Weekend Update - But not really cool - Or Funny - Or... I don't know just read it okay?

Over at The Beehive they do a "Weekend ReCap" blog. It's quick and I like reading what other people did. Some of it makes me jealous and some of it makes me feel better that they didn't do anything special.

Here's what I did this weekend:

(1) Friday I Cleaned... but more of a spring cleaning (or fall cleaning? that didn't sound right) I cleaned my cleaning caddy, the freezer, the silverware drawer, my closet, my bathroom drawers... I turned that place upside down, but AAAHHHHHH it feels SO GOOD!

(2) Then my roommate came home with some friends to watch a movie. They were FASCINATED with my dinner. I told you I like an antipasti plate. MMMM

(3) Saturday I worked from home for a few hours. I saw Har Mar lounging - he is so cute. He likes to stay inside, but lay in the sun. AWWWW.

(4) I planted a new AeroGarden. This time it's International Basil! OH BOY! I'll keep you posted!

(5) Saturday night I picked up my friend Rebecca and took her to Roe. Her birthday was a week ago, but she was in Disneyland then, so she wanted all her friends to get together here this weekend. As a vegetarian for 7 years now, I never developed a love for sushi, but they had a vegetable roll that I tried. PEW PEW PEW. Seaweed tastes just like rotten fish. UGH! Sorry guys. I don't like coffee either. WILDLY POPULAR, yes!! MY THING, no!! I'll gladly stick to the vegetable tempura and edamame! Glad we were in before 10 though. GEEZ that place charges a $10 cover and is wildly packed!

(6) I am still surprised at how short people are in this town. I'm 5'7", but with 4" heel I'm nearing 6' tall. HAHA. There were only 3 guys in the entire place that could look me in the eye. If I was looking for a man, this would be very depressing.

(7) Sunday I realized it's cold like Alaska here!! Time to break out the electric blanket. I went to my parent's house after running my errands. Had dinner with my mom at Qdoba. It was actually good. She gave me a spare "warming blanket" that she had. Everyone should thank her because there was a high chance I would have died sometime during the night while watching TV on the couch BUT NOW I WILL LIVE! I have the warmth of electricity! YES!

(8) My mom also gave me this mini cherry pie. 1- I love cherry pie (save the innuendo guys...) 2- She originally bought it for my spoiled rotten brothers lunch, so I figured it would be at least THREE TIMES as tasty because I got to take it from him! However, my mom wanted to open it to see what it looked like inside. OF COURSE, as soon as I try to unload my car, the pie FLIES OUT the opening and meets it's early demise. :( NOOOOOOOOO!

SO ANYWAYS, that was my weekend in a nutshell - and even with a few pictures.

Let me leave you with an adorable pic of my little man chillin' on the couch!
Say it with me.
Awwwwwwwwwwww!

They're making a comeback!

Look what I saw at the Savemart on Champlain & Perrin !!

CHOCODILES!!


AND ON SALE! YES!!

The Mad Duck

So I recently saw a new place going up over nextdoor to Sequoia Sandwich there in the Target parking lot on the corner of Willow / Herndon.



Besides being completely food motivated, I can enjoy a good brew too! Gotta admit, I'm excited to try this place when it opens up! Who wants to go with me?

Pizza & Beer - MMMMMM

I don't know if you've had a chance to eat at a Pizza Fusion yet, but YOU NEED TO!

This is my favorite place to eat right now! It's really no where in the scope of where I go in this town, but it's SO worth the drive over there!

I'm in love with every aspect! Delicious food, earth friendly, and even vegan options!

Here's what you HAVE to do:

1) GO THERE!!
2) ORDER ANYTHING!! MUST HAVES are the flat bread trio (w/ tapenade!) and the pear and gorgonzola salad.


I just recently attended an event there sponsored by New Belgium Beer. For $4 you got to taste all of New Belgiums brews (Which are on tap at Pizza Fusion), snack on delicious fresh pizza, and keep the New Belgium glass! It was so much fun!


Best part is, they are going to do this again on the 28th. I'm so there!

Talkin' about Tower

Alright people - this is for all my Fresno peeps...

I read a lot of elitist snobby things on my twitter stream and even in my own blog comments about how you hate the north side and only love Tower... GAWD you people love the fucking Tower district. You all make it seem like I've never been there, but I got news for you, I'm older than half of you and have been going there since some of you were in junior high!

Yes, I live in north Fresno at Woodward Lakes, but that doesn't mean I only hang out here. I just write this blog reppin' the north side because I want you to know we have cool stuff too!

