![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Attended a friend's wedding this weekend. It was out of town so N and I hopped on a flight the day of, had a lost reservation at the car rental place and still made it to the wedding on time. It was on this gorgeous residential golf course smack dab in a vineyard. Every thing was beautiful. The ceremony was very short but very elegant. They did a sand pour thing that was really neat. I wish I had thought of that for mine.
Cocktail hour and all through the night had an open bar. I must stop to describe the candy wonderland they had. An entire buffet of candies (mints, chocolates, gummies, sugar drops, etc) was available - and they provided bags to carry away loot. Simple, elegant, not expensive and a huge "Wow!" factor. I definitely approved.
Dinner was very good (the fish definitely outshined the beef). People danced, exchanged info and generally had a good time. I very much enjoyed my table as well as the other people I met. It was a great time and I only wish I had another day to explore the area and hang out with friends.
Cocktail hour and all through the night had an open bar. I must stop to describe the candy wonderland they had. An entire buffet of candies (mints, chocolates, gummies, sugar drops, etc) was available - and they provided bags to carry away loot. Simple, elegant, not expensive and a huge "Wow!" factor. I definitely approved.
Dinner was very good (the fish definitely outshined the beef). People danced, exchanged info and generally had a good time. I very much enjoyed my table as well as the other people I met. It was a great time and I only wish I had another day to explore the area and hang out with friends.
Tags:
Your result for The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test...
Pure Nerd
65 % Nerd, 35% Geek, 43% Dork
For The Record:
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.
The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendencies associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.
Congratulations!
Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following:
Take The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test at HelloQuizzy
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.
The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendencies associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.
Congratulations!
Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following:
Take The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test at HelloQuizzy
Ran into this site: tastespotting.com/
I simultaneously became hungry and dearly missed my kitchen. The pictures are gorgeous and many of them have recipes attached. That's right food pr0n and instructions. How cool is that?
I simultaneously became hungry and dearly missed my kitchen. The pictures are gorgeous and many of them have recipes attached. That's right food pr0n and instructions. How cool is that?
So N and I got Rockband2 for Christmas (for all those whom contributed - Thank-you). I am starting to play on medium and it's um, not easy. On the drums not only are you doing the kick while doing other notes, you are doing them a lot. I have to rest my leg and play guitar after only one set. Guitar on medium. Guitar/Bass on medium is where you start to feel like you are actually rocking. However, your fret hand starts to fall off. Guitar is also a 1 set max before needing to rest.
So I went to do some laundry and noticed that my kick foot and left hand were suprisingly tender. My pinky will cramp up while typing if I'm not careful. But do I want to play again? Damned skippy I do :)
So I went to do some laundry and noticed that my kick foot and left hand were suprisingly tender. My pinky will cramp up while typing if I'm not careful. But do I want to play again? Damned skippy I do :)
Tags:
Brought to you from
I'm *not* shleepy....I'm not shleepy....I'm not shleepZzzzzzzz.......
Aaawwwww. My favorite is below.
I'm *not* shleepy....I'm not
Aaawwwww. My favorite is below.
Tags:
For the party I threw tonight, I decided the main attraction would be a mashed potato bar. It turned out pretty well. I made a bag of russet potatoes and kept them warm in my rice cooker (I so love my rice cooker). Sides were simple and had had different reviews.
Butter Very successful. 3/4 gone
Sour cream Marginally successful. I think it was largely missed b/c it was covered
Chives Reasonably successful. 1/2 gone
Mushroom Sauce Reasonably successful. < 1/2 C left
Real bacon Bits Very successful. < Tablespoon left.
I has about 8 people at the party and I have half the potatoes left. Some people went for the snacks and sweets instead, so I would estimate 1 bag feeding about 15-20 people. I also had a secondary main dish of sweet and sour chicken wings to offset the savoriness of the potatoes. The potato bar was reasonably easy to prepare and maintain. I may do this as a thing for future cold time parties.
Butter Very successful. 3/4 gone
Sour cream Marginally successful. I think it was largely missed b/c it was covered
Chives Reasonably successful. 1/2 gone
Mushroom Sauce Reasonably successful. < 1/2 C left
Real bacon Bits Very successful. < Tablespoon left.
I has about 8 people at the party and I have half the potatoes left. Some people went for the snacks and sweets instead, so I would estimate 1 bag feeding about 15-20 people. I also had a secondary main dish of sweet and sour chicken wings to offset the savoriness of the potatoes. The potato bar was reasonably easy to prepare and maintain. I may do this as a thing for future cold time parties.
