Lost in LA

I am outta here

2008-03-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

Created a new blog to keep myself entertained. Go here to check it out here. I also have some photo albums up and a welcome page. I hope to keep this one updated. We will see how it works out.

Financial Exercise Day 1- My 5 main values

2008-01-06T23:31:00.000-08:00

It's funny, These always were kinda there and I've never written them down. I was surprised how easily these came to me.

Creativity- and Beauty though that Creativity- Cooking and knitting are the ones that come to mind when I think of this.
Happiness
Health
Truth
Friends/Family
Adventure- For me I always think of Adventure as travel, but maybe I could expand that (since I am living in a new city and all), heck it's adventurous to go to a new neighborhood, right?

Let there be Cake!

2008-01-06T18:49:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, DJ bought me a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. I love it. I have been mixing lots of concoctions in it. Jenna's Birthday Cake was one of them.

I think it turned out pretty well, if I say so myself.

I was pretty darn proud of this cake. It it the first attempt at a 3 layer cake and I think it turned out well. I used this recipe from the best cooking website ever. I did modify it a bit to make 3 9 inch layers since I messed up and bought the wrong size springform pan.

Yes I believe there will me more cakes for more birthdays. This was too much fun.

Blech

2008-01-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

I'm sick.

I rarely get sick.

I forget how much of a crab ass person I am when I am sick. I've been less than my best in the past few days (taking it out on poor DJ) and I just want to be better.

I am sure I will be soon. I feel like I have wiped out a forest with the amount of tissue paper I have been going through in the past few days. This stuff needs to stop coming out of me at some point, right?

I think I have rounded the corner, so hopefully tomorrow I will feel more to normal. I have been thinking of resolutions but haven't had the energy to to post them yet.

Wac like a Duck

2008-01-04T20:57:00.001-08:00

I've had a great evening here at Chez California. A few weeks ago, I started messing around in my iTunes library, meaning to create a playlist that I would burn for a few friends for the holidays.

Well, we all know the holidays have passed. Obviously that didn't happen.

I picked up again on it tonight. I've got my playlist completed and have been listening to it. 51 songs in total. I don't listen to music enough. I love music, always have and I have somehow forgotten that way that music can make you feel...it can take you away to a different place...kind of a lot like reading a book. Music often strikes strong emotions in me. It stirs up that creative vibe in me and I dig it.

Anyway, I've had a great time working on album cover art and just messing around with it.

For those of you (probably most of you) the title is the name of some tape mixes (gosh remember tapes) that a roommate and I used to make. For those of you who don't know my nickname was Duck for about 10 years of my life, her last name was Wacholz. There the cheesy name Wac like a Duck was born. We used to sit around our apartment, get drunk on boxed wine, thinking we were all classy and throw in song after song and sing. I miss that.

P.S. For any of you 4 readers who might want a copy of said CD, just drop me an e-mail at mplsmel@gmail.com. I'll be happy to make extra and send them out.

I know this is completely unoriginal

2008-01-03T15:52:00.000-08:00

but here are my 2008 resolutions. I actually am not a fan of resolutions..so let's phrase it as "things to strive for"

To try and be more compassionate and less judgemental, with myself and others.
I know I tried this last year and failed, but I want to try again. I think that if you truly practice gratefullness in what you have, you won't want as much and you will find yourself happier. I also would like to spend less money and hopefully this exercise will help with that. I think I need to work on regularly recognizing the good things I have in my life. I am a lucky, lucky girl and I need to give open thanks for that more often.
To stick to my budget- yep, I created one. No, I haven't been great at sticking to it. I will make a concious effort at spending less.
To decide on some large/slash long term goals and life my life to meet those goals- Hopefully this makes sense. I generally am happy with my life. There are a couple of things I really want...1- to travel 2- to be free of consumer debt. Ideally, I would like to take 1 "big" vacation a year. We have been doing that. I have been saving for that. That all is good. I would also like to travel around California and the Western US now that I live here. We can "hopefully" do that cheaply. I need to figure this out, if this will fit into goal #2. Getting rid of consumer debt is difficult, but it can be done. I need to really think about going out for dinners, movies, things like that. I love to cook at home, and that's great. I also have decided to keep my Bar Method classes up since they also contribute to who I want to be (a fit and healthy person). It's all a trade off, a balance. I need to figure out that balance. I am interested in doing this exercise this month and may start blogging about it. I think it will help with my mind set.

I think that's enough. I have some other things I am working on this year..so this will be plenty.

Thoughts on 2007

2008-01-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

I have been doing some thinking about the past year, as I always do when it closes. 2007 was good year, but it was also a tough year. Tougher than I am used to having. I was challenged a lot this year and for a girl that has the natural tendency to stay in her "comfort zone" it was tough on me. But I am glad I was challenged, because without challenges one doesn't grow.

Since I like lists here are some things that come to mind when I think of 2007, the good and bad.

Vacation- Belize Feb 2007. What a fan-fucking-tastic time. We couldn't have traveled better with the folks we went with and it was a great experience. Ate tons of ceviche (yum). Caught some great fish and went skydiving for the first time!

Moving to LA-

One of the toughest things I can recall doing in a long time. I was convinced I was ready for it, but being the creature of habit I am, it disrupted me more then I expected it to. Steve left almost 4 months before me, that was tough, we had to find homes for all 3 of our cats, which was horribly rough. I had to leave a home and friends I loved to go to a new unknown place. For as much as I hate the weather, I love that I know Minneapolis and I was comfortable there. I didn't realize how much I was used to the people I knew and my daily surroundings. Not that this is all bad, I was complacent and did want to shake things up a bit. Moving definitely did that. I am finally feeling settled here in LA, but I do miss my friends. It takes a long time to build friendships like the ones I had at home. I don't miss the weather one bit though....it's currently 69 and sunny here. Back in Minneapolis it is a balmy 4 degrees.

