no sparkly spoilers here, still full of inappropriate

Last night I went to see Eclipse - and I really liked it! I'm not going to say much else about it other than:

- WAY better then New Moon,  IMHO. I didn't like New Moon.
- If you're a Jasper fan then you'll love this movie. (That was for you Salt!)

There. My lips are sealed!

We showed up around 9:30 to wait in line. The lines were pretty long, but nothing crazy. Then the movie theater decided to let everyone in at 10? It was nice because we didn't all have to wait outside, but also made waiting for midnight take for.ev.er. I would say our theater was mostly Team Jacob. Whatever... I mean... if you want to be on Team Lose, then ok. Your choice.

We were sitting behind a small group of what looked to be 18 year olds. One of the boys had one of those frozen pink lemonades. He carved a... part of the female anatomy... graphically... and licked it. What's wrong with kids these days?! One of my friends saw this and leaned in really close behind him to say "How's that tasting, Bud?" HAHA. It was hilarious. The kid just about died.

So there's my tale of the Eclipse midnight showing. It was a lot of fun! I'm hoping to do it for the first Breaking Dawn movie.

tasty tuesday

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/08/crispy-yogurt-chicken/

Ooooh Pioneer Woman! How I love thee.

I'll be making this recipe for dinner soon. Probably not tonight since I have a full night of sparkly vampires to get ready for! (Eclipse! Midnight showing baby!) I was feeling in a bit of a cooking slump lately and got a few rec's to check out The Pioneer Woman. I already knew her site & have read so many of her recipes, but I never thought to make any. ??? I don't know, I think I was ignoring them thinking that they were all going to be a bajillion calories.

I also plan on making this beauty soon: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/06/summer-stir-fr

When I actually get  off my lazy tookus and make both of these I'll come back & let you all know how they were. I'm hoping they're delicious.

I get to blog about vampires this week. Twice.

I am super stoked because I will be blogging about vampires this week, and at least two times. So bear with me please. :)

First off I have to say that I am sooo excited because I'm going to see Eclipse at midnight on Tuesday (technically Wednesday very early morning) with my neighbor/friend! Wooooo! I think the last time I did a midnight showing was for the second or third Lord of the Rings.

I really wanted to be a dork and get a Twilight shirt to wear for the midnight show, but I'm lazy & forgetful. I also want to try to reread Eclipse before Tuesday night. I think I can do it if I ignore every other thing in my life for two days. I don't know how my hubs will feel about that one.

So rest assured that on Wednesday I will be armed with a review of Eclipse. I hope it doesn't blow chunks like New Moon. Yeah, I didn't really like the New Moon movie. Like... at all. I know this has to be the #1 complaint by fans of a book turned into a movie - the movie just leaves SO MUCH out. I thought New Moon was especially bad at this - worse than Twilight. There was like... no story in the story. I know that doesn't make sense, but hopefully someone out there gets it. So, you may be wondering why I'm staying up all night to see Eclipse? Because I love Twilight, I'm a big-little kid, and when my neighbor told me she was going to the midnight show & invited me along I just couldn't resist. Sounded too fun!

TEAM EDWARD!

reading

I have a reading list. I started it with the hope of finishing it, or coming close to finishing it this year. Unfortunately instead of reading books on the list I started reading books not on the list & then adding those that I read to the list. Well, honestly, I've read a lot of books since I started keeping track, but my list looks lackluster and less than impressive because it's SO DAMN LONG NOW. hahaha. I definitely need to redo the list. Maybe make a "read" list and a "to read" list? What do you think?