I have a loose list of things I want to do in LA before I get-too-old/have-kids/leave-LA/etc. For N's birthday I got to do one: Eat Dinner at Spagos. For those who don't know about Spagos, it is Wolfgang Puck's First Restaurant. It still has a rotating menu and is known as "the place" for really special occasions and to see a celebrities.
The decor is whimsical. I now know where Cheesecake Factory got their decore. There weren't any celebrities we recognized but that's fine. I find they tend to distract from your own experience. However there were some impeccably well coiffed people there. Most people looked like we did - dressed up for a special occasion. These people looked like they were established regulars. They looked like they fit.
Well, let's start with the wine list. I don't think there was a bottle under $80. The cheapest glass of wine was $17. However the Pinot I got was very nice. Then they came by with a bread tray and seemed strangely insistent we take something. Once again delicious. I ordered the Bass with seafood and got exactly that. No side of potato or rice or vegetable. And the food was not in large portions - ah, that's why they wanted us to take bread. That being said, I don't think I can describe the food in a couple of sentences and give it justice. However I also don't want to take up an hour giving it the justice it deserves so I will just say it was exquisite. You could taste every single flavor instead of only 1-2 dominant ones.
Dessert was difficult. N is allergic to nuts and all their normal desserts is made with nut oil. however their serve proved as impeccable as their food. They got N an ice cream dish with raspberries and wrote "Happy Birthday" in chocolate sauce.
So, in short:
Food - Smaller portion, but you will be comfortably full
Wine - Not cheap but very good
Service - Excellent
Repeat Business: For a very special event, absolutely
Now I need to work on that afternoon at the Getty...
The decor is whimsical. I now know where Cheesecake Factory got their decore. There weren't any celebrities we recognized but that's fine. I find they tend to distract from your own experience. However there were some impeccably well coiffed people there. Most people looked like we did - dressed up for a special occasion. These people looked like they were established regulars. They looked like they fit.
Well, let's start with the wine list. I don't think there was a bottle under $80. The cheapest glass of wine was $17. However the Pinot I got was very nice. Then they came by with a bread tray and seemed strangely insistent we take something. Once again delicious. I ordered the Bass with seafood and got exactly that. No side of potato or rice or vegetable. And the food was not in large portions - ah, that's why they wanted us to take bread. That being said, I don't think I can describe the food in a couple of sentences and give it justice. However I also don't want to take up an hour giving it the justice it deserves so I will just say it was exquisite. You could taste every single flavor instead of only 1-2 dominant ones.
Dessert was difficult. N is allergic to nuts and all their normal desserts is made with nut oil. however their serve proved as impeccable as their food. They got N an ice cream dish with raspberries and wrote "Happy Birthday" in chocolate sauce.
So, in short:
Food - Smaller portion, but you will be comfortably full
Wine - Not cheap but very good
Service - Excellent
Repeat Business: For a very special event, absolutely
Now I need to work on that afternoon at the Getty...
Tags:
After years of having to give up martial arts for school and work I went back to one of my old schools last night. I remembered the sequence of warm ups from when I last attended and then was reminded that I was also more fit back then. Then I figured I would be grouped with the beginners and do basics all class - a good, hard, simple workout. Er, notsamuch. Got put in the more advanced grouped and we went through a form they were all supposed to be learning. Three break down moves in a set with two review runs and on to the next set. We went through almost the entire form that night! Some of the students were just going at it but I was like whoa! I need time to absorb the pattern and relate the moves. While my head swirled with combos and footwork the rest of me got a good workout. And I realized that I was happy; that I really missed it and needed to continue doing MA. And today I'm not quite as sore as I expected to be. Right now I'm excited about going to class again...and we'll see how I am afterwards. :)
Tags:
I just finished watching Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog. I found it a good parallel with back stories of many a super-villian: isolating intelligence, love lost, a desire for a better world and askew methods of changing it. Often the grandiosity masks secret pain. I applaud the piece for humanizing an otherwise shunned character - one that may be in all of us......
Okay, now that it's out of my system, it was freakin' hilarious! I loved Moist Man and his suggestion of joining the henchman league. Captain Hammer was wonderfully stupid and yeah, Penny had to die. Oh Dr. Horrible, she was no good for you! She could never understand your vision of a world made right by evilness - your evilness. I may already be married, but I can see the evilness in you <well hidden snicker>. Sigh, take in consolation that you can continue to make good passive income with your new line of T-shirts and other evil paraphernalia.