Moe- Moe is my kitty. I love her terribly. She almost died this year. It was really rough on me. She had fatty liver disease, which takes a lot of time to treat. After her diagnosis, we decided to put in a feeding tube. I then had to come home and feed her through a feeding tube 3 times a day. We had our ups and downs with it, there were times I thought I would have to put her down, but she thankfully made a full recovery. This took the majority of my time and a LOT of money, that made the summer very stressful. After this, I moved her to LA. I then later had to part with her and leave her with my mom. Unfortunately the apartment we found doesn't accept pets and after trying to sneak her in, we got caught. She is now happily in Florida with my mom and enjoying outdoor access and life there. I really miss her, but am happy she is well and with my mom.

Moe when she was sick with tube:

Healthy Moe

I am grateful for the changes this year. I have been drinking less, exercising more and have made some other steps to improve myself, which I won't discuss here. Personally, I feel I am headed in a good direction. I also am very happy to be in a cool city and am excited to get out more in it. I am very very happy to be here with DJ.

Overall, I am thankful for the year I had and the challenges I faced, ,but I am ready for a more relaxed 2008!

2007 resolutions

2008-01-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

I didn't do so well on my New Year's resolutions for 2007. I am ok with that, it was a crazy year and the goals were quite lofty. Here it is:

Back to the Blog- I sucked....bottom line. I only did this for about 1-2 months. At least I have learned I am not much of a blogger :).

Get back into exercising- I did pretty well with this, with the exception of the summer. I completely had a stressful summer and didn't set any time aside for exercise. Once I got settled in LA I got back to it.

Eat when I am hungry- I still have work to do on this one. I still eat because it looks good, because it's dinner time etc. Still a work in progress

The Restaurant Tour- I marked the ones I visited, a total of 7. I was only in Mpls for 9 months, so not bad
Town Talk Diner- visited March 07
Babalou- visited Feb 07
Falafel King
It's Greek to me
Temple
Chambers Kitchen
Mill City Cafe
112 Eatery- Visited Aug 07
Pizza Nea- Visited June 07
Red Savoy Pizza - Visited Friday Feb 23d
Oceanaire
WA Frost
Taqueria La Hacienda #2
Chen Heng Restaurant
Masa- Visited June 07
La Belle Vie
Cosmos
Vincent
Mortons
Amore Victoria Restaurant- Visited Jan 07
Saji Ya- visited Sunday January 25th
Nami
Luci Ancora
Ruam Mit Thai
St. Paul Grill
Mama Maria's in Hudson, WI
El Nortino

Get back to saving money- I did well at this and am still doing it. I save money for vacations and incidentals, so unfortunately my savings was spend this year with the move and with a sick cat. I am still putting away 10 percent though. I set up an automatic deposit into a savings account. Mark that one as accomplished.

Pay Down Debt- Ummmm....I didn't do so well at this one. I did get everything consolidated and to a lower interest rate, but with the move, vet bills and buying a mode of transportation, that didn't happen.

The move- I officially moved as of Sept 21, 2007. The condo is still on the market, but i have a renter, so it's covered.

The de-cluttering- I got rid of a ton of crap. Enough said. It felt good.

Learning- I didn't do so well with this one. I did take a Thai appetizer class in Jan, but that's it.

I am working on some goals for 2008, I pretty much have them in mind, but will need to write them out.

RAIN!

2007-12-18T17:21:00.000-08:00

One thing about Angelinos, they do freak out about their rain. Yes, it is raining in SoCal today. You would think the world was ending with the way the news is talking about it. The entire newscast has been talking about rain, watching anchors out in rain (my god they might MELT) and asking people on the street what they think about the rain. Heck, they even pulled out the MEGA Doppler 7000 HD for the event.

I guess this beats the low speed chase that took up the entire newscast yesterday. I felt like I was watching OJs bronco again.

Local newscasts crack me up.

Happy Holidays

2007-12-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

I thought I would give my 4 readers a post for the holidays :). Really, I have determined that I am far too lazy to blog, so I'll blog when I am feelin' it. and I am feelin' it now.

I finally am feeling more and more settled here in LA. Despite the 60 degree weather it's starting to look a lot like Christmas.

That is our mini live tree. We picked it up on a whim last weekend and I love it. We weren't planning on having a tree, since we were not going to be here for Christmas, but I couldn't resist.

We also got a new HDTV. I love this thing. I haven't left the house for a week because of it

You really can't see it from the pic, but this thing kicks ass. 47 inches of pure glory. DJ won a year of direct TV from a holiday auction at work and we will be having more HD tastiness soon.

I have also been knitting again! I am back in the groove. Here is what I am working on at the moment. Endpaper Mitts. Here is where I am with them as of tonight.

This is my first color work pattern and I am finding it challenging. The fact that I am knitting these on toothpicks isn't helping. After frogging them once I have made some good progress and I am getting the hang of the pattern . I think I will dig them!

God knows I'll need them in the 60 degree weather (although surprisingly I get quite cold here).

Happy Friday!

Can we have birds?

2007-11-04T01:19:00.000-07:00

I know I am a freak, but I love birds.

Behold:

They are too cool.

Random Obeservations

2007-11-04T00:35:00.001-07:00

Just some thoughts from a Midwestern girl in the big city:

- LA is HUGE. Like big, large, enormous. You think a city is big, and then you start to see it. The amount of space this city takes up is crazy. I realized this when DJ and I took a night drive off the 405 onto Mulhollund and saw the Valley. The San Fernando Vally engulfed the night sky....it was lights as far as the eye could see. This was ONLY THE VALLEY. What the??!!

- I miss my friends. To those of you who know me, I miss you. Even though I may not have seen you often in Minneapolis, I miss having folks to have a beer with.

- Working from home is much less glamorous than it sounds. Going to the grocery store has become an event for me (with makeup and all!).

- The apartment is coming together. Kitchen is painted and I am now cooking in our kitchen. enough to feel at home

It works, but I do miss my old condo at times. Here is my old kitchen

Funny thing is, you do find a way to cook in less space.

Flaked

2007-11-03T23:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I completely flaked the WeHo SnB Party. I had planned on going, even had cookies baked (but no costume) and bagged it.

DJ texted me late Thursday with an invite to go to the Arclight Theatre. I really didn't get what it was for, but after some further discussion, I realized it was to be a stand in "fan" for the opening of Lions for Lambs.

It was too L.A. for me to pass up.

So we headed out and weathered the hour of traffic to get to Hollywood (from Santa Monica mind you, not a far drive, but the traffic here is nuts) at 4pm. Got to the Arclight, stood around and had no clue what to do.

Finally figured it out and stood in line to get a wristband and get escorted to an area that was blocked off (yes for "fans").

After more waiting we finally saw some real live Hollywood celebrities. Please note, I was only equipped with my iPhone and I am very, very short, so I got no good pics. I stole DJs (since he is about a foot taller and had a zoom Cannon)

Here is Tom and Katie. She had on VERY flat shoes, but she looked lovely.

And here is Mr. Will Smith, for JP.

He seemed to dig the red carpet, was out there for a while

And for my crap-o-tastic photos: We waited around FOREVER for Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. This is the glimpse we got:

In case you were wondering what you were looking at, that is the back of their heads...engulfed in lights.

Hey, I love me some Redford and Streep so it was worth it.

Also, know who this chick is? She looked oddly familiar.............

After some discussion with my neighbor, we realized she was the teacher in "Clueless". I know you were wondering.

After our big red carpet experience, we had a late dinner at Tito's Tacos...................very tasty.

We plan on using the$25 certificate to Arclight soon. Not a bad reimbursement for standing around for a few hours.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T17:25:00.000-07:00

In honor of Halloween I decided to bake up some Monster cookies. I also wanted to wield something for the WeHo stitch and witch tomorrow evening. I haven't had time to conjure up a costume, so I decided that being armed with treats would be a good thing.

I admit I nibbled on the batter a bit....Here is the final product

Mmmmm.....scary Monster cookies.

They turned out a little darker on the bottom than I would like (I am not used to this apartment's oven yet). I sampled the product and overall not bad.

In other news we booked our winter trip. I am SO excited. We are heading to Roatan, Honduras with our friends Cari and Chung who we headed to Belize with last year. Booked the flight today. We are going Feb 2-9, 2008. We are staying here at one of these houses.

I can't wait!

Up in Flames

2007-10-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

First things first. Moe is safely in Florida with Mom and D. She's become quite the accustomed frequent flyer.

I traveled back and arrived at Burbank around 12:30 yesterday afternoon. I was greeted by a plume of smoke. I was unaware that half of SoCal was starting to catch fire.

Despite the burning, it was a lovely day a home. DJ and I decided to head out for a bike ride. We pedaled down to the ocean. We headed towards Marina del Rey, had a couple of beers and a snack at the Venice Whaler and headed further down towards Venice beach. We saw the smoke from Malibu over the ocean and decided to pedal home, grab our cameras and drive back for the sunset.

It was short but it was pretty

After we headed to the Beanery for dinner. Overall a great day.

Bad News

2007-10-11T21:30:00.001-07:00

Moe was busted. She digs sitting in the front window. I headed out for lunch today with the lovely Brigitta and forgot to shut the curtains. Someone saw her in the window and called the landlord. Complete bummer. I am pretty sad about it.

So I guess I am off to Florida next weekend to pay an unexpected trip to Mom, who said she would take Moe as a backup plan. I hope she is still ok with that.

Someday, when we can afford a place that takes pets, we will get her back (along with Duff).

Here is a cute pic of Moe as she provided a place to lay my knitting project

Ouch

2007-10-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

Update on my workout. I hurt. A lot.

It's amazing. I went to my Bar Method class on Monday. I could hardly walk on Tuesday. Tuesday evening I had a case of cabin fever and headed out for a walk. I decided to walk to the Ocean and back. That's quite a walk, around 6 miles...It did feel good to get out of the apartment though.

I went again yesterday and am definitely feeling it. I can a least walk today, but it's painful.

I think I am really going to like this new workout. I'll go again tomorrow and try to keep it up 3-4 times a week.

New Workout

2007-10-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, I gotta admit I have kinda let my move and craziness this summer get in the way of working out. I always thought "once I get settled in LA I will find a place and start working out again"

Well, it's time. I'm feeling out of shape and I need something to get my butt into gear.

I went to my first Bar Method Class today and liked it a lot. I got the "muscle twitch" more than once while I was doing the class and after I am feeling it. It seems like a good workout. I was told by some other women in the class to do my second workout tomorrow since Wed I will *really* feel it.

I found out about this workout on some infomercial that I was watching late night and thought that it sounded interesting. I kind of forgot about it and started looking for workouts in LA and found out they had a studio here. Lucky me. I immediately decided to try it. So off to the West LA studio I went this morning.

I'll let you know how things go as I progress. I did buy a 1 month into membership, so I gotta go!

The new Hood- a brief overview

2007-10-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

Some folks (my mom) have been wanting to see the apartment. I'll post pics of that soon. In the meantime I'll tell you a little about the neighborhood and the building

DJ and I are located here. It is in an area of LA called Mar Vista. We are right off 2 pretty large intersections, Venice and Centinela.

You can hear the traffic from our apartment, but it does die off in the evening. The time I have been here I have become more accustomed to the sounds of the traffic and the kids in the neighborhood (we live next to a school and our building has a lot of families).

Here are some pics of the building

Entrance from Centinela

The corridor to our place. Our apartment is right on the left hand side:

It's not the best place in the world, but it's cheap and it feels like home. It seems like a nifty building, with families. I talked to the woman who lives next door and she has been there for20 years. The place can't be all that bad. DJ, Moe and I are settling in nicely.

The neighborhood had quite a few places to frequent.

Here is Venice Grind, the outside. You can barely make out the coffee sign. It's the huge arrow pointing to the sidewalk.

My apologies for the bad pic.

DJ and I wandered out for dinner last night and headed towards a Taqueria right around the corner. I have been pretty excited for a little Mexican joint like this and it met my expectations. I had the Tacos Doracdo with Refried Beans and Rice. DJ had the Carnititas Burrito, which he liked, but didn't love.