So, the books which have recently captured me & driven me off track with my previously existing list? The Rozzoli & Isles series by Tess Gerritsen. I'm 5 books in. I'm hooked. I started reading them because I saw that there is a new show called Rizzoli & Isles premiering on TNT. What first caught my attention was Angie Harmon. I heart her. A lot. I think it's a Law & Order thing since I loved her on that show. Then she was in the short lived (to my dismay) television series Women's Murder Club based on the books by James Patterson - which I've also read. I loved her in the WMC tv show. I was so bummed when it was canceled. So now I'm really, really hoping that this show survives. That it's a better show and has good backing by TNT. Yeah... so back to the reading part of this post. I'm 5 books into the R&I series and I am officially hooked. I can't stop reading them and I have to get through all of them (7 thus far) so I can start reading something else! When I first realized that the tv show was based on a series of books I asked Ted if he thought I could read all 7 books before the show premieres. The show premiers on July 12... I think I'm going to make my deadline. :) I hope the creators of the show got the casting right. Fans of books are super critical when the story is adapted for a tv show or movie.

tasty tuesday: pasta & cookie edition

I haven't blogged about food much lately... and I love food. The problem is I hate recipes. Almost every time I get all excited about a recipe and buy all the special ingredients and spend the time prepping & making... I'm always underwhelmed with the outcome. Which, of course, makes clean up even more fun. :)

So I'm going to talk about some recent food loves...

A couple years ago I tried baked chicken pastina. It was delicious. Seriously - I love this dish. Only deviation I would make is to add more chicken. I found Giada's calling for only a 1/2 cup was a little... too little.

We eat a lot of pasta because it's so easy. I did not grow up eating Italian food, my dad isn't a big fan so we just didn't eat a lot of it growing up. He's more of a meat & potatoes man. I don't make my own pasta sauce ::gasp:: I know... I know. I just don't have the time and to be perfectly & offensively (to some) honest - I find certain jarred sauces to be just as tasty, especially if you add a few of your own touches. Here are some of mine:

• Buy some Italian sausage - mild or hot, it's up to  you. Remove the sausage from its casing. I do this as I drop it into the pan/pot. I just break it apart in my hand, and the end product comes out something like cheater-meatballs. Brown up the sausage, throw in a little diced onion & minced garlic and allow to cook until tender. This is a good time to add in any additional dried spices you like. I usually add in some red pepper flakes to get all groovy in the rendered fat & oils. I also deglaze the pan with a 1/4 - 1/3 cup white wine. I use whatever is in the fridge. When every thing is smelling splendid I pour in our jarred sauce of choice. I can't remember the brand, but we buy it at Sam's Club and it's organic (fancy).
• pasta puttanesca - this is another trick up my sleeve. I have made this according to the recipe and it is Yum-O, as Rachael Ray would say. I have also just used some of the ingredients & methods and added our jarred sauce, again. If you use the olives, anchovies, & capers from the recipe then you will get something pretty darn close (and equally as yummy) to the recipe. This is my cheater-puttanesca.

 So those were a couple of my tricks. Also... last week I was sick with a head cold (actually it's still hanging around) and I had NO idea what to make for dinner. I ended up doing my cheater-puttanesca (see above), mixing it with the cooked pasta (slightly less than al dente), some chicken I quickly grilled up, and pouring it into a baking dish. Top with bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, & butter and you have a very yummy dish similar to the baked chicken pastina. This time I also topped it with some left over bleu cheese crumbles and it was surprisingly good. The bleu cheese added a little "pop" to the dish. I know it sounds strange... but it's cheese. And butter. And bread crumbs. Baked. How bad can it be?

Yesterday I discovered the easiest - and perhaps my favorite - peanut butter cookie recipe EVER. Seriously. Ok, so I love peanut butter cookies. The only thing I don't like about them is their tendency to be crispier than I like. I like soft, chewy, kinda-underbaked cookies. These cookies and perfectly simple and let the peanut butter really shine. LOVE.

1-2-3-4 Peanut Butter Cookies: http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/2008/06/cookies-for-soldiers-part-2_04.html

Make them. Love them. Share them. People will thank you.

don't you just hate it...