GASP, you mean you can get quaint and culture north of Herndon and not everything is plastic Stepford Wives and single occupied gas guzzing SUV's? Yup, that's right! WE ARE SLAYING GEOGRAPHICAL STEREOTYPES HERE AT It's worth recording... !!!

So, here are some things you may not know about me and my Tower district history:

•I met my (now ex) husband on the patio of the Java Cafe in 1996.
•I bought my 1st pair of steel-toed 20 eyelet Grinders from Valentino's in 1997
•I got my tongue pierced from Jerry at Spears of Shiva all by myself when they were still on the North side of Olive in late 1997/early 1998.

What else do you want to know about? I've done the drinks and appetizers at Livingstones, pool and drinks and pizza at Avalon (Now Babylon), dancing in the streets at mardi gras, the patio at Veni's, the dining at Palomino's and Rousseaus and everywhere, the New Years parties and open mics and poetry jams at Starline, the lunch at Peimonte's, and everything else you can think of.

SO FRESNO PEOPLE... What do you want from me? To listen to local bands at Bobby Salazars? Have lunch at Irene's? Watch a show at Roger Rocka's? Buy something at Retro Rags? OH WAIT, I've done that TOO!

So, this may seem like a bit of an aggressive blog, but I just hate the patronizing "You should come to tower" comments. Like that's the only place that privately owned businesses can operate. Like that's the only place you can walk on the streets or find unique purchases or see a good show. Like only places south of Shaw offer good service - wrong! Wrong! WRONG!

So thanks for letting me say my peace. I hope this post helps us all come together and roam this town with wild abandon. LET'S TEAR THE WALLS DOWN!! I hope to see you out there!

Pho Sho !!!!!

I have an anniversary coming up. I wish I would have written down the exact date, but to the best of my calculations, June will start my 7th year of being a vegetarian. It's a long story that I get many questions about. Mostly, people want to know why and I'll just say: ALL THE REASONS.

•It's unhealthy
•It's bad for the economy
•It's inhumane

Anyways, even though I am a strict vegetarian, I am a meat lover. I have every type of fake meat product in my fridge! I don't eat gelatin, fish, or stock which includes many soups, pilafs, caesar dressing, and even gummy bears. Most things I can replicate at home, HOWEVER, there are some things you just can't get. Fresno has really made some great advancements with Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and hell, even regular grocery stores can carry vegetarian products now, BUT...

As you can imagine, even though I love to cook, sometimes I just want to go out and get a good meal and not have to worry and quiz my waiter/waitress about how the food is made.

That's why I was so happy with the addition of New Stars Vegetarian. New Stars is at Champlain/Perrin in the FIVE and Sequoia Brewing parking lot. Unfortunately, their hours aren't the best - they close early at 9pm and are closed on Sunday-Tuesday, but PLEASE GO THERE! Most veg places go so hardcore that they go vegan! MARISA ALSO LOVES CHEESE AND BUTTER!! So New Stars has a selection of vegan, vegetarian, and even imitation meat products. They have all types of things, but mostly the fare is asian related.

Here's the whole reason of this post - THEY HAVE PHO !!!!!

I've been dying for Pho for YEARS now. I went this last Saturday and had some. It was PHENOMENAL. Anyone, call me and we'll go. I think I'm addicted. I could eat it every freakin' day. EVERY. DAY.

CALL ME... SERIOUSLY... I'M HUNGRY AGAIN...

Teazers Schmeazers - E.M.W. Tea is where it's at!

OOHHHHHH YEAH, I SAID IT!! I said it and everyone in Fresno just did a collective cringe. You people love that Teazers place. Actually, I've never been there, so my crap talking doesn't hold much validity. Since we're friends, I'll let you in on a little secret: I don't even like tea! I'm more of a Mtn Dew girl if you can imagine that!

However, I think you all need to take a little trip to the north side. We have a tea place too and I come here often!

E.M.W. Tea is located on the South West corner of Champlain and Perrin. It's in the Savemart and Campagnia parking lot.

To save you hours of contemplation, EMW stands for East Meets West. (Took me forever to figure that out!)

There are so many cool things about this place. I think it's deserving of bullet points.

• They are open late! Sunday - Thursday 11am - 10pm and Friday - Saturday 11am - 11pm.


• There are cute little seats outside.


• Besides rows and rows of teas to choose from, they also have slushies, and my new obsession BOBA!


• The most expensive thing on the menu is $4, the slushies are only $1, and with the card every 6th one is free!!


