Meet Jack

Jack is the newest member of my family. Well, my extended family. My aunt recently adopted him from her friend. Apparently his owner dropped him off at her house and never came back. I guess the woman couldn't keep him, so my aunt offered to give him a home. Look at that face--how could you abandon that face? He's three and only weighs 59 pounds, which is pretty small for a golden retriever. A few weeks with my aunt and he'll be packing on the pounds. Her other golden retriever, Roxy, is a giant but oh so pretty. 

I already love him--can't wait to meet him!

Satisfying My Sweet Tooth

Sugar is definitely my weakness. I crave it and I need it like a crack whore needs...well, crack. There were many occasions this week when I wanted to step off my bus and buy a donut at Dunkin' Donuts or ice cream at Baskin Robbins, but I resisted. It was really hard.

As I went through my kitchen last night trying to figure out what to eat, I spotted a box of lemon cake mix. Yes, that was the answer--I'd make cupcakes to satisfy my craving and get rid of one more thing from the cupboards. Perfect!

So, while I was putting together dinner I whipped up some lemon cupcakes, topped them with whipped cream frosting and added a sprinkle of toasted coconut. Here's the end result:

They may not be as pretty as those perfect bakery cupcakes, but they sure are yummy. That's all that matters, right? I think I'm going to have one now!

2010 Task #1: Clear Out the Kitchen

In an attempt to purge my itty-bitty home of things I don't need anymore (and to restore some sort of control and order in my life), I've decided to start with clearing out my kitchen. As a child of immigrants and a native Californian, I inherited the need to stockpile my cupboards with assorted non-perishable foods just in case some catastrophic event, like war or an earthquake, comes my way. I realize that should I survive the apolcalypse I will probabaly starve to death as a result of this project, but I feel that's a small price to pay for a little bit of sanity right now. So my first step in tackling this thing was to either eat anything edible or throw out the stuff that's lived in my cabinets way past their expiration dates. Needless to say, I've been eating a lot of soup and oatmeal this week.

I grew up in a home where food was abundant. My mom shopped as if she had a family of football players instead of two daughters, which would explain why my sister and I have very healthy appetites. To this day, I can still open the fridge or pantry at home and find a huge assortment of food. I'm trying to avoid this pattern, well, at least until I have a family of my own.

Over the years I've tried to avoid stockpiling my fridge and cupboards simply because it really isn't practical for a single girl living in 750 square feet. It made sense when I lived with two boys and had people visiting all the time. I also cooked more during that period of my life. Now, I've learned to make pasta for one, and I don't really cook dishes that require more effort than that, like my parents' famous and oh-so delicious ribs. I usually save that little gem for times when I need to feed a lot of people. The only time portion control becomes an issue is when I bake. It's difficult to bake for one so I either end up eating it all during the span of a week or I take it into work.

So what happens once I've purged all the food from my place? Well, I guess I have to go grocery shopping. I saw something on realsimple.com that featured a meal for every day in January. Some of the recipes looked fairly simple and sounded kind of good, so I thought I'd try them out once my little project ended. I'll need to restock all my spices and purchase new ones I've never used. Oddly, I'm kind of excited about that simple task.

Every year I try make an effort to eat better, which is also a reason for this kitchen makeover. I know I need to add more fresh foods into my diet, but I find it difficult because 1) I'm a lazy ass and 2) I crave pizza, burgers and ice cream more than all that healthy stuff. Don't worry, I'm not going to cut out all my favorite foods and become some crazy person who obsesses over calories and nutrition labels. I just don't care that much. I do know that I need to achieve some sort of balance because right now the scales are definitely tipped in favor of comfort food and fast food.

All this talk of food has my tummy grumbling. Time to go heat up that can of soup!

State of Rest

I've been plagued with a scratchy throat and some weird postnasal drip thing this week, so I think I'm going to stay in this weekend. Maybe I'll do a load of laundry and catch up on Fringe with a mini marathon. If I get really adventurous, maybe I'll try to see another movie. Leap Year, The Lovely Bones, Nine, Sherlock Holmes and Up in the Air are still on my must-see list. Hmmm, wonder what I'll be in the mood for. Any guesses?

Label Me This

Read this article, "10 Reasons Geeky Ladies Are No Longer a Boner Killer (and Is This a Good Thing?)," and found it pretty amusing.

Now, I'm by no means a Geeky Lady, at least not by normal standards. I'm not a gamer (don't even own one game console, unless you count my little Ms. Pac-Man joystick thingy). I don't attend cons. I'm not fluent in a made-up language. I don't know much about outer space. I'm not a tech junkie. I do not listen to hipster rock. I do not possess the typical traits found in a Geeky Lady.

I will confess that lately I've become familiar with a side of myself I didn't know existed. Sure, when I was a kid I loved watching The Jetsons and got superexcited about a project that involved creating a home in outer space, but I never thought those things indicated I had an inner geek.

Science fiction was never my cup of tea. I didn't really understand it and the future world didn't really appeal to me. Well, apparently that's changing. I'm almost done with the entire Battlestar Galactica series and I'm sad that it's ending. I watched Avatar last weekend--in IMAX 3D--and really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the return of V this spring. I'm not exactly sure if this is just a phase or something that's always lived deep within me. I used to hate tomatoes, but now I love them. Is this science fiction turnaround the same type of thing?

Lately, comic books have been registering on my radar, too. I guess this isn't exactly new considering I've always had a thing for Superman and Clark Kent, watched the Batman TV show as a kid and really enjoyed the Batman and Spider-man movies. I think what's surprised me is the interest I've developed in actual comic books. Recently, two friends started writing one and recruited me (against my will) to help edit it. With no clue how to edit such a thing, I turned to the Internet to do some research. My research led me to an actual comic book store, where I purchased my first comic books. And yes, I now have a favorite comic book writer. In fact, I found the article I mentioned above on his Twitter site.

Geeks are becoming so mainstream that they're actually cool, which means anyone getting into this world this late in the game could probably be labeled a wannabe. Yeah, I was never really good at getting into the in crowd--any crowd for that matter. Although, I guess if you really think about it, a lot of people in entertainment didn't start out being cool. I'm sure many of them were once labeled freaks and geeks and dorks. Now look at them, they're the ones setting the trends. Yeah, I was never really good at being a trendsetter either.

Anyway, I like what I like regardless of whether or not it's cool or acceptable. I like romantic comedies while some snub their noses at them and dismiss them as formulaic garbage. I like teen movies and teen shows, which to others seem childish and immature. Sometimes I read trashy, cheesy novels that more literary people would find a waste of time. My iPod is filled with so much bubblegum pop that those with a more sophisticated ear would probably rather hear nails on a chalkboard than listen to one of my playlists.

The way I see it, I can't be defined. Can any of us? Some may try to give me a nice little label, but the truth is, that label only describes one part of me--it does not make up my whole being. Basically, I think what I'm trying to say can be summed up in the famous words of John Hughes:

Dear Mr. Vernon,

We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Does that answer your question?

Sincerely yours,
The Breakfast Club

Not Quite Normal

One full week of the daily grind has come and gone and I'm still feeling slightly off balance. I'm finding it difficult to get back into my normal routine, but I suppose that's normal when you go from one extreme to the other. I went from being on vacation to sitting in front of a computer for eight hours, sunshine and normal temps to wind chills and snow, and PST to EST. I left my iPod home twice this week, spent most of the week tripping over my feet on my way to work, and found myself constantly running for the bus. I don't think I've been able to actually get in the shower before 8 or leave the house before 8:50. Yeah, you could say I'm still adjusting.

Tomorrow I have a baby shower to attend then at some point this weekend I'll need to do laundry. I feel like I spend most of my time doing laundry.

Lately I've been thinking about picking up a mindless second job. I figure the distraction might get me off the couch and out of fridge, plus the extra money can't hurt. The only thing stopping me is letting go of the freedom I have with my time. Scheduling vacations would be a pain and I'd probably be even more exhausted than usual. I guess I'll have to think about it a little more.

On the Brink of Collapse...but Still Standing

I made it through the holidays and now I'm back in front of my work desk where I belong. Well, I guess I don't really belong here, but I do spend a huge amount of time in this chair.

Like most of my vacations, it was a whirlwind and now I need a vacation to recuperate from my vacation. As usual I hit the ground running and didn't stop until I boarded my plane. Thank goodness I didn't fly back on the 3rd--I would have been stuck in a plane at Newark Airport for hours. I don't think I could have handled that--the lady telling me to check in my tiny slightly overstuffed suitcase was hard enough for me to deal with. I mean, come on...I've traveled enough with the thing to know when it can and can't fit into the overhead compartment. What really irked me was when I saw suitcases bigger than mine sprawled out sideways instead of the recommended wheels out formation. Two suitcases could have easily fit in the space that one was occupying. Whatever--I was in no mood to be detained by airport security over whether or not my suitcase would actually fit.

Anyway, the vacay was filled with meeting up with friends, a short trip up north to wine country, a day at Disneyland, the birth of my friend's baby girl and some quality time with the family. Although exhausting, I had a good time and was very sad to leave the 70-degree weather. As you know, the bitter cold does not sit well with me.

Here's a quick (sort of) rundown of the trip:

Old Friends: Catching up with old friends is one of my favorite things to do when I'm home. It gives me a chance to find out what's going on with them while eating at some of my fave places or trying out new restaurants.

My Friday girls' night with AD had us pigging out at the Soup Plantation. Most people would laugh at us for loving a soup and salad bar, but we do and we're not ashamed of it. This time around we didn't have her kids since she came from work, so I didn't get a chance to see them. Her daughter is going to be a teen by the time I give her the Hello Kitty stuff I bought her.

The next night JP and I decided to grab some burgers at Red Robin (love their strawberry lemonade!) and follow it up with a movie. We saw 2012, which was a pretty entertaining action flick. JP kept cracking me up with her emotional roller coaster ride. Whenever I looked over at her she was sniffling, which of course made me laugh and that triggered her to laugh. Yeah, we're not right.

Then Sunday was lunch at the Gypsy Den with three fabulous gals from the old workplace. Unfortunately, GP was under the weather so it was just me, TC and LT. I hadn't been to The Lab in forever and in all the times I'd been there I'd never eaten at the Gypsy Den. The mac n cheese and vegetarian chilli were pretty damn good--so were the sugar plums that LT gave us. They were like little balls of powdery goodness.

The Wednesday before Xmas my sister and I had dinner with one of my favorite couples, RJ and SJ. They took us to this pretty awesome diner called Corky's Kitchen & Bakery. OMG...talk about great comfort food. This place is definitely a must-visit-again establishment. I ordered one of my favorites, chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes. Sooooo good! Even the roll was fantastic. The peach pie with ice cream that my sister and I split was equally as good. Sigh...I love food.

One of my last get-togethers was with DS and NG. It's tradition for us to have tea at The Huntington when I'm in town for the holidays so that's just what we did. I totally look forward to this outing every year. Since I had to wake up early to take my mom to Sylmar, I was only about 30 minutes away from The Huntington so I decided to go early and take a look at the new exhibits. I was able to check out Central Avenue and Beyond and a few new additions to the library. After tea, DS and I strolled over to the newly completed Chinese Garden. The Huntington is definitely one of my favorite places in SoCal.

One of the best things of this trip home was being able to see one of my sorority sisters when I went up North. I hadn't seen her since 2006, so I was glad we could somehow figure out a way to meet up for dinner. JM and AM live about 30 minutes away from Sonoma Valley, which was perfect since that's where we were staying. It was so good to finally see them in their new house with their adorable puppy Bourbon. Well, he isn't exactly a puppy--more like a seven-year-old bundle of furry cuteness. The minute I saw him I was hooked. He totally made my doggy hall of fame. I just wish I'd been there during the day to take pics of him and their cute house. Oh well, perhaps I'll just have to visit in April and camp out in their cozy guest room. BTW...JM I loved that pesto you made. Is the recipe on the Williams Sonoma site?

The Birth: One of the goals of this trip was to meet my friend's baby before I left, but unfortunately, this was all up to the bundle of joy residing in her tummy. Her due date was January 5, but I kept my fingers crossed that little Chloe would make an appearance before my departure, just like her big sis Sam. Sure enough, at 12:52 a.m. on December 26, she made her appearance. I woke up to a text message with her cute little face. A few days later the proud mama, papa and big sis came by to visit and I got to hold the tiny little girl. Luckily, she didn't cry as much as her big sis did when I held her. So excited to see her grow. Hmmmm...I wonder if my friend is going to try for a third. I say, go for it! They make cute babies. :)

Wine Country: My mom's been talking about going up to Napa for a long time, so we decided to take advantage of my sister's employee discount and stayed at The Lodge at Sonoma. Since my sister had to work the morning of the 26th, we didn't leave until 5 p.m. This meant we didn't arrive in Sonoma until 1 a.m. The next day we visited a couple of wineries in Sonoma. My favorite was definitely Imagery Estate Winery. Each wine features a unique piece of artwork by an artist. Some of it was really cool and the wine wasn't that bad either. I'm far from being an oenophile, but I know what I like. Then we had lunch at this cute little restaurant called Doce Lunas. The food was fabulous! I highly recommend it. After a few more winery stops we decided to splurge a little and have dinner at the hotel--they have an excellent sea bass dish. Yum!

The next day was reserved for Napa Valley. We drove all the way up to Calistoga and then back down. Lots of driving on this trip. I'd list all the wineries we went to, but that would involve looking for the map I marked up and right now I'm too lazy.

The last day was spent driving back down to SoCal for dinner at Taiko with family friends we hadn't seen in a long time. It seemed like all the Oregon Ducks decided to drive down at the same time. As if that wasn't enough--L.A. traffic almost killed me! I'm amazed we got to Taiko in one piece.

Tired yet? I totally was by the time we got home.

Disneyland: Since everyone and their mama has an annual pass to Disneyland, I spent New Year's Day at the Happiest Place on Earth with my sister, RJ and SJ. DD later joined us for lunch and one ride on Space Mountain before bailing on us to go help his uncle. Anyway, I hadn't been to Disneyland in years and it was fun to bounce between it and California Adventure (for the first time!). That Toy Story ride was so much fun. I definitely doing that again! The rides I used to be afraid of weren't nearly as scary as they used to be, well, except for the one ride that always scares the crap out of me. Note to self: Do not believe your sister and friends when they say they took out the dips on Space Mountain. Not only were there dips but apparently it was going faster than normal. Uhhh...never again! NEVER!

After RJ and SJ went home, my sister and I went on a few more rides including my favorite ride ever--The Haunted Mansion. It was all decked out with Nightmare Before Xmas stuff. So cool! Then we plopped down on a piece of concrete and watched Fantasmic and the fireworks show. OMG...I've never been so uncomfortable in my life. The cold concrete hurt my butt. Although the shows were awesome, I was sore from sitting in weird positions all night. When we finally got home it was 11:30 and I literally crawled into bed. I was so tired. I even fell asleep in the car, which rarely happens.

Regardless of my exhausted state, it was a fun way to spend the first day of 2010!

The Low-Key Holidays: Although most of the vacay was spent in a car running around, the actual holidays were pretty quiet. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve were spent hanging out with family. I actually rang in the New Year kissing the pups. LOL! I know, I'm such a dork. I was never really into the whole New Year's Eve thing, so it really wasn't that big of a deal that I didn't do anything. I prefer quiet over crazy any day.

OK, I think that's it for the vacation rundown. Sorry for the lack of pics. Hopefully I'll be getting them from my sister and RJ soon. Once I do I'll upload them to my Flickr account for you to enjoy. Hope your holiday season was fantastic. Here's to an amazing 2010!