A sweet surprise

I found this in my office yesterday:

Open the side door and:

wha-la! A fantastic (and delicious) mousse!

I love how the patisserie's cardboard tag is warning me "no eating" (over and over again) of the tag:

I guess my sweet friend knows me pretty well.

Rally

It was a huge disappointment to hear that the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 yesterday. Unfortunately, now the issue is bigger than just not allowing gays to marry--it sets a precedent where the majority vote is legally persecuting a minority (despite the fact that the State Constitution mandates non-discrimination based on, among other things, sexual orientation). A slippery slope if you ask me.

Needless to say, there were rallies and marches. Velina and I went to the one at the Old Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana:

Velina gamely carried our sign:

She got restless during some of the speeches, but when we were marching, her energy came back up and she even joined in the chants (what do we want?!):

There were some great signs:

(Let me get this right. I can't get married.
But you can be a cheater
Get married 3 times?
Nice job on the whole
marriage protection thing!)

I loved some other signs. One said "WTF Cali?!" and the other said "I can't believe I'm at a protest for this!". I'm not sure which one was more apt for me. In the meantime, I try to have faith that Prop 8 will be an embarrassing blight of California's past.

This counts

As I was cleaning over the weekend, I enlisted the girl in my efforts. She was very game and stuck with it, so as a reward I took her to the movies. We saw "A Night at the Museum 2: Battle at the Smithsonian" (Velina thought it was funny, I give it a C+) and "Monsters vs. Aliens" in 3D. The girl and I both thought the 3D effects were totally amazing. We both kept murmuring cool, awesome reflexively under our breaths.

I felt a little bad we didn't go away anywhere for the long weekend break, but after "Monsters vs. Aliens" she enjoyed the fountain (and dropped her shoe in it) with her buddy. I think this counts as a nice break away from the house, right?

I need a 7 day weekend

Holy crap. I think I may have been too ambitious with my plans for the holiday weekend. I worked for hours everyday, no tv, just music. But yeesh, I underestimated how long tasks would take--like going through a stack of mail, papers, or magazines, took about two hours. Each. Ridiculous. And in the room where I keep/do all my crafting, I hit the ugly stage. Believe it or not, I made strides. I made a piles to toss, recycle, and freecycle.

But I need more time. Or a clone.

By the power of Grayskull, again

I will be a decluttering/organizing dynamo this weekend.

Stuff like this is making Mommy ker-razy:

It's quite a bit of pressure I'm putting on myself and goodness knows, I will be a big ball of depression if I fail to get this together. Oooooo, but the joy if I pull this off...

Keep your fingers crossed!

Comic book sale

We hit the semi-annual comic book sale again:

We picked up some classics:

We picked up some nostalgic fun:

And how could we not pick this up?

All for a mere fifty cents an issue! I also scored another find, but I met a super fan today and I just have to give them up--it's kismet. Stay tuned...

Happy Birthday

To the best sister I could ever wish for.

Happy Birthday Annabelle!

OC AIDSWalk 2009

We were slow going Saturday morning for the AIDSWalk as Velina and her friend, Lindsey, had a sleepover the night before the Walk. We got there just in time to start walking.

We found our pace after the first mile. This is one our favorite Walks--short (only 3 miles), pretty flat and easy, and we get to walk the field where the Angels play.

Under the big "A" in the parking lot is always a band playing. This band was pretty catchy in a rockabilly way but we didn't catch their name:

The exciting part--entering the field:

On the field:

Another highlight--they put us on the jumbo tron. If you squint you can make us out:

The only downside is we underestimated the sun--the girl and I both came down with heat exhaustion and dehydration. I had a raging headache and napped on and off and passed out at 7pm that night and the girl also napped on and off and came down with a fever over 103 degrees. We both recovered the next day but now we know we should have drank those water bottles they were handing out. Definitely a note for next year.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement!

Baking and Crafting for the Cause

As a last day push to raise funds for the OC AIDSWalk I'm doing on Saturday--yes, in 2 days!--I put together a little bake and craft fair at work:

Oatmeal cookies (some toffee, some chocolate chip raisin)

A decorated mirror

Painting of a coffee cup encouraging "Keep Your Chin Up" (by me)

>

Anime Girl painting by Velina

I also have some handcrafted earrings a friend donated as well a couple of cards. I'm hoping to raise $50 today with this fair.

Wish me luck!

We're doing the OC AIDSWalk again this year!

The girl and I are doing the OC AIDSWalk again this Saturday, May 16 (yikes, so soon!). This year has an added significance as I joined an ACTION CareTeam this year. As a CareTeam member assisting a CarePartner with AIDS, I see firsthand how donations to the OC AIDS Walk (which directly supports ACTION and other great organizations) helps those affected by HIV and AIDS.

If you're interested in sponsoring me for AIDS Walk in any amount, I'd truly appreciate it. Your tax-deductible donation will help prevent the spread of HIV and help people living with AIDS in Orange County. Here's the link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support and help those affected by HIV and AIDS.

Thanks everyone!

Itching to craft

I've been itching to make stuff--I've got all these ideas floating in my head, but lately I've been crashing asleep instead of crafting. Plus my crafting table (as well as supplies) are a big cluttered mess. Very frustrating. I did manage to make a few cards for friends for Mother's Day, at least:

Maybe I'll get it together by Father's Day...