Okay, now that it's out of my system, it was freakin' hilarious! I loved Moist Man and his suggestion of joining the henchman league. Captain Hammer was wonderfully stupid and yeah, Penny had to die. Oh Dr. Horrible, she was no good for you! She could never understand your vision of a world made right by evilness - your evilness. I may already be married, but I can see the evilness in you <well hidden snicker>. Sigh, take in consolation that you can continue to make good passive income with your new line of T-shirts and other evil paraphernalia.
Tags:
Today after four weekends of being a hospice-like shut-in, I managed to get out on my bike for an hour or so. It wasn't as easy as I remember it and my endurance is definitely down but it felt good. It was an unusually clear day out. Not only could you see the mountains, you could see the signal towers. Due to our diminishing daylight caused by the waning planetary axis tilt and daylight saving time thing, we could only go to the bridge and back. I think I'm finally getting better (knock on wood). Let's see if I can stay this way.
Idea:
Normally I have costume ideas way in advance so I can start sewing. This year, I got sick for 3 weeks so I did not think or plan anything. When I finally could leave the bed, the local radio show was re-debating the if-pirates-or-ninjas were equally matched. The joke seemed both pervasive and subtle enough, so we decided to be Ninja Vs Pirate. Due to costs and relative comfort in a potentially heavy coat, I was the pirate
Costume:
This was the easiest costume ever. Not only did I not sew at all, I found the costume I wanted off the net in the first store we visited. Then N found a ninja costume in his size. Both were reasonably priced, considering. I also found a sword that matched the the gold detail.
Accessories & Extras
The cosutme was really only the jacket. Theoretically I cound go nekkid underneath, but uh, no. I found a really pretty an comfy white lacey top at Macy's. I also needed fishnets and another belt the cheap one in the package would never be able to support a bag. Found both while on another errand to the mall. All other accessories I had: knee boots, gold earrings, even pearl neclaces. I watched a couple youtube vids on how to apply the makeup and decided I could do it on the first try.
Problem solving:
So now I had the age old problem: how to carry id, money, migraine kit, cell and back-up shoes on a promenade walk. A purse was not a viable solution (you're always afraid someone will steal it and it gets in the way). My back-up shoes (a pair of slippers) went into my Halloween bag. That would get strung onto the belt. Because the backup bag would hang in the back, I didn't want to put my valuables in there. The jacket had two false pockets, pieces of cloth to imply pockets underneath. But I didn't have the will nor the time to sew in pockets. The solution hit me while doing laundry: socks! They already acted like a pouch and cold easily be saftey pinned in. So that is what I did - and they worked perfectly.
Assembly:
For a chick, the outfit is only 40% of the the costume. 20% relies on your natural actractiveness, 20% is the accessories and the last 20% on the make-up. As stated above I was able to do it the first time (eventually). It took me forever to get the make-up done. I think now that I have done it once I can do it faster, but it was worth the effort. It looked fantastic: dark, smokey, intense eyes, dramatic bronzing and shading on the cheeks and a little sparkle on the rest. The camera was on the fritz, I don't have any picture of that night - bah! - but I may post other pictures later. The jewelry looked really good with the lacy top I bought. I may have to try it for normal nights out. Hair went back into a pony tail that would rest on my right shoulder. Finally I was fully assembled. The result was pretty impressive.
Execution:
People called out to me "Hey pirate" throughout the night. We did the WeHo Carnival. Due to) the Friday night, the place was crowded. Luckily this time they didn't have stages with live performances going on. That more than anything creates dense, unmovable crowds, which almost lead to a riot last year. Most popular seemed to be superheros, sarah palin, joker (Dark Knight) and sexy cop. The drag queens did group costumes of stewardesses this year, for some reason. When they ran into each other, they did a dance off fight: pretty hilarious.
Bonus:
I did a preempt for my migraine and put in the ear plugs as soon as I felt bass from speakers. I don't know if it was the preeptive actions, my hat blocking the glaring light, I was just OK that day, or a combo of all, but I was fine. We walked up and back without a single anything! Even at the end I was doing great! Yea!
Epilouge:
I didn't eat dinner before we went. The last thing I had beore going out was a starbucks granola bar at 4pm. All normal restuarants were already closed (I never will understand that about LA) so we headed to Denny's in Westwood. I had pancakes and N had a sandwich. And we watched all the people whom had come to the same hunger and restuarant availability conclusion as us. It was like a mini WeHo. you know, greasy diner food tastes *really* good when you are hungry and exhausted from hoofing it in heels all night. Even made it back to bed at a respectable 2 am, still feeling awesome. I realized one needs nights like this. Nights where a lot of effort and thought go into prepping so you feel hot. Nights where you are anonmously among happy people with no other concerns. These nights re-energize and inspire.