When you have that nagging feeling that you've forgotten something? It won't let up, so you start thinking you must have forgotten something very, very important? I hate that feeling.

recurring dream element

Lately I have been remembering my dreams, which - for me - is strange, strange, strange. I don't really ever remember them, I remember that I dreamed, but usually not what about. So I definitely took notice recently when I realized that not only was I remembering my dreams, but I was have a recurring element in many of them. Rats. Yes, I said rats. Lovely, eh? Especially since these rats are especially evil and vicious looking.

So, according to dream moods this is what rats in your dream(s) can signify:

To see rats in your dream, signifies feelings of doubts, guilt and envy. You are feeling unworthy Something that you are keeping to yourself is eating you up inside. Alternatively, it denotes repulsion, decay, dirtiness, and even death. The dream may also be a pun on someone who is a rat. Are you feeling betrayed?

Hmmmm....

the neverending joys of being a home owner

Lets see now... we've called our Home Warranty company 3 times, they've been out 3 times to service our A/C. I know people do it - but I don't know how the hell people in SoCal can live without A/C during the Summer. Maybe I'm a wimp, but I'm a wimp that likes her house cool. Anywho... so after this last service where the A/C was "definitely fixed", yeah... not working. Again. %$(^&$ So now we get to deal with the Home Warranty company. Again. %$&(!%&! I have two hopes: (1) they actually fix it this time, or (2) we just get a whole new unit. Our A/C is about 30 years old & needs replacing. Unfortunately there are a dozen other things on that same list and A/C units aren't cheap. We REALLY need this resolved before our HW expires.

& Secondly, on Sunday morning I went downstairs to find out that our bathtub was leaking into the kitchen. JOY. FUCKING FLIPPING JOY I TELL YOU. I think I know what the problem is, because I'm a Master Plumber and all, and it's not leaking anymore, but the problem is that it was leaking at all. As much as I do not want to deal with this now (since it's stopped leaking) the fact that is was leaking needs to be addressed & hopefully fixed. Luckily that is also covered in our Home Warranty, and paying for someone to come see it (through the HW) is a lot cheaper than just going directly to a plumber.

Does the list ever end? No. As far as I can tell it NEVER ends because since we are the owners of this fine condo, everything is our responsibility. On the other hand, we can take care of problems in our own time & do them the way we want. That's a big bonus. Owning a house is mostly fun, it's just that when big things go wrong it's a huge pain in the ass.

There are other things about owning a condo ::ahemHOAahem:: that make me long for the day we own a real house free of all things HOA-y. Don't get me wrong, they serve a purpose & not having to take care of yard work or a pool are great things right now. Unfortunately, having to get authorization from a myriad of people just to hang an American flag for the holidays? Yeah, not so great.

On the other hand, I will always be thankful that we were even able to buy any sort of property in Southern California (let alone Orange County) especially in these uncertain economic times. It's a blessing, even if it is in disguise from time to time. I'll take it.

I bet I would like watching sports if...

We hung out at a bar & drank beer & chatted.

Last night we watched the Celtics murder the Lakers ::sad face:: at Oggi's. I bet if we did that all the time I would really like watching sports. Unfortunately sitting for 3 hours watching a basketball game (& drinking many cervesas) can get expensive. Oh well, it was FUN.

& on a side note: I used to not like Oggi's all the much, but after a few successful pizza-eating trips it's one of my fav's. 

I hope for the sake of Los Angeles not imploding on itself, the Lakers can pull through in the next two games.

the one where I pulled a Salma Hayek

By now I'm assuming we've all seen the video of poor Salma Hayek losing her shit when she sees a snake during an interview. It's almost not funny because she seems so terrified. Almost.

My parents live in a rural area. Critters all around. The small city backs up to a Wildlife Corridor. Right now everyone is doing weed clean-up because it's fire season. So some critters come out of the dark places they should stay.

