Local brew and dim sum too

Haha, what a lame rhyme. I am so corny.

The past weekend, John and I spent the weekend in Orange County with my parents. When my parents heard that John was starting a collection of growlers, they invited us up to go visit the Anaheim Brewery. Needless to say, lots of fun was had...

Growler in one hand, taster in the other. That's my mom!

My parents: SUPER camera shy

It's pretty hard to figure out how I got so silly

On Saturday, my aunt and cousins were visiting from Texas. This meant... REUNION!!!! We went to dim sum, everyone teased John about "initiation" (aka, eating a plate of chicken feet), and we ate beyond comfort levels.

Party of 20. Seriously. Family reunion indeed

 

After, we walked around Little Tokyo where my dad bought ingredients for dinner. We were given short Japanese lessons on the food (note to self: Stay away from anything marked tako) and enjoyed mochilato. Mochi + gelato. Amazingnesss!!!

Later in the evening, my dad gave John some cooking lessons in the art of tempura. More amazingness was had.

Cooking 101: Have a good time

Jaquielyn approved!

Oh right, and the food pictured isn't even HALF of what they made/we ate. Our meal included: Pickled veggies, yakitori, teriyaki rice balls, shrimp tempura, vegetable (brocoli, snow pea, carrots, and yams). For dessert: Banana tempura with Haagen Daaz ice cream and C.C. Brown fudge. Where my love of food comes from, I have no idea.

And my mom... getting a head start on all the food

And then I gained 15 pounds. Ughhh, I look forward to starving myself in Japan and getting back to a skinnier me. But for now... food is amazing. Thanks again for everything Mom and Dad! We had a glutinous, glorious, incredible time :) Next on the Tango fun times list: VEGAS BABY!!!!

Land of the Cacti

We (Team Raney and myself) spent this past weekend in Tuscon, Arizona visiting with Ken and Jackie (John's aunt and uncle). Seriously, so many cacti. I wonder if this is how people feel when they come to California and see all the palm trees.

I like to make kissy faces at ridiculous things. And then I see the photo and instantly regret it. But somehow, it always seems like a brilliant idea.

We spent Saturday at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. My favorite part? No surprise... the animals

I found Hedwig!!!! She LIVES!

John and Robert have this ongoing battle of who can take more pictures of themselves on animal statues. We had to convince John to take this picture...

Anddd then... my favorite part: FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bbq place totally lived up to the hype.

Yep, ate half of my meal before remembering to document it.

 Pulled pork bbq sandwich... I love you. Mac and cheese= huge disappointment. 

From L to R: Jackie, Ken, Patty, Dave, John.  Prickly pear margaritas all around

The next day we went on a hike... I never realized how beautiful the desert can be! The hike was short, but lined with TONS of cacti. Not super condusive to those who are prone to tripping... considering that I trip over my own feet, I was only slightly concerned...

Cacti, Cacti EVERYWHERE

Jackie and Patty

I almost ran into a cactus twice. Only twice.

Being a cheerleader, you think I would have emulated the cactus a wee bit better.

Thanks to Jackie and Ken for sharing their home, morning lattes, all the amazing homecooked meals, and introducing me to how beautiful the desert really is! Next time, Wisdoms cafe! And more hot tubing! And I will win dominate more games of Apples to Apples.

Thanks to Patty and Dave for all the glorious meals, driving, the idea to do this in the first place, and fairly handling the In-N-Out vs. Five Guys debate. As always, it was a great time and I can't wait for more adventures!!!!

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day (I had the best one everrrr). Until next time minions!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Clue #4

"Unicorns eat... BOLOGNESE SAUSE!!!!"

Oh right. This is part of a scavenger hunt for John. Because we're 12.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!!! Whether you're single or with someone this year, Valentine's Day is not just about being couple-y and seeing romantic comedies. Sometimes it's about loving yourself- whether you spend the day gorging yourself on chocolates or burying your head in a law book, spread the love. Do a good deed, reach out to someone (father, brother, sister, mother, friend). If you look hard enough, love truly is all around. 