I didn't realize how much of a Gringo I really was until I went into a real Taqueria. I didn't know what any of the meats are that they had on the menu, so I went the safe route and ordered the tacos.

Here are the meats they offerred. I looked them all up to see what they were.

Carne Asada- Steak, that I get.....I can do it and probably will at some point
Al Pastor- I had no clue what this was. I did some googling on it and realized it was pork. It actually sounds tasty
Lengua- This is Tongue.....Ummmm....no thanks...
Buche- Pig Tummy. I dont' think I can do that one also.
Cabeza- Cow Brains. Absotuely not. The thought of it makes me ill.
Chorizo- Sausage. I love Chroizo
Pollo- Chicken. Good for a white bread girl like myself in a place like this.
Chicharron- I am still not entirely sure what this is, but I think it is a fried pork rind of some sort. For now I think I'll pass

I'll say that I am glad I went for the Tacos. I am not that adventurous when it comes to meat.

Another nifty little place around us is the Mitsuwa Marketplace. It's a Japanese Grocery Store, with a nifty food court in the middle that apparently serves up some tasty sushi, noodles and other treats

I headed there last week to get some sushi and other goodies:

mmmmmmm......sushi.

It was a cool little place with lots of fresh sashimi and other meats. I plan on shopping there more often as we get settled and I start cooking more.

We have also explored further west on Venice and there is a few porn shops, my yarn store, a great looking Thai restaurant and some other interesting places.

Not a bad place to live.

Me Likey

2007-10-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

I've been working from our tiny apartment. Once I am more settled here I will then head into the LA office a couple of days a week. This will allow for me to get out of sweats, put make up on and feel human.

Anyway, I've been listening to Public Radio here all day while I work in my living room. DJ had told me about the show Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW before. I had never heard it until yesterday morning.

It's a great show. They do podcasts and streaming, so if you want to check it out go here.

It's good music to work to.

Lost in LA

2007-10-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first time I drove in LA. Yesterday was also the first time I got lost in LA.

I drove DJ to work yesterday since I needed the car to take Moe to her new vet. No problem there. I got him to work and got myself home just fine.

In the afternoon I headed out to take Moe to her new vet. Vet is located here

Home for us is here.

Honestly not that difficult. I took Venice to Sepulveda and I was golden. Got to the vet on time. Got Moe checked out and blood taken. 225 dollars later (yes for a consult and blood work, but that is another topic) I headed out. I was parking facing north on Sepulveda and needed to go south, so I thought I would just go around the block. Pretty easy right? Theoretically, yes, but somehow I managed to mess it up. I was turning and turning and somehow I ended up on Wilshire. Not sure how that happened. Anyway once again the maps feature on iPhone came in damn handy. I stopped, put in my cross streets and iPhone came to the rescue! It pointed me right to Bundy, which is where I needed to be and I was on my merry way home.

By the way, driving in a convertible with the top down in 80 degree California weather rocks. Lost or not.

First week in LA

2007-09-30T11:16:00.001-07:00

I have "officially" been a Californian for one week now. I am slowly but surely starting to feel at home. The week has been busy, with working, getting settled and basically figuring things out here.

I got here last Saturday, DJ picked me up at the airport and we went out for some FANTASTIC sushi at Tsujino Hana. The sushi was damn tasty.

After that we headed to Target in Culver City to load up on the random crap you need to buy when you move. Honestly, I can't recall what we purchased. After the Target excursion, we headed home and immediately crashed. I wasn't yet used to Pacific Time yet and it was after my bedtime at home.

Sunday was the great excursion to Ikea. We honestly were there for about 2-3 hours. Too much Ikea for this girl in one day. We did load up on the following:

A new dining room table and chairs for our tiny living room:

A new bookshelf to hold all the random books and stuff DJ and I have;

I put this together on my day off (Monday). It honestly took me about 4 hours. Not a big fan of Ikea furniture assembly. But hey, it's cheap and we needed it.

We also got various odds and ends for Kitchen Storage and bathroom storage. We need it in the small living space.

Too much time and money later we headed home.

Headed out grocery shopping Sunday night to Ralphs in Santa Monica. One of the things I know I am going to miss from MN is Lunds and Byerlys. I know I am a total grocery store snob. I have been spoiled.

The first week of working from home went well. I had Monday off, Tuesday and Wed I had to work from Coffee shops in our neighborhood since we weren't due to get our cable and high speed Internet installed until Wed afternoon. The coffee shops in our neighborhood are pretty cool and they featured free Internet, so it worked fine.

This is Venice Grind, right off Venice and Centinela, which is where we live. A short walking distance to a nifty little coffee shop.

Wed evening DJ and I headed out for a drive into Santa Monica. We were going to head up the PCH for a bit, but traffic was BAD, so we turned off and headed off to have a pint at the Cock and Bull Pub. Great beer and cool authentic atmosphere.

Thursday eve the lovely Jenna took me to WeHo Stitch and Bitch at the Farmer's Market. The group was fun and I really look forward to meeting some new folks there. DJ and I had dinner at Loteria. It got great reviews from what I could see, but DJ and I found it overpriced and not all that fantastic.

On a somewhat related topic, I needed something to knit, so I HAD to go yarn shopping before SnB. I headed to A Mano Yarn, which is right around the corner from where we live. Cool, funky little shop and the people there were nice. I bought some Lana Grossa Babykid and am going to make this.

It should be a nice, easy mindless project to get me rolling with knitting again.

I swear, I have made a new resolution. I buy yarn for a project, knit that project and them move on. The yarn I had overwhelmed me before. Behold the yarn I got rid of:

Granted, it's not much of a stash, and a lot of people have a LOT more than this, but the whole idea when I moved was to get rid of stuff. Once I did it it felt really good, so no yarn until the yarn I have is knitted.

I digress.....anyway

The remainder of the week entailed us waiting for my stuff to arrive. It finally did on Thursday and we rented a truck on Friday. Saturday and Sunday I unpacked and got a bit settled (which involved another *expensive* trip to Target, but that's how it goes).

I think I'll dig my new home. I'll post more as life happens here in sunny LA.

Pure Enjoyment

2007-06-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

I finally headed out to Pizza Nea on Monday to meet up with friend. The pizza was very tasty, but I had an very nice surprise when I entered the restaurant.

As I walked in I noticed they had a sign for Fat Tire Ale. Could it be? My fav beer, which I have never been able to buy in MN was here?

Indeed it was. I enjoyed the 22 oz "bomber" bottle with my pizza. Pure Heaven.....it doesn't get much better than that.

I also learned that they are serving Fat Tire at our happy hour spot. JJ's. Needless to say an outing was needed to drain a few of them.

I probably downed my fair share of Fat Tire this week. Hey I had to welcome it to our fair city.

365- Thursday April 19th

2007-05-01T05:38:00.000-07:00

Headed to Hoboken, NJ to visit a very good friend. They had a really cool train station.

T and B got a new puppy, Riley. He is the cutest thing. Here is us heading on a walk to grab some groceries. When he gets sick of walking he just plops down and looks at you. Here he is contemplating crossing the street.

365- Saturday April 14

2007-04-27T05:26:00.000-07:00

We had some leftover carrots, so I thought I would make some healthy (ummmm yeah) carrot cake out of it. This was my first endeavor into cakes for a while.

I guess I should have let the pan cool before I attempted to extract the cake. Oops.

Later that night my friend A and I had a little girls night out. We headed to the new Restaurant Miami in Uptown. The place was a sea of neon and blasting 80s music. The vibe was fun. Here is A in the "VIP" section we were seated in.

Love the cheesy background.

365 Friday April 13th

2007-04-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

DJ and I headed out to the Bulldog Bar and Restaurant in Northeast. Had a damn tasty burger.

DJ was annoyed with me because I was trying to get a pic in dim light and had to take about 20 of them in order to get one that wasn't blurry.

Goodtimes.

365 Thrusday April 12th

2007-04-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning, looked out the window and saw that rabbits had attacked our yard overnight. Their little paw prints were everywhere.

Later that evening, made a turkey tetrazzini. It ended up being pretty tasty.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I have a lot of catching up to do on this blog.

365 Wednesday April 11th

2007-04-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

Snow. On April 11th. Fun times

That is my little daffodil. Poor daffodil was confused with the 80 degree weather. Like the rest of us she popped her face to the sun, ready to greet the spring.

Sorry little daffodil, mother nature decided to dump a bunch of snow on you. I agree...it sucks.

In better news, DJ and I attended the Twins game this evening:

Great game! They beat the Yankees 5-1.

Something a little fun

2007-04-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

365 Sunday April 8th

2007-04-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

DJ and I had his Dad and non-girlfriend over for a deep fried turkey in honor of the holiday. I made some tasty deviled eggs (thanks Tina!).

DJ did a great job with the massacre of the turkey

Hope you all had a great Easter.

365 Friday April 6th

2007-04-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

We had bookclub on Friday night. We read Jule and Julia by Julie Powell. The idea was to prepare a French dish in honor of the book.

I made a chocolate terrine.

It was rich, but quite tasty.

Later that evening we headed to the Kitty Kat Club for some acoustic music by Brian Larson.

It was a good set. I snagged a free CD out of the deal also.

365 Tuesday April 3rd

2007-04-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

DJ and I attended the Timberwolves game:

They played Cleveland and basically sucked. They were trailing by 20 points by the end of the 3rd period.

Overall a pretty boring game.

365 Monday April 2nd, aka, oops I have slipped off the wagon

2007-04-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

First thing. I completely slipped off the 365 wagon and neglected to take pictures over the past couple of weeks.

Why? I really don't know. I think I have been in a kind of funk lately. I haven't been in the mood to do anything.

You know that feeling like you have been just going through your days, just performing the motions? That's how I have felt. This isn't unusual and hits at the end of the winter season. It's when I know I've had it. I am completely over the snow and cold.

We had some taunting of spring over the past few weeks, but this week it's cold and cloudy again. ARGH.

Only a few short weeks until spring. I can hold out until then. This is my last winter here after all.

In the meantime, I am resolved again to work on 365. Here is my sorry pic for being so negligent.

365 Thursday March 22nd

2007-04-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

My co-worker K, dropped his computer down a stairwell.

Check out the right side of his screen.

You think he fucked it up?

Sad thing it, he hasn't reported it broken yet. He's afraid that they will either charge him for it, or he won't get a replacement for a while and have to go without a computer.

He's been working with it like that for over a week now.

Kinda funny.

365 Wednesday March 21st

2007-04-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

A completely uninspired, boring pic as I was driving home that evening.

365 Sunday March 18th

2007-04-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

DJ and I visited the Mill City Museum. This is the view of the Mississippi from the top floor.

Kinda cool.

If you have never been, the Mill City is a worthwhile visit. There are walking paths down by the river so you can see the old ruins as well.

365 Saturday March 17th

2007-04-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

It was a great day outside so I took a walk around Lake Calhoun

That is the city, viewed from the southeast corner of the lake. I love walking the lake and miss it in the wintertime.

It was starting to look like spring.

365-Thursday March 15

2007-04-02T18:13:00.001-07:00

I made a lovely curry fried rice. It was spicy, but tasty.

Sorry for the blurry pic

Project 365 Monday March 12th

2007-03-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

I whipped up a tasty chicken veggie soup with veggie leftovers.

I love me the Le Crueset. This Soup pot rocks. I used the same pot to make the following:

Yep, that's the No Knead Bread recipe that's been circling the food blogs. This was my first loaf. Overall not bad. Definitely will be making that again.

Project 365 Sunday March 11th

2007-03-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

We had to kill some time for our open house, so we met some friends at Figlio for cheap eats and drinks.

Project 365 Saturday March 10th

2007-03-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

It was a lovely springlike day in Minneapolis. I opened the condo window and the cats hopped right in to soak up the sunshine.

And yes, the condo is officially for sale. The sign is up and everything.

Project 365 Friday March 9th

2007-03-16T05:49:00.000-07:00

Knocked another one of the Restaurant Tour list and hit Babalu last Friday.

We had ceviche (shown above) and calamari for apps. I had a tasty shredded pork over rice and beans dish and DJ had pork chops with a nice sweet glaze.

Very very tasty. Cool atmosphere too. Definitely would go check it out again.

Project 365 Thursday March 8th

2007-03-16T05:46:00.000-07:00

I saw this on my drive home that evening. I thought the sky looked kinda cool

I haven't really been posting lately. I've been feeling kinda blah. I think it's cabin fever. I am ready for spring.

I am happy that this is my last winter.

Project 365 Tuesday March 6th

2007-03-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

Duff

Project 365 Monday Feb 5th

2007-03-06T20:58:00.000-08:00

Moe in her natural habitat

Project 365 Sunday Feb 4th

2007-03-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

We headed back to Busch Gardens on Sunday, since we missed most of the park because of the rain on Saturday. We saw some great Flamingos.

Project 365 Saturday Feb 3rd

2007-03-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

Went to Busch Gardens today. We took the Animal Adventure Tour. I highly recommend it.

We got to see a Budweiser Clydesdale. The one is named Rick and he was very friendly.

We also saw the new baby Rhino

Isn't she cute?

Ran into some Hyenas

And saw some Hungry, Hungry Hippos

Open Wide!

Saw some Giraffes

Mom and I fed them

The feeding got more interesting

We also fed some Rhinos. Here is Mom feeding Judy, the hungry Rhino

By the time we finished the tour it was raining and we didn't get the opportunity to enjoy the rest of the park. Thankfully, we got tickets that allowed for admission all year, so we are headed back tomorrow.

project 365 Friday March 2nd

2007-03-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

Away from snowy MN to visit my mom in somewhat sunny Florida!

We had lunch at the beach. Here's my mom

Isn't she cute!

We then napped and relaxed on the beach most of the afternoon.

Pure enjoyment.

The one downfall is that I got pretty sunburned. All day the sky was somewhat overcast and I didn't realize how much sun I got:

Oops and ouch. At least I have some color to bring back to MN with me.

Project 365 Thursday March 1st

2007-03-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

Traveled today out of HHH airport in blizzard conditions

Here we are, stuck on the runway for almost 2 hours while they plowed the one open runway and de-iced the plane.

Thank God we got out and to sunnier weather. No snow for me this weekend!

Project 365 Wed Feb 28th

2007-03-03T18:59:00.000-08:00

The only pic I took today was of the cats eating in their morning trough

Can you say blurry? Oops.

Project 365 Tuesday Feb 27th

2007-03-03T18:37:00.000-08:00

Went to Broders Pasta Bar tonight with my friends Lu and Ju.

I love them, they are a ton of fun. Unfortunately with Lu way in Wisconsin I don't see them all that much. Ju is pictured above.

Ju is a very classy lady. I adore her. She emulates the woman I want to grow into as I get older.

Lu rocks too, but she already knew that.

It's listed

2007-03-01T20:43:00.000-08:00

If you know of anyone interested in a cute 1 BR condo in Mpls, let me know. Here is the link to the MLS listing:

Skydive!

2007-02-27T16:09:00.001-08:00

The skydiving video you all have been waiting for:

Project 365 Monday Feb 26th

2007-02-26T19:58:00.000-08:00

I signed the paperwork to list the condo this evening. The photographer comes tomorrow and we list it on MLS on Wednesday.

Spent most of the evening tidying up and getting the place ready for show.

Our dining room. Shot this because the day got by me and I forgot to take a pic. Plus this is my first place I bought all by myself and I will miss it when I move.

If you know of anyone interested in a 1 BR condo in uptown Minneapolis let me know.

Project 365 Sunday Feb 25th

2007-02-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

DJ and two of the cat-os.

Aren't they cute.

Project 365 Friday Feb 23rd

2007-02-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

Went out to Red Savoy's for some tasty pizza with our friend Dave.

That crosses one off of our restaurant tour list.

I liked the Savoy pizza, the crust was thin and loaded with toppings. I don't know how they do it, but the crust was still crispy under the mammoth amounts of cheese and meat that they loaded on.

Tasty stuff.

Project 365 Thursday Feb 22nd

2007-02-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

Headed out with the work peeps for some beers and apps.

Apps are tasty.

Project 365 Wed Feb 21st

2007-02-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

I cheated and didn't take a pic this day :(. Bad girl. I also didn't take one for Saturday the 24th.

Project 365 Tuesday Feb 20th

2007-02-25T17:12:00.000-08:00

It isn't the greatest picture, but it was the only one that I took that day:

We had book club that night. Julie's hubby made some fabulous apps for us. Their cute beagle (Phoebe (aka Monster)) kept trying to snag them.

Project 365 Monday Feb 19th

2007-02-25T17:09:00.000-08:00

Enjoyed a beer and burger after the first day back to work.

Project 365 Sunday Feb 18th

2007-02-25T16:49:00.000-08:00

Back to the blah scenery of MN. We were exhausted the first week back.

Project 365 Saturday Feb 17th

2007-02-25T16:44:00.000-08:00

DJ loves the fryjacks.

Project 365 Friday Feb 16th

2007-02-25T16:32:00.000-08:00

We saw a wandering cock.

Project 365- Thursday Feb 15th

2007-02-25T16:27:00.000-08:00

We went fishing that day. Stopped for lunch on a remote island.

Project 365- Wed Feb 14th

2007-02-25T16:18:00.000-08:00

The beach outside of our hotel.

DJ relaxing in the hammock

365- Tuesday Feb 13th

2007-02-25T16:01:00.000-08:00

It was lobster season in Belize while we were there. The first night in Placencia we enjoyed some damn tasty lobster fritters.

Earlier that day we went skydiving! One of the best experiences EVER! If you even have a fleeting thought about trying it, do it. The view of the island and reef was incredible!

Project 365- Monday Feb 12th

2007-02-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

Mmmmmm.............Fryjacks. These are stuffed with ham, beans and cheese

Very tasty

Project 365- Sunday Feb 11th

2007-02-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

DJ and I got up early to catch the sunrise. The view of our dock in the very early hours.

DJ later that morning.

Project 365- Sat Feb 10th

2007-02-25T15:39:00.000-08:00

Our companions Cari and Chung at Papi's Diner in San Pedro. We had a tasty lunch there.

The view from the front of our temporary home.......Sea, palm trees and sand.

Project 365- Friday Feb 9th

2007-02-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

FINALLY!!!! We arrived to our home in San Pedro, Belize, C.A.

It was a wonderful home for 4 fun filled days in San Pedro.

365- Thursday Feb 8th

2007-02-25T15:31:00.000-08:00

I was picking up DJ from work that day and noticed the fabulous blue sky. A lot of excitement that day since we were taking off for vacation the following morning.

Project 365, Day 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38

2007-02-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

I haven't been updating for a while. Belize is in 2, yes 2, days so I've been thinking about that.

Sat evening, quiet night at home. Me with my glasses on....

and Sunday, a picture of the Guitar Hero controller. Thanks Steve!

Monday I snapped Duff. He's cute and fuzzy

Tuesday was an interesting commute to the office. Snowy and dreary day in Minneapolis

And today I got my toes done for Belize. Aren't they pretty.

DJ Rocks

2007-02-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

He does........he's so nice to me. A few examples.

You may recall that I fell in love with the PS2 game Guitar Hero while we were in Lustsen. Apparently the day we got back he ordered it for me. Just because. Imagine my surprise when I got a box from Circuit City last Friday with the Guitar Hero in it. Check for pics in 365 posts (when I get around to updating that)
Before I met DJ, I had no computer at home. I lurked blogs to kill time at work, that's it. Currently, he has me set up with his old Mac Powerbook, which I love. We even have Wifi at home. I am now part of the new millennium, and I enjoy that.
He fixes my car, which always seems to have one thing or another wrong with it.
Last night our pilot light went out. With temps reaching -10 that isn't good. DJ was gone for a bit and I *attempted* to figure out how to light the pilot light. Didn't work. He got home a few minutes later and got our huge old, weird boiler lit in about 2 minutes. He's very handy.

Project 365 day 33

2007-02-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

Last night DJ and I headed out for our friends birthday.

There he is having one (of many) shots for the evening.

mmmmmm..........Nachos. I love me some Nachos.

Moe is sneaky

2007-02-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

Moe was snagging some water out of my glass earlier this week

She's cute.

Project 365 Days 30, 31 and 32

2007-02-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

You can't see this very well, but I parked across from this :

I counted 6, yes 6 dogs inside. They were all very cute pups. I am assuming the person driving them was a dog sitter, because not 2 seconds after I shot this, she came out and away they went.

Later that evening, we went out for a little happy hour:

My co-worker Mike. I didn't catch it, but he was sweating profusely on his forehead from eating jerk chicken wings. I thought it was pretty funny.

This evening DJ and I went out for a little Chipotle.

Tasty, tasty stuff.

Sorry for the crappy pics....I haven't been very inspired lately.

Thanks for the weekend and the. first day of the week.

2007-01-29T19:32:00.000-08:00

I know I didn't do my gratefuls this weekend. It got busy

Thanks for:

A new book club, with very interesting people.
Sleeping in late on Saturday
Great food.
A very fun Saturday evening with good friends.
Sushi!

Project 365 Day 29

2007-01-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

A picture of the city as I was driving home this evening.

The Restaurant Tour- an update

2007-01-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

Good news, we started on our Restaurant Tour!

DJ and I headed out for breakfast on Saturday to Hell's Kitchen. It was pretty damn tasty. I had the Chorizo Hash, Sausage Bread and a Bloody Mary. DJ had the The Classic all American Breakfast. I liked my hash, although it was a bit greasy. The sausage bread was fantastic. DJ liked his grub also. Overall a good meal, I would definitely go back again.

On Sunday night we went to Saji Ya for sushi. Take a look at our feast:

Not a bad looking plate of sushi. It was pretty damn tasty. And that wasn't all. We started out with Edamame and Tempura Shrimp for apps and finished off the meal with a Creme Brulee Cheesecake.

I am now stuffed, but it was so damn tasty.

Project 365 Days 26, 27 and 28

2007-01-28T20:06:00.000-08:00

This is the one pic I took Friday evening. It's fuzzy, but I tried. We went out for a drink after book club at the Monte Carlo

Saturday Morning DJ and I were heading out for some breakfast and we ended up behind this:

In case you can't read it it says "I wish my girlfriend was this dirty". We got a chuckle out of it.

And later that evening, we headed to our friends home for some fondue. Here is the hostess with one (of many) of the wines we drank that evening.

Royal Bitch. Loved the name. I made some spring rolls to share and they were a hit. The fondue and company were spectacular.

Today, I ran across this.......too cute.

The D and Murph are buds.

Thanks for....Thursday January 25th

2007-01-25T18:26:00.000-08:00

Thanks for:

The little things, a roof over your head, food on the table, a good paying job and people who love me.
The Joy of Cooking Cookbook. Honestly the greatest cookbook ever.
Grey's Anatomy. I love me some Grey's.
An upcoming weekend at home.
Wine.

Project 365 Day 25

2007-01-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

Red, Red, Wine.....

Oh How I Love Thee.

Thanks to.........Wednesday January 24th

2007-01-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

Thanks for:

A great, fun group of people that I work with. We sometimes head out for a beer after work and it's really enjoyable.
Newt and her hubby. We had a fab time at their place. Great hospitality and warmth in their home.
Tasty Chinese food.
Fun Games
13 days!

Project 365 Day 24

2007-01-25T05:55:00.000-08:00

DJ and Newt's cute kitty!

Thanks to.....Tuesday, January 23rd

2007-01-23T20:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for

A very tasty dinner I cooked all by my lonesome. Pork chops and Spanish Rice. mmmmm....good
Finally getting back into my workout routine from the weekend
16 Days to Belize!
My mom. She rocks.
Turbo Tax. I just completed most of it and it looks like I am getting a hearty refund! Yipee!

Project 365 Day 23

2007-01-23T19:52:00.000-08:00

I didn't get many today. I was driving home from my workout and passed Lee's Liquor Lounge. I tried to get a shot and really didn't. As I was looking at the photo I noticed you could make out the word liquor and thought it was kinda cool. So I cropped it and posted it:

There you go. As an added bonus here is Moe resting her head on my laptop.

I couldn't say this better myself

2007-01-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

Read the following post before reading on.

I came home this weekend feeling a little bit down on myself. Why? Because I saw pictures of myself where I thought I didn't look "skinny" enough. I read this post last night and it resonated with me.

The reality is I could be at my lowest weight, look at pictures of myself and still think that I look fat.

Like Laurie, I have had my weight ups and downs. I have struggled with it all my life. When I was starting a new job and it stressed me out, I got to my hightest weight ever. That was 5-6 years ago. I lost 25 lbs of it, gained 10 back, lost 5, gained 5 and so the cycle goes. I am now about 22-24 lbs below that high weight, but at times I still can't seem to enjoy that and feel good about where I am at.

As it is now, I am a a "decent" weight. Is my BMI a "bit" high over the recommended. Yes, I am at a 26, which is technically considered overweight. Would I like to loose 10-15 lbs? Yes, but not so much that I want to obsess over it and not enjoy food and living. I simply love food too much.

Overall, I need to learn to love myself and my body for what it is. I am healthy and young. My body serves me well everyday. Why is it that I demand to fight with it all the time?

That, is a continual struggle for me.

Project 365 Day 18-22

2007-01-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I missed a day or two. Here is a couple from the weekend up North

The view from our back deck at the place we stayed:

And the lovely Lake Superior:

We came home on Sunday to find that my Amaryllis was in bloom.

Goodtimes.

Thanks for Thursday Jan 18th-Monday Jan 22nd

2007-01-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

Hey there. DJ and I were out of town all weekend for a weekend of debauchery in Lutsen, MN. Sorry for the lack of posting. I'll post a few things I am thankful for.

Good friends and a yearly outing with them.
Great food.
Good drinks.
Guitar Hero. I am now officially addicted. I need to get one for us very, very soon.
The North Shore. I love it there. My mom and I used to head up there yearly. I will miss it when we are not in MN anymore.
The fact that I will now definitely have a job when we move.

Thanks for ....... Wednesday January 17th

2007-01-17T19:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks for:

The near end of a long work week.
Free lunch and dinner.
Bedtime being soon.
A beer at the end of a long day.

Project 365 Day 17

2007-01-17T19:44:00.000-08:00

When it's the end of the day, you are tired and you haven't taken a damn picture all day shoot a cat (not literally of course).

Moe in her normal spot in the chair with me.

Thanks for.....Tuesday January 16th

2007-01-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

Thanks for:

A short work week.
Costco. I love me some Costco
An upcoming mini trip up north.
A hot shower on a cold day.
Coffee and Diet Coke

Project 365 Day 16

2007-01-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

Behold me with makeup....

I look at lot better fresh and ready for the day.

I promise, this is the end of the narcissism for a while.

Thanks to.......Monday January 15th

2007-01-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

I know. I didn't do my thanks for the weekend. It was a nice, relaxing, very low key weekend. I rested up and it was needed. I think I am fully back in the swing of things again.

Thanks for:

Relatives who are cool.
The snow, it's cool.
The fact that I didn't have to be out in said snow today.
DJ
A great dinner (and finding a way to make good grub from what you have in the freezer and pantry).

Project 365 Day 15

2007-01-15T18:49:00.000-08:00

Pictures of me....

I barely left the house today because of the weather, so here you go.....

Me trying to be artsy-fartsy:

Didn't really work. Back to the drawing board........Me with no makeup in all my "natural" glory.

Yes, straight from the shower. I don't know why I did this one. I think I will post a pic fully "made up" tomorrow you can see the difference.

It takes a lot of work to be a chick sometimes....

Project 365 Day 14

2007-01-14T15:16:00.000-08:00

Took a cooking class today. Here is a sampling of what we made:

Spring Rolls that were very tasty. I rolled them myself.

Egg Rolls......'nuff said. These were also tasty

Cream Cheese and Crab Wantons.

We also made Chicken Lettuce Wraps, I didn't grab a pic of those. I usually love lettuce wraps, but these didn't really do it for me. I may try to vary up the recipe a bit.

Overall a great class. The instructor owns this restaurant in Brooklyn Park. I think I will have to add it to my list of restaurants.

Project 365 Day 13

2007-01-13T20:51:00.000-08:00

I know it's blurry....it's the only one I took today

My Dad and Step mom visited today and we enjoyed a game of Dominoes.

Thanks to......Friday January 12th

2007-01-13T09:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks for:

A mellow relaxing night at home.
Tanning, I know it sounds weird, and I normally don't do it, but it's nice to get a shot of color, especially before an upcoming vacation.
Friday! I love the weekends.
This cold being almost over.
Being curled up, reading a book, being all extra cozy, while it is FREEZING outside.

Project 365 Day 12

2007-01-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

Moe's paw. I love her little marbled paw. Moe was adopted from the Humane Society, she was fostered before I got her. Her foster family called her Mittens. Yuck.

I know, very random photo, but I just love her little paw.

Thanks to.....Thursday, Jan 11th

2007-01-11T20:42:00.000-08:00

Thanks for

A new season of Gray's Anatomy
A toasty living room to shelter you from the cold outside
A flexible job/boss that is willing to work with me on a potential move
Humidifiers, the one in my bedroom is helping me to sleep at night with this cold
The end of the work week