Yesterday I was driving to my parents house, driving along just minding my own beeswax. Then, ON THE STREET I SEE THE BIGGEST SNAKE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. I SWERVED TO AVOID IT, THANK GOD. Eeeew! Could you imagine how horrifying snake guts on my car would be?!?!?!?!?!?! Of course as I'm driving I can't take my eyes off the rear-view mirror, and I'm thinking "I should have killed it!" I hate snakes. & before you get all snakes-are-people-too on me, I didn't kill it. I did the right thing.

As I was getting closer to the snake I was like "that looks like a snake. no it's a branch. nooooo, it's a snake. IT'S A SNAKE. HOLY FUCKING HELL IT'S SNAKE. OMG I HOPE IT DOESN'T MAGICALLY MAKE IT'S WAY INTO MY CAR AND KILL ME." I'm rational.

Jamaica here we come!... eventually.

Reason # 515684 why my husband is awesome:

In lieu of getting each other anniversary gifts every year, he agreed that we should go on a nice vacation every year instead. (THERE! It's out on the Internet now... no take backs!) Woo! I can't fully begin to explain how excited this makes me. I love going on vacation, I love seeing new places & revisiting old places that we love. Since our First Anniversary is already spoken for with a faaaabulous 9 day Mexican Riviera cruise, we are shooting for Jamaica in 2012 for our 2nd Anniversary. I'm so excited! Neither one of us has been to Jamaica before, and I've always wanted to go. I'm not really sure if Ted has always wanted to go to Jamaica. I told him that he could pick where we went for our next vacation since I chose the cruise, but he said he doesn't really care where we go, he just likes going away someplace with me (Aawww!) and he loves how excited I get over whichever destination we I pick.

So here's the "problem"... not like we can actually book anything for 2012 yet, but in the research I've been doing online every single resort looks amazing. How do you choose?! I may have to write them all down and throw a dart to see which one we end up with, haha. I'm only slightly joking about that, though. & on top of it, everyone I know who has been to Jamaica - well, they all pretty much loved their resort. Of course there are some we are just priced out of. As much as I think an outdoor shower would be so sexy & Heavenly (are you suppose to use those two adjectives together?)... I just can't bring myself to spend like 6k on a vacation somewhere we've never been before. Hey - we'll figure it all out. We have plenty of time.

It's also kinda weird to not even be at our 1st Anniversary, and already be talking about how to celebrate out second. Hmm... I need to slow down. I just get so excited!

ok, ok, ok... is THIS weird??

Voting Day makes me very happy. I love voting. I wish I could vote multiple times for every election. Plus I love getting those stickers.

is this weird?

I love grocery shopping. It's one of my favorite things to do on the weekend. I don't know why. Seriously... I have absolutely no idea why I enjoy it so much. Maybe it's because Ted & I do the shopping together? I don't know. Maybe it's because we do 99% of our shopping at Sam's Club and I l-o-v-e that place? I just love seeing all that stuff they have.

I mean... how many places can you: shop for groceries (including produce & fresh meat), buy new tires, get your oil changed, buy the latest books/movies/games/music/magazines, stock up on some season appropriate clothing (for every member of the family), buy your cat/dog supplies, stock your home bar, stock up on office supplies, keep your house stocked with more frozen entrees/proteins/desserts & snacks, keep your bathroom & medicine cabinet stocked, & pick up a pretty darn yummy birthday cake?!

My love for Sam's Club just never ends. A few weeks ago we went there to buy eggs. We got like 18 eggs for $2. TWO DOLLARS. Gallon of milk? $2.

I may be slowly selling my soul by buying cheap & in bulk... but man... do I love it. & don't even get me started in those yummy hotdogs in their food court! A delicious hotdog + a soda so big no human should even consume that much in a week? $2. I'm noticing a trend...

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my little brother! This picture is obviously pretty old, but I love it. Tomorrow (June 5) my "baby brother" turns 24. So weird. I love my brother, but I also like my brother. I don't think people always take the time to acknowledge the difference between those two sentiments. You can love people & not really like them at the same time. It's complicated. Maybe you just don't like them for a short period of time, but it often happens - especially in families. I got pretty lucky. Sure, my brother & I have not always seen eye-to-eye (come to think of it, we rarely do), but he's a stand-up guy and he's honest.

I love my brother for many reasons... one of those being that he was a "bridesman" at my wedding. It took a little convincing & promising he didn't have to wear a dress, but in the end he knew how important it was to me, and he came through for me.

I love you, Brother. & I can't wait to celebrate with you tomorrow.

road of fail

Last nights dinner? Fail.

Last nights cookie making attempt? Fail.

This mornings lunch packing? Fail.

Lessons learned:

1. If you don't like red wine, don't cook with it & then be surprised when you don't like the dish.
2. You can not, in fact, swap oatmeal for flour when making cookies.
3. Pay more attention when packing lunches in the morning. This way you won't send your husband to work with your "healthy-diet" meal. i.e.: not a lot of food for a 6'2" man.

**update**
I was just informed I didn't even send Ted to work with my lunch. I sent him to work with just the leftover rice. ::sigh::

what's for dinner? & pet-parent fail.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/coq-au-vin-guine-recipe/index.html

I'm making ^this^ for dinner tonight. It's from Brian Boitano & his What Would Brian Boitano Make? show on the Food Network. Can I just say that I super love that show! He's hilarious, and most of his recipes look delish. Ok, so yes this meal tonight won't be the most healthy thing we've ever eaten - but it just looks so damn good! Plus we got a bottle of red wine at a wedding gift & although Ted will drink red wine, I won't, and he prefers beer to wine 99% of the time. So... I'll cook with it!

Hopefully this will be a successful meal. For some reason I dislike whatever I cook about 2/3 of the time. I don't know why. I suppose I am envisioning the dish to taste a certain way, I look forward to that idea, and then it's different or fails to impress & I hate it. I'm weird.

..................................

Last week was a rough week with our dog, Nova. He was either bored/frustrated or suffering from separation anxiety. I was told it was one of those by different people. First off, the dogs are confined to the kitchen area during the day. We have one of those baby gate things, so it can be somewhat permanent, but people can still walk through to the kitchen without stepping over a gate. It works out great for our house & needs. Yeah... well Nova is a Lab/Boxer. He likes to run, be crazy, and jump. He recently found out he can jump over the gate. Totally clear the thing like it's no big deal. Then he's out in the rest of the house. By the time we realized what he was doing, I was down six pairs of shoes. Yes, I said six. Gym shoes, casual sneakers, 2 pairs of black flats (one beloved pair -- he almost died), two other pairs of flats I wasn't particularly fond of... but nonetheless they are gone. So the thing is he chewed up ALL of the shoes I wear on a regular basis. Maybe we're slow or something, but we didn't know how he was getting out of the kitchen. Then when we realized he was jumping over the gate, we thought we had it figured out & were in the clear. Notsomuch. We cleared up the living room so he wouldn't have shoes to chew on, so he went into our bedroom and just got shoes from there. Again, I guess it was partly our own fault for not making sure he couldn't get into anything bad... but he's never been a chewer! EVER. I swear, this dog is 1 year old now, and he's never chewed up anything other than his own toys. It's just so weird he's doing it now.

We think he's frustrated from not getting enough exercise. We live in a condo with a very small patio. There's just no where for him to run around at home. Even if we take him for walks, this dog wants to run. He wants to tackle, wrestle, & run. Luckily our loving & gracious parents are allowing us to bring him over to their house(s) a few times a week so he can run out some energy with their dogs. 1x a week he's going to my parents house, 2x a week he's going to Ted's parents, and 1x a week he's going to Doggy Day Camp. I think Bella will enjoy some "alone time" and "quiet time" while Nova is gone during the day.

I forgot to call so he could go to DDC today... I hope our furniture is still intact by the time I get home.