Thanksgiving with Friends

We've never spent a holiday away from family, but this year we made the decision to stay in Loma Linda and have Thanksgiving with our friends Holly and Graig. Holly's parents hosted the Thanksgiving meal and welcomed us into their home. We had such a great time...awesome food (the highlight was Holly's apricot, raspberry pie with hazelnut crumb topping...YUMMO!)...great company...and we ate Thanksgiving dinner outside because it was over 80 degrees yesterday! It was a holiday to remember and I was so thankful for the hospitality and generosity that was shown to us!

This was the group (Holly's parents, sister, 2 grandpas and 1 grandma, Graig and Jared and I). We spent a majority of the day sitting on the patio, with the fire going, visiting and laughing.

Jared and Graig. Graig is a graduate student in the Perio department at LLU. He graduated from Loma Linda last year and will graduate as a Periodontist in 2012. These two share quite a few things in common. :)

Holly and I. Holly works on the 5th floor of the dental school in the Student Affairs department. We met at work and have had a great time getting to know eachother outside of work. :) We both love to cook, talk recipes, make sure our apartments are clean, drink good wine, talk to our moms, shop and be the best support for our "dental guys."

This was the view we had all afternoon, from Holly's parents back yard, of Oak Glen. The house is in Yucaipa, CA which is about 15 minutes northeast of Loma Linda and it is so beautiful in the Fall. Jared and I both loved being outside for Thanksgiving and really enjoyed this view.

Early Thanksgiving in Vegas

Headed out to Vegas this past weekend for an early Thanksgiving with Jared's family...our 2nd annual Thanksgiving in Vegas. We had a wonderful time and Jared and I agreed that just being around family is an encouragement, a source of joy and a boost of energy. We are so thankful for family this year...for all our parents and siblings who we love and love us!

On Saturday, while mom worked, Dad took the three of us out to Red Rock Canyon which is this amazingly beautiful state park where you can hike among rocks that are red as red gets (we learned it's because of the iron oxidation) and through desert-like canyons. We had so much fun the four of us...dad packed us a lunch...we hiked...we took a break for lunch and then hiked some more. Beautiful way to spend the day and see a unique side of Las Vegas!

There were rocks like this everywhere...you could literally fit in some of them. Amazing what the power of water can do to rocks!

Brother and sister... :)

Before...

After...

Now tell me an amazing God did not create this? A picture does this little justice, but these rocks were just beautiful!

Dr. Sofia's day and Pine Springs Ranch

Dr. Rodriguez, or Sofia, is one of the doctors in my deparmtent at the dental school and she is marrying my boss, Dr. Fitzpatrick over Thanksgiving weekend. Today was Sofia's day...my co-worker Denise and I took her to the mall to get all the things she needed for her wedding. First stop was Nordstrom for her dress fitting, shoes and make-up...then we got the jewlery, the undergarments, and the "after party" wear and some hair extensions that she really wanted for her big day. We had SO much fun the three of us, getting out of the office/school for the day and spending time doing what girls do best...shop, talk, and have fun. I'm so excited for Dr. Sofia and Dr. Fitzpatrick! In March they will be going to Mexico, for a traditional Mexican wedding, since that is where Sofia is from, but for now, they will tie the knot in two weeks at the Excalibur in Vegas!
Sofia and I during the dress fitting.

Me, Sofia and Denise- Denise and I had brought jeans to work to change into for shopping, because there's no way we were going to do a full day at the mall in our business professional attire! We practically had to sneak out of the school when we left because the school has a pretty tight dress code and jeans are a big no-no at Loma Linda. :)

Of course Denise and I found some stuff too...I was stoked to find a $10 sweater at H & M.

This was taken this past weekend at Pine Springs Ranch up in the San Jacinto mountains. These are some of Jared's classmates who came to the retreat the dental school puts on every year at the beginning of November. This was the most fun night I have had in a long time...a bunch dental students, faculty and staff go up to this camp (Pine Springs is a Christian owned camp), have dinner together in the lodge and then have a full night of skits, games and laugh-out-loud fun! Jared's D1 class won the skit competition and let me tell you...it was hilarious!!! I will have to post the youtube link once it's up- everyone was so impressed that the first year dental students did such a good job...normally that's saved for the 3rd and 4th year students to wow the crowd. I don't think there's a dental school in the country that puts on a retreat like this, but I think Loma Linda does a great job at keeping their students motivated, energetic and balanced during their 4 years of dental school- it was crazy to think that all these fun people we were surrounded by that night will all be future dentists scattered all over the world. Very cool!

Here's a pit stop we made on the way up to the camp. It was an incredible view!

San Jacinto mountain range

Let me tell you...Fall does exist in Southern California...you just have to go find it! (Another stop we made while driving to Pine Springs Ranch.

Julia Meets Jadie

So if any of you saw the movie "Julie and Julia" you will know what this blog post is about. In the movie, Julie attempts Julia Child's Beef Bourgignon (yes, that's french) recipe...a difficult recipe for basically an out-of-this-world beef stew. After seeing the movie, which I loved because I love cooking and I love a cooking challenge/trying something new, I decided to challenge myself to make this recipe for Jared and I. I wanted to make it in the Fall because it is fitting to the season, but I have to say it was 90 degrees on Sunday down here in So Cal. I did it anyway and 5...yes 5 hours later, this is what we had for dinner...Beef Bourgignon. There are other recipes for this I found online that take shorter time, but my whole goal was to do it Julia's way or no way. It was a success- the taste is delicious and I think it is attributed to the way the meat is cooked so long and because you cook it in a whole bottle of the best red wine you can afford. Jared got it yestereday and today for lunch too, so it makes enough for 4-6 people.

It does not look gorgeous in this picture...but this is the end product. A tasty beef stew with pancetta, carrots, pearl onions, & mushrooms (all cooked separately and a special way than I've ever done), and then a sauce/gravy on the side. I served it with thick sliced garlic and buttered sourdough bread so you can soak up all the juices and leave a clean plate. :)

Right before the reveal. I cooked with the apron all day to feel like I was Miss Julia and pump myself up for the 5 hour recipe.

Oh...and Happy late Halloween! Here's our pumpkin we carved Saturday night. We did Halloween in this year because midterms were this week. Had fun just the two of us, but did make it to a get-together with some friends Friday night which was a nice break for Jared.