Much love to everyone today!  <3

PS. Jackie, there are at least two references in there for ya! Love you :)

One. beautiful. season.

It's so low key down here, I am in love.

I've put in roughly about 50 jobs applications... to anything and everything (mainly local things, no serious jobs that won't give me a guilt trip for quitting next month). Wow, we leave next month. That is insaneeee. But other than that, the days are slow and the weather is beautiful. Sundays are reserved for brunch with "the grandmas", where I get the latest gossip of who's stealing whose boyfriend. After brunch (and usually every evening), we all head to the backyard for a friendly round of croquet. Smack talk is exchanged, feisty defense strategies are honed,  and the winner inevitably claims bragging rights.

The Raney backyard. Unreal, right?

Crockette

Our itinerary of "Things to do before we leave the country" is quickly filling up. Much like the AM/PM motto, "Too much good stuff". We are headed to Arizona this weekend to visit John's aunt and uncle. While I cower at the thought of gigantic scorpions, centipedes, and beetles, I am excited for another Raney trip. I am told epic, mouthwatering, tantalizing stories of the barbeque restaurant nearby and that's pretty much enough motivation for me. Jaquielyn + food = GOOD day. That's right. Every day is a good day when food is involved.

Happy hour ala Raneys

Many afternoons are accompanied by "Happy Hour". Dave will whip up a batch of delicious margaritas with a salt (or sugar, if you are a sugar phene like myself) rim... YUM! We'll all sit in the backyard, enjoying the view, weather, drinks, and company.

Don't mind my spare tire. I'm counting on Japan to skinny me

The last bit of exciting news, my Certificate of Eligibility arrived today!! The doorbell rang, and the postman asked for "Ms. Tango". I looked around, wondering which "Tango" he was looking for before realizing that I was the only Tango here. Weird. Anyways. I am one step closer to being in Japan. Teaching in Japan. Starting my ONE YEAR CAREER in Japan. It's all finally feeling a little real and I can't wait to start that next chapter of my life (wow, sounds so melodramatic when I call it a "chapter". More like... a footnote?).

Until next time, my minions. Thanks for reading!!!

Seriously? A Minion cupcake?!? I want to go to there.

Because I'm angsty

MMMkay. Lots of people have been spreading their opinions and very loudly declaring their rants.

I've never been one of those brass people. The kind of person who has this "take-it-or-leave-it", love me or hate me kind of attitude. Let's be honest- I'm a people pleaser. I want EVERYONE to like me.

Well. I tried reallly hard to hold my tongue. I know some people will read this post and disagree with everything I've written. Some people might be angry. Don't worry friends, I was angry with some of you too. It is not my intention or hope to alienate, disturb, hurt, or make anyone feel uncomfortable. But here's the ugly truth about how I really feel.

So the elections are coming up. Oh boy. Politics.

I honestly have little to no faith in the GOP candidates. There are lots of reasons why, but this sums it up in less than one minute.

Word Obama. Word.

NEXT.
So the drama with Susan G Komen and Planned Parenthood is over. However, many people took this issue and turned it into a tirade against Planned Parenthood. To say I support Planned Parenthood is a bit of an understatement. As a young woman without health insurance, I depend and rely on Planned Parenthood to detect signs of cervical cancer, breast cancer, and a THOUSAND OTHER SERVICES I otherwise would not have. They save lives for those who aren't fortunate enough to have health insurance- It's not all about abortions people. I know this clip is old... but the Stephen Colbert part is classic. Because it's so true.

Sigh. Don't take this too seriously. I've cleaned out over half my facebook friends so if you're reading this, it means I still like you and consider you to be intelligent regardless of our differing views. Let's be friends ok?

To end on a happy note... Kristen Bell and her sloth obsession? Amahzing.

Between a 3-7 on the emotional scale? I feel ya Kristen!

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone!