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Friday, August 27, 2010

Friday Foto: All You've Got To Do Is Dream

Last night, I saw Dreamgirls at the Curran Theater last night with two of my besties:


A few weeks ago, we only talked about maybe going to catch a show, and knowing us, I thought we'd never find the time.  However, during chat on Tuesday, one of my gals suggested we go that Thursday!

We don't do spontaneous.  Actually, we did once... when on a whim we flew to Vegas for a quick weekend trip that ended with me waking up in the middle of the night vomiting over the toilet without ANY clothes on (different story for a different day)...But long gone are those days because these two besties are now PREGGERS!!  Their due dates are just a couple days apart -- how crazy is that!?!

Anyway, I was shocked when we actually bought the tickets and no one flaked out at the last minute.  I drove straight from work and the two of them met up with each me in the city.  With only 30 minutes to spare before curtain call, we grabbed a quick bite at Chipotle (I know...SO many places to eat in SF, but we chose Chipotle!  Sorry, we needed something quick! Plus, Chipotle is delicious.)

We made it right on time!  We bought cheapest tickets we could find, but since it was a weeknight, there were a ton of empty seats and we were upgraded to a lower section! Score!!

I loved it!!!  The set was impressive and the actors were on point -- their voices did not disappoint at all! The actress playing Deena Jones was Syesha Mercado from American Idol Season 7, which I thought really exciting even though I don't think I watched that season. 

If you are in San Francisco between now and September 26, I would totally recommend you see it!

The picture below was taken right before I got yelled at by one of the ushers, "NO pictures!!!!".  Oops.

Me (left) and the two glowing preggers, let's call them High Maintenance-B (middle) and Bad Influence-F (right)

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Worldess Wednesday: College A Cappella... I Miss You.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

I'm a Bad Mama

Coming home after a very long (but fun!) day at my cousin's baby shower, I just wanted to snuggle with my two favorite bullies, H&M.

Harry was occupied with a toy on the opposite side of the room, so I only had Marv to pet and hug.

After about 5 minutes of petting him and telling him about the party (Marv's a good listener), he went to play with his brother.

I looked down at my hand and was shocked for weeks at what I saw (pardon my wrinkly and pudgy fingers):

iphone pic



It's been a while since we last bathed our puppies, but I didn't realize they had gotten that bad!

Oh, did I mention I spilled maple syrup all over Harry the other day, too?  Oops.

I did my best to clean him with a wet paper towel, but he wouldn't sit still and Marv kept licking him!  I thought it was all but, but even after a week you could still see a faint brown streak across the white parts of his fur.

I felt like such a bad mama!

Well, we promptly drew up baths for them because I'm sure they didn't like being covered in all that filth!

iphone pic


Much better :)

Friday, August 20, 2010

Friday Foto: Lady Gaga & Giveaway Winner!

The Lady Gaga concert was fantastico!  That woman knows how to put on one helluva show!

My favorite part of the evening though was seeing the different costumes all the fans dressed up in!  I went to the concert straight from work, so sadly I'm wearing not so cute clothing... but check out this gal:

horrible picture of me, but whatevs.

Hot, right? Yeah, my hubs was the one who spotted her --- shocker.  I think the only thing that kept him from being super grumpy that night was seeing all the slutty scantily clad ladies prancing about.  Shoot - I couldn't keep my eyes off of them either! This monster in particular had a loooong line of people wanting to take pictures with her. She must have felt like a supastah!  Check out suspenders dude in the back.  He was rockin' a fierce ensemble, too.

Surprisingly, our seats were decent... Yay for free tickets! Sure we were in the top section, BUT we had the front row in our section and didn't have to worry about people standing up and blocking our view.

The only part that sucked was getting home at 1 in the morning on a week night!  Waking up 4 hours later for work was not fun.  I think there should be a rule that all concerts should either be on a Friday or Saturday... who's with me?  Sorry folks, I'm not 21 anymore and can't be functional after an all-nighter.  Heck, I only had a handful of those nights in my prime and didn't do it well then! (Ha - I'm lame) Point is, I think I still have some sleep catching-up to do this weekend, so I am glad it's Friday!!!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Almost forgot! I need to announce the winner of my first giveaway!!  Thank you to everyone who entered!  Hopefully we'll have more giveaways in the future!



Congrats to Susan Mc!  I'll be contacting you soon with the details!

It's "A" boy... and a Lulu*s coupon for you!

A few cousins and I are throwing a baby shower for my dear Cousin M this Saturday.  I volunteered to be in charge of the decorations, of course.  It's been a while since I opened Photoshop, and I was itchin' for a new project.

She's having a boy and her husband is a huge Oakland A's fan... naturally we went with that theme.  The decor will be sweet and simple. I think it took me a total of just 2 hours to complete all the DIY stuff.  Here's a sneak peek for ya:




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In other news, here's a treat for you and me! (Awesome coupon below)

The other day I discovered Lulus.com and fell in love!  In a matter of 5 minutes, I ordered three dresses and a top!  I don't normally buy clothes online because only certain styles fit my body type and I like to try on stuff beforehand...  even though I know that all stores have magic mirrors in their fitting rooms.  90% of the clothes I thought looked fantastic on me in the store end up making me feel like a bloated cow at home.  Lulu*s has a pretty good return/exchange policy, so I thought I'd order online anyway and give it a shot! 

I made the order last Wednesday and the package arrived at my doorstep by Friday! Everything fit really great, though the material for the dresses I bought were a bit thin and definitely require a slip underneath.  Otherwise -- loving my new purchases. Here are a couple of the dresses I bought:



Cute, right? Now I have something to wear to the baby shower on Saturday!

On to my main point: Lulu*s contacted me and is offering us a 15% discount off our next purchase!

Just use the coupon code SIMPLEEVERYDAY during checkout for 15% off your entire LuLu*s purchase. It's available now through September 12th!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Simple Joys: Movie Night

*Reminder: Today is the last day to enter in the DaVinci Bracelet & Beads giveaway! I'll be picking the lucky winner early tomorrow morning!*

Matthew and I are lucky in that we commute together to and from work.  That means, we get 3+ hours of "us" time in a small, confined space.  During this time we talk about our day at work, plans for the evening, and just about everything else in between.  Our commuter car is very tiny and holds only two people, so it's sort of an intimate space for us.   We take turns driving so that it's fair, but we also have a fun ritual of trying to get the other person to drive for them in exchange for other favors (i.e. choice of dinner location, less driving turns for the following week, etc.)

Last week though, we either had to work late or made plans with friends after work, so we drove home separately several times.  By the time we were both home, we were too tired to do anything else besides go to sleep. 

I know it was just a few days of veering from our standard routine, but I missed him.  Thus, I made sure our schedules were clear on Friday for "movie night".

It was Matthew's turn to pick a movie, since I dragged him to see "Inception" a few weeks back.  I've seen it twice and would pay to see it again if anyone still hasn't seen it.  Seriously.  I liked the movie that much.

Well... he decided that for our "let's reconnect date" we would see,

The Expendables.



*groan*  I really didn't think a movie about men who were hot 10+ years ago gratuitously killing other guys with machine guns would be something I'd consider an ideal "date movie". 

But boy was I wrong!  There were probably a few too many close-up shots of Mickey Rourke and Sylvester Stallone, and a couple of horribly acted monologues... but I actually enjoyed the film!  I definitely don't see it winning any Academy Awards, but the storyline kept me on the edge of my seat and the action scenes were as over the top as you could hope for. 

My favorite part of it all, however, was turning to see Matthew's reaction throughout the movie.  It's so cute watching his face light up like a little kid on Christmas morning when a building would explode or when someone was stabbed with a knife spilling their guts everywhere.  He loves that sort of stuff and I love watching his happiness.

I've learned that it's very important to make time for your relationship... even if that time is spent doing something you wouldn't normally want to do.  Sometimes you just might discover a new interest or a new appreciation for something you never would have opened your mind to otherwise...

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

30 before 30 - The Rubik's Cube, Part 2

Sorry to leave you hanging for such a long time... I'm sure you were all dying to know whether I figured out how to solve the puzzle (side note: do you see that symbol at the end of the last sentence? It's a sarcmark and it's a new punctuation made to indicate sarcasm... not sure if works on computers who don't have it installed... are you able to see it? )

For a refresher, click here for Part 1.

The answer is YES I DID!!!!!!  I am now a proud knower-of-how-to-solve-the-rubik's-cube!

So, the first thing I did was scramble the cube.



Because this was my first time attempting to solve it, I watched Pogobat's tutorials at the same time. It took me 40 minutes to complete finish... but I did it!!!!


It was actually pretty simple to do! Once you understand the architecture of the thing, it's just a matter or using the appropriate "algorithms" to get them to the right spot!

Of course, this does not count as "learning to solve the Rubik's cube" because I was merely following the youtube guy's instructions. A true test would be to rescramble the cube and solve it ON MY OWN without the assistance of the videos.

I had Matthew scramble the cube for me.

Using mnemonic devices to memorize the different algorithms Pogobat taught me, I finished the cube on my own in 8 minutes!!!!  I get that some of you might think that I'm just showing pictures of solved cubes and didn't actually solve it myself... So for you non-believers, here's a sped up video of me solving the cube... You can tell it's me because I have ugly wrinkly hands with chubby fingers and a scar on my right hand from when I was a curious 11-month old and attempted to pull myself up using the cord of an iron that my mom was currently using (needless to say, the iron fell on my hand leaving me with permanent scars and dreams of being a hand model out the window)!

The darn thing kept getting stuck, so I probably could have shaved a few seconds if I had the cube oiled!


I can finally cross something off of my 30 before 30 list! Woohoo!

It took me a total of 90 minutes to watch all the videos and memorize the algorithms. Currently, my fastest time is a little under 7 minutes! Who knows?!?! Maybe one day I can enter a "speed cubing" competition... :-D

That goal is probably for another list though...

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Post-it Tuesday: My Weird Dream

Friday, August 13, 2010

Friday Foto: Glider Plane Ride



circa 2005

Here's an old school photo I found recently while trying to figure out what picture to post today.  One of my BFFs, Bon, and I went on an impromptu Napa weekend trip many summers ago.  Since turning 21, we never really took advantage of living 20 minutes from wine country until that weekend.

We hit up a few wineries and somehow came across a flyer for "Glider Plane Rides".   We had no idea what they were about, but it looked like fun so we jumped at the opportunity!

I'm no expert, but a glider plane is pretty much a tiny ass really small plane without an engine.  I have no idea why we thought floating in the air in a machine that did not have power would be a good idea... but I guess we were drunk on wine when we made our reservations.

Since the glider plane doesn't have an engine, it is launched into the sky using an aero-tow.  Basically, a "real" plane with an engine tows the glider up into the sky using a long rope, which is then released when you reach the appropriate altitude, leaving you floating in the air with a pilot who navigates the plane as it ascends to the ground. 

It was scary!!! First, do you see how tightly squeezed we are in the passenger seat?!  Bon is like 80 lbs and I was still surprised we even fit!  Secondly, our pilot thought it would be really fun to do some spins and dips after we were released by the aero-tow! Naturally, we were freaking out thinking we would plummet to our death doing all those crazy tricks without an engine!

Luckily, our pilot was very experienced and assured us we would be fine.  I was able to calm down and open my eyes to see the view from the air...  it was unbelievable! I would totally recommend it the next time you're in Napa.

Every time I look at that picture, I can't help but smile thinking about the fun memories from that weekend. 

I heart friends.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

True Life: I'm a Professional Radio Contest Winner

I don't know if winning radio contests is considered a profession, but if it were, I would totally win a gold medal.

In the past 2 years, I have won 12 radio contests.  I listen to the radio a lot since I'm in my car roughly 3 hours a day commuting to and from work.  The prizes I have won have ranged from small things like a t-shirt to bigger things like front-row concert tickets and even an emerald ring!

The key is: timing. Usually, radio DJs will announce beforehand what time a contest is scheduled, so I usually start dialing a few minutes before the scheduled time. There is 45-second to 2-minute delay on the radio (longer if you're listening to the station online), so it definitely gives you the upper hand if you start calling earlier. Also, I have the phone number to 5 different radio stations programmed into my phone (all part of my speed dials), and that totally helps because I don't have to manually dial or search through my contacts each time I'm ready to call.

I was really into winning prizes last year, but after winning front row seats to a Brad Paisley concert that he eventually cancelled, I was bummed and decided to take a break from entering contests.

Until today!

Our local Top 40 station, Movin' 99.7, has been giving out tickets for Lady Gaga's concert all week long.  Ever morning they have a "celebrity trash" segment where they discuss the latest news about our favorite stars, but this time, they announced that after the break they would be giving out tickets to the Lady Gaga concert to the first listener able to correctly answer a trivia question based on the celebrity trash they just went over. 

After the break, they went straight into a song, so I waited until the last chorus before dialing the number.  The phone started ringing, but I didn't even know what the trivia question was at this point!! I was super nervous that they would answer and I wouldn't have anything to say.  Then, the DJs came back on the air at the same time as someone picked up my line!  I had to say something before they hung up on me, so I said, "Hello! I'd like to answer the trivia question" as slowly as I possibly could while simutaneously trying to listen to the radio.  The DJ on the radio finally said, "Which reality star makes $250,000 an epis...." and that's all I needed to know the answer:

KATE GOSSELIN!

The lady on the line told me I was right and that I won the tickets!!! Woohooo!!! 


I'm not a huge Gaga fan, but I do like her super catchy songs and think her concert will be ah-maz-ing!

What was the latest thing you won?

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Life is Good: Weekend Recap


To celebrate our first year of marriage, Matthew and I spent the weekend in Half Moon Bay, which is only about an hour from home.  I have no idea why we never thought of going there before.  The city is right on the coast of California and has some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. 


We stayed at the Ritz Carlton and from the moment we pulled up to the gates, it felt like a fairy tale.  The property is so beautiful!!  I guess I don't stay at fancy hotels enough or something, but I was totally floored by their customer service.  Everyone was so pleasant and took great care of us... I don't think we opened any door or lifted a thing on our own during our entire stay! 

Confession:  Before Matthew even proposed, I secretly wanted to get married at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay.  I even made an appointment to view the premises by myself and told all my close girlfriends that I found the perfect place to get married but wouldn't divulge any details lest they "steal" my spot (yeah, I'm crazy)...  Obviously we didn't marry there, but I am more than happy with how our wedding turned out.  Maybe we'll have our wedding renewals there one day....

Our room had a fire pit which was perfect for the cold summer weather on the coast. I think the warmest it was all weekend was 55 degrees!!!

Vino definitely helped in keeping me warm!

We had dinner at the hotel's restaurant, Navio, and it was by far the best dinner I've had since our honeymoon! 

Pan-seared scallops over some sort of delicious bread pudding thing... Sorry, I'm not a foodie so I don't really know all the cool foodie terms :)  So sad we only had one each... I probably could eat 20 of them!


I ordered the Crispy Skin Loch Duart Salmon and everything just seemed to melt in my mouth with goodness.  Matthew ordered the New York steak, which I took a picture of... but he was being silly and flipped-off the camera (sometimes he acts like he's 12), so I didn't think I should post the picture here.  He seemed to enjoy his meal, but I was too busy nom-noming away and having taste bud explosions in my mouth to notice what he was doing on the other side of the table.

The best profiteroles ever for dessert with complimentary chocolates.

We had a late dinner and I was pretty tired from the long week, so I took a nice relaxing bubble bath in our room.  I stupidly didn't bring any books, so I was reading off of my iPhone while in the tub... I was SO scared I was going to drop that thing that I gripped my phone with both hands the whole time.  Yeah, not so relaxing...


Matthew surprised me with by booking a segway tour along the coast.  I rode a segway around San Francisco once for a work event and didn't crash, so I was feeling pretty confident about my skills. 



The views were stunning:

(We couldn't get a good shoot, but if you look closely someone had written "Life is Good" in the sand)

Who knew standing on a machine making oh-so-slight shifts with your body weight would make you so tired!?!  We were pooped after riding on the segways, so we spent the rest of the day hanging out at the hotel... but not before munching on the most delectable Crispy Fritto Misto:


The next day, on our actual anniversary, we decided to have lunch at our Rehearsal Dinner location:


They seated us at the exact same table we sat at a year and a day before.  When we first discovered the restaurant in Feb '09, we sat at that same table, too.  Coincidence?  I say it's kismet.

Rehearsal Dinner 8/7/09 - photo by 5footperspective


Sooo... we didn't save the top of our wedding cake because we left for our honeymoon the next day and I didn't really have time to wrap it up so that it was freezer-ready.   However, I love the idea of it, so on the way home we made a pit stop at our wedding cake vendor and bought a cake in one of our wedding cake flavors, Almond Pound Cake with Raspberry something filling:




Mmmm.. still just as good.  A heavenly way to end an equally heavenly weekend.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Cute Dogs, Bad Wife.

Matthew bought me a new toy!!! 

Marv
Harry

Marv, Matthew, & Harry

No... we've had the puppies for a while now.  He got me a new camera for our anniversary (since I stupidly lost our point and shoot camera last month):



What did I get him? A very long hug and a kiss on the cheek.  Yeah... I thought we discussed not giving presents to each other this year, but that cute guy you see up there getting licked by two even cuter bulldogs didn't seem to be paying attention during our conversation and went out and got me something anyway.  I feel like a crappy wife who never cooks or cleans and apparently never buys presents for special occasions either... did I mention he had roses delivered to me at work last Friday, too?!  See.  Bad wife.  I guess I just need to make up for it on Christmas this year since his birthday already passed and I didn't get him a present for that either!

Anyway, I still pretty much have no idea what I'm doing with the camera, but I'm having a lot of fun learning.  I'm thinking about taking a class... but I don't want to embarrass myself in front of other people with my weak shots and will probably do better searching for YouTube video tutorials and watching them in my pajamas at home.  Be prepared to see lots more gratuitous pictures of H&M along with zoomed-in photos of random objects around the house while I learn how to use this thing. 

Does anyone know of any good online resources for photography n00bs? If so, I'd love to hear them!