• They have THE COOLEST lid maker. My friends no longer enjoy going with me because I get SOO excited about this sealer thing. I tried to take a video of it, but I chickened out at the last minute. JUST GO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF!


• Head on back and there are cute little chairs and couches and a TV with board games and video games.


• The greatest Super Nintendo Tetris Attack player of all time, Roger, will come out from behind the counter and destroy any sense of pride, skill, or self esteem you considered having. Okay, that one may not be a selling point, but it was memorable that's for sure!


• Roger, the self-esteem slayer from above is on twitter! Follow him @emwtea

What are you waiting for!?!? Come check this place out! I recommend the Thai Iced Tea with Boba. MMMMM

Let's go around the room and get to know each other!

Hey Everyone! Thanks for visiting my blog. My name is Marisa!! Some people call me Mars... The picture to the left is already outdated as I change my hair all the time... so just roll with it okay?

I've always been a word nerd and find writing to be cathartic for the chaos that overtakes my brain. I don't claim to be a journalist or a writer or any "title" of anything special. I'm random and overly detailed and sarcastic as fuck, so have fun figuring out what I'm serious about and what I'm not. HAHA

If you click around, you may notice I've been posting stuff since like 2005, but actually I'll ask that you don't read back to those days. They're a bit darker than the happy sunny rainbows I'd like to portray!

Actually, as with every year, 2010 has brought me greater understandings about my life and just how good it can be. I live in Fresno, California and even though people give us a hard time, this really is a great place to live.

Besides being a complete Apple (Mac) fanatic, there's not much I don't enjoy. Ask me and I'll tell you, but some of my favorites involve cooking, party planning, eating, reading, drawing, and talking. I could eat a million chocodiles too... GO TRY ONE RIGHT NOW AND THEN COME BACK!! I'm nervous and twitchy and hilarious if I do say so myself. I want to soak in any and all that life brings my way to it's extreme! I truly believe life is in the little details. I don't really know where I'm going with this so I'm going to awkwardly change the subject with no segue... and yeah, that is one fucked up word...

I also have the cutest dog on earth. His name is HarMar and you can click the labels to see his many adorable pictures. I don't want to explain the name too many more times, but so that you all will quit frowning and wishing I had named him Skittles or something annoying: He's named after "HarMar Super Star" the band of an eclectic and unattractive man who gets all the ladies... I thought it was appropriate! Enough said?

AS FOR ME ME:

I don't want to look back on life and have any regrets that I didn't do or try something! In fact, I've always found that while life is full of mistakes, I've always regretted the things I didn't do, far more than the things I did do.

I'm a strict vegetarian and I can't believe it's been 7 years already! However, I love to cook and I promise you won't leave hungry after I cook you an honest meal! I also have a secret love for people who lapse into moments of nerdiness.

Overall, I'm seeking balance, acceptance, and happiness. That's not too much ask is it?

10 Personal Truths

1. I believe in the universal interconnectedness of all things.

2. I have an almost unbearable sensitivity to anothers aura and BEG that people be conscious of the energy they bring to me. Negativity and anger emanating from another can literally bring me to my knees and I cease to function....

3. I am greatly comforted by symmetry and find that my mental clarity really is tied to the tidyness of my house/office/drawers/etc... "A place for everything and everything in it's place"

4. I have an "addictive" personality. I am slightly compulsive about: Straightening, steam cleaning, caffeine, food, driving fast, and a slew of other things I'm sure...

5. I am a cookware snob (Particularly knives...) I would much rather go through the tedious process to pack up my own equipment and bring it with me WHEREVER than be forced to cook with sub-standard stuff. I will NOT cut anything unless I have my own knife...

6. I am a contradiction. I want to be tough like a man, but treated tenderly like a woman. There is nothing I can't do, but I would love if someone wanted to take care of me. I am the sweetest most innocent person you know, but extremely exposed, raw, and jaded to many things. I am a girly tomboy. I am a meat loving vegetarian.

7. I'm pretty sure I have an undocumented case of Narcolepsy and restless leg syndrome.

8. If they invented a chip you could put in your brain that functioned like an iPod I would be the first to sign up for it! I want to hear music in my head 24 hrs a day.

9. I believe that diet (food) and exercise are the keys to solving almost every health issue.

10. I am extremely passionate (almost extreme) about everything I do and I cannot do anything that I do not believe in, but this has led to me over committing myself to too many things at once which drains me.

So - did you know those 10 things? Maybe, maybe not. Hope to see you around the blogosphere!