Happy Mother's Day (and Star Trek Rocks!)

Hope all the moms out there had a great Mother's Day. I got to see a movie, eat about a pound of licorice and peanut brittle (do WW points count on Mother's Day? I hope not), enjoy a nice lunch at home, and nap. Lovely and lazy.

The new Star Trek movie is awesome. I love genesis movies (where we learn how heroes get their start) in general and this did not disappoint. The brief reverent scenes for mothers/parenthood got the tears out, the references tying characters to their respective tv portrayers got me laughing out loud (even to a casual Star Trek viewer like myself), and the explosive and dizzying action got me just a wee bit nauseated.

Karl Urban (the lead Rider of Rohan, Eomer, from the 2nd and 3rd movies of the "Lord of the Rings" series) killed it as McCoy. Who knew he was so funny? And hats off to Zachary Quinto for making Spock a sex symbol of simmering emotion and reserve. Chris Pine caputured the lothario and egotistical aspects of James Kirk very well. I have to confess though, I got distracted by the number of fistfights he got into--off the top of my head I can recall at least four! Yeesh, add an orangutan to the movie and it could have nailed two classic movies in one. Zoe Saldana gave a great determination and intelligence to the Uhura character and a lot more credit (thanks to the script), in my opinion, as the often sole woman on the bridge in the tv series.

Anyhoo, I give this movie an A-. I would have given it an A except I'm having trouble accepting a key explanation in the movie which would be a spoiler to mention. Though I will say, if the entire movie was like that opening scene of the USS Kelvin, it would have been an A+.

Eye of the Beholder

I love garage sales. The great huge ones are chock full of renewed possibilities at the right price. Occasionally I'll go to a professional Estate Sale--these are organized by a professional company that goes through everything, down to the last spatula and spindle of scotch tape, and marks prices. As they incorporate their own fee into the price, items at these professional Estate sales are more expensive than what I'd be happier paying at a garage sale. For example, a screwdriver at a garage sale is usually $1, where at these professional Estate sales they run $2-3. Ouch.

Anyhoo, I was recently drawn to a local professional Estate Sale. My friends and family think I'm crazy, yeesh, like you need more crap! To which I respond, crap? how about possibilities?! maybe some day I'll want to make a bundt cake (once I get the rust scrubbed off this pan)! maybe I'll have a real hankering to play these games that aren't made anymore like, "Dukes of Hazzard" and "Probe"! maybe I can craft something from these broken Lite Brite pegs! Ooh, snap. My friends don't even have a response.

Anyhoo, I dragged a friend at work on our lunch hour. He made out well with a MIDI and some other music stuff for $12. I walked around and nothing really grabbed me and left empty-handed.

Though, this caught my eye:

Needless to say this piece made me think, made me ask questions. Like, did the artist want to make this completely two dimensional without use of perspective ('cause I can't tell if the lady is walking into the tub or out)? I'm confused by mixed themes, i.e. the lady has a towel on her head like she's done bathing, yet she seems to be pouring in (or on herself? Darn you, Perspective!) more bath stuff (gel? bubble solution? vinegar?) like she's just getting started. Where can I get a floating sink like that? Hmm, is the frame worth $45?

The best part? This piece was part of a series. There were two more like this but more b00by-oriented (yet still bathroom-oriented). Where are you supposed to hang these pictures? In the bathroom? In case you're concerned I'm being harsh, not to worry, there is someone (a very single male, I suspect) who will buy them (and at $45 each, secondhand, the artist must have done pretty well at the initial sale). Because there is something for everyone at these sales. Possibilities are in the eye of the beholder.

Like Memento

It's slowly coming back to me. Was it just last Saturday night that I was in San Diego? Man, I'm too old for this.

I do remember this place, Shout Bar, which had dueling pianists that worked the packed room of folks who were there to party, including those celebrating bachelorette parties and birthdays. They also featured generous libations:

I do remember dancing and jumping around to a DJ and an 80's cover band at Rock Bottom. Thankfully there are no pictures as I cannot tell if it's a compliment when a band member comes up to you shouting "you were killing it on the dance floor!" when he's guilty of wearing a polyester punk wig and a purple leopard tank.

And here's where it started: Happy Hour at Mr. Tiki's Mai Tai Lounge, where I was contemplating whether to try Pepcid AC to prevent Asian Glow.


I ended up taking it realized the "prescription" is to take it before the start of drinking.

Next time, I'll know. Whenever that may be.

Keeping it real

As we were roaming the Gas Lamp district in San Diego last Saturday night after visiting a few bar and entertainment establishments, we hear the time is 12:24AM.

Simultaneously we say:

He: Man, it's still so early!
Me: Man, I can't believe I'm awake!

Sigh. Doesn't get any realer than that.

Eric and me keeping it real in the midnight hours in San Diego.

(My blurry iPhone not only failed to hide my ideal candidacy for Botox, it made our fingers ker-razy long, I know!)

Recovering from the weekend

Details are fuzzy.

How hot was it?

Last week we had a bit of a heat wave.

Next time I've got to remember not leave CD cases in the back seat.