tree!

Anywayyyy, we got through the south grove pretty quickly, relatively speaking. Got dinner at an Italian place that messed up my order and then took foreverrrrrrrrrr to fix it, but what can you do. We hung out one final night at the hot tub, then slept like rocks (trees? No?).

We were up early-ish Monday (today) and had to work. Grumbled the whole way back to Sac. Although, we really took the time to appreciate our schedules matching up and realize how nice it is to be able to do long weekends like that, and travel this part of the country! Neither of us is from California, so we're kind of on the same level when it comes to traveling and taking it all in.

Put your chin down, loser.

All in all ... a really special weekend. I'm happy to finally say I've seen the big trees! I figure there will be reasons I might have to return to LA and SF and places like that -- but when else will I be able to take off for Calaveras County for a few days? These smaller towns are just so cool and historical.

And sorry to let you down: But I was trying to unplug a bit this weekend, so unfortch, I have ZERO pix from wine tasting, the south grove of the park or Lake Alpine! North grove pics are all I have to share. I'm disappointing, I know. At least I didn't break my nose?

It's easy to find me in hot pink shorts.

 

I've never been so tiny!