Disclaimer:
Now it's not to say the night wen't off without a few hitches. We had to park reasonably far from where we had in previous years. There was a little question of whether the area we parked was safe (they were towing cars). Let me tell you nothing is scarier that night than the sight of parking enforcement or a tow truck. N was a little stressed about that. That's why I wanted to take a cab. Anyway, the car was fine.
Another thing that happened....<sad dramatic sigh>....is that my boots broke. The entire left platform of my "Alice boots" chose that night to fall off. I've had these boots since college and through almost every halloween afterwards. They gave no warning of their destined self destruction. And it happened just before we hit the crowd on our way in! The rest was fine and the height difference wasn't too bad. I decided to walk in my boots, compromised as they were. Only after we left the main area did I switch to my back-up slippers (always be prepared). People still called out "Pirate" to me afterwards.
The last thing was N got sick from Denny's. Poor thing. Luckily I had my pill kit on me (again, be prepared) and we made it home without too much trouble.
So after weighing the good and the bad parts of that night, I would say it was a pretty good Halloween
Normally I have costume ideas way in advance so I can start sewing. This year, I got sick for 3 weeks so I did not think or plan anything. When I finally could leave the bed, the local radio show was re-debating the if-pirates-or-ninjas were equally matched. The joke seemed both pervasive and subtle enough, so we decided to be Ninja Vs Pirate. Due to costs and relative comfort in a potentially heavy coat, I was the pirate
Costume:
This was the easiest costume ever. Not only did I not sew at all, I found the costume I wanted off the net in the first store we visited. Then N found a ninja costume in his size. Both were reasonably priced, considering. I also found a sword that matched the the gold detail.
Accessories & Extras
The cosutme was really only the jacket. Theoretically I cound go nekkid underneath, but uh, no. I found a really pretty an comfy white lacey top at Macy's. I also needed fishnets and another belt the cheap one in the package would never be able to support a bag. Found both while on another errand to the mall. All other accessories I had: knee boots, gold earrings, even pearl neclaces. I watched a couple youtube vids on how to apply the makeup and decided I could do it on the first try.
Problem solving:
So now I had the age old problem: how to carry id, money, migraine kit, cell and back-up shoes on a promenade walk. A purse was not a viable solution (you're always afraid someone will steal it and it gets in the way). My back-up shoes (a pair of slippers) went into my Halloween bag. That would get strung onto the belt. Because the backup bag would hang in the back, I didn't want to put my valuables in there. The jacket had two false pockets, pieces of cloth to imply pockets underneath. But I didn't have the will nor the time to sew in pockets. The solution hit me while doing laundry: socks! They already acted like a pouch and cold easily be saftey pinned in. So that is what I did - and they worked perfectly.
Assembly:
For a chick, the outfit is only 40% of the the costume. 20% relies on your natural actractiveness, 20% is the accessories and the last 20% on the make-up. As stated above I was able to do it the first time (eventually). It took me forever to get the make-up done. I think now that I have done it once I can do it faster, but it was worth the effort. It looked fantastic: dark, smokey, intense eyes, dramatic bronzing and shading on the cheeks and a little sparkle on the rest. The camera was on the fritz, I don't have any picture of that night - bah! - but I may post other pictures later. The jewelry looked really good with the lacy top I bought. I may have to try it for normal nights out. Hair went back into a pony tail that would rest on my right shoulder. Finally I was fully assembled. The result was pretty impressive.
Execution:
People called out to me "Hey pirate" throughout the night. We did the WeHo Carnival. Due to) the Friday night, the place was crowded. Luckily this time they didn't have stages with live performances going on. That more than anything creates dense, unmovable crowds, which almost lead to a riot last year. Most popular seemed to be superheros, sarah palin, joker (Dark Knight) and sexy cop. The drag queens did group costumes of stewardesses this year, for some reason. When they ran into each other, they did a dance off fight: pretty hilarious.
Bonus:
I did a preempt for my migraine and put in the ear plugs as soon as I felt bass from speakers. I don't know if it was the preeptive actions, my hat blocking the glaring light, I was just OK that day, or a combo of all, but I was fine. We walked up and back without a single anything! Even at the end I was doing great! Yea!
Epilouge:
I didn't eat dinner before we went. The last thing I had beore going out was a starbucks granola bar at 4pm. All normal restuarants were already closed (I never will understand that about LA) so we headed to Denny's in Westwood. I had pancakes and N had a sandwich. And we watched all the people whom had come to the same hunger and restuarant availability conclusion as us. It was like a mini WeHo. you know, greasy diner food tastes *really* good when you are hungry and exhausted from hoofing it in heels all night. Even made it back to bed at a respectable 2 am, still feeling awesome. I realized one needs nights like this. Nights where a lot of effort and thought go into prepping so you feel hot. Nights where you are anonmously among happy people with no other concerns. These nights re-energize and inspire.
Disclaimer:
Now it's not to say the night wen't off without a few hitches. We had to park reasonably far from where we had in previous years. There was a little question of whether the area we parked was safe (they were towing cars). Let me tell you nothing is scarier that night than the sight of parking enforcement or a tow truck. N was a little stressed about that. That's why I wanted to take a cab. Anyway, the car was fine.
Another thing that happened....<sad dramatic sigh>....is that my boots broke. The entire left platform of my "Alice boots" chose that night to fall off. I've had these boots since college and through almost every halloween afterwards. They gave no warning of their destined self destruction. And it happened just before we hit the crowd on our way in! The rest was fine and the height difference wasn't too bad. I decided to walk in my boots, compromised as they were. Only after we left the main area did I switch to my back-up slippers (always be prepared). People still called out "Pirate" to me afterwards.
The last thing was N got sick from Denny's. Poor thing. Luckily I had my pill kit on me (again, be prepared) and we made it home without too much trouble.
So after weighing the good and the bad parts of that night, I would say it was a pretty good Halloween
I think I heard this on a "Debunking the <fill in myth here>" show a week ago and the word stayed with me. So in an attempt to purge the word from my mind (much like a catchy tune that won't go away)...
Verisimilitude
–noun
1. the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude.
2. something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.
(ref dictionary.com)
Verisimilitude
–noun
1. the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude.
2. something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.
(ref dictionary.com)
Tags:
This weekend I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific with some of my family. We're all adults now so given the plethora of HD Discovery, Nat Geo, Learning Channel and Planet Earth shows I thought we would be only mildly entertained. At the first tank of fish we all dropped our I'm-too-grown-up-to-think-this-is-cool facades and enjoyed the awesomeness that is seeing real fish up close. We spent a good 20 min at the shark tank marveling at them. We played with the sea lions in the tube (huge attention hams). No penguins at this place :(, but there were sea otters - damned if they weren't cute. If it were not for the throngs of children running around I think we could have stayed there another hour. I can definitely see going there when we have kids. They would be hte perfect excuse 'cause I'm-too-grown-up-to-think-this-is-cool enough to return on our own. :)
I discovered this newest time suck: www.damninteresting.com
And it truly is. It's a bunch of guys writing articles on random facts they find. Some of them are hilariously written (seriously, we're talking Onion-worthy). Sample headlines are:
Mutant Killer Seaweed of Doom
The Pit of Life and Death
The Great Taste of Human Flesh, Without the Guilt
The Unburdened Mind
Seriously, you should check them out.
And it truly is. It's a bunch of guys writing articles on random facts they find. Some of them are hilariously written (seriously, we're talking Onion-worthy). Sample headlines are:
Mutant Killer Seaweed of Doom
The Pit of Life and Death
The Great Taste of Human Flesh, Without the Guilt
The Unburdened Mind
Seriously, you should check them out.
In reply to my friend's blog
http://morganlf.livejournal.com/759999.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vizzini: You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha...(thump)
Grrandpa: Yes you're very smart. Shut up.
http://morganlf.livejournal.com/759999.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vizzini: You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha...(thump)
Grrandpa: Yes you're very smart. Shut up.
Tags:
 | 51 As a 1930s wife, I am |
K & A:
I loved the tour of West Seattle. Such wonderful parks in your area! Living there I could see myself wanting to spend as much time as possible outdoors, rain or not! And thank-you for showing us the park in the rain. Living in the desert of LA, one can forget how refreshing and rejuvinating a rain walk can be. Although it was a little foggy that day I can see why you fell in love with the views, the green and the feel
Thank-you for being our Saturday night/Sunday sherpa. I still remember how enjoyable the food and atmosphere Salvatore Ristorante and Pomegranate were. The tours of Redmond and Kirland got my head thinking more on what kind of neighborhood I want to live in addition to the type of house. Jewels of wisdom, indeed.
Your suggestions for Bridle Trails and Yarrow Point were really good suggestions for Bellevue. I never would have ever though such a wooded area could exist so close to the heart of a down town. N got kinda nostalgic. We may have to check out your suggestions for the islands when we go back up.