Goodnight Moon

No need to state the obvious, but...

2009-03-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

All the action is over here.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

2008-12-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to me! What was the best birthday gift I received, you ask? Why, this little beauty waiting in my mailbox:

Last time I got jury duty I was psyched because A) my employer paid for jury duty service and B) I hated my job, so it was a great excuse to play hooky. Now that I love my job and don't get paid for jury duty, I am significantly less excited about the prospect of spending all day in the courthouse.

Also, I erased my contact info on the jury duty form so you can't read it in the picture, but this summons is actually addressed to Elizabeth LaBam. Yes, I commit voter fraud every single election, and no, the government doesn't care. I used to spend a lot of energy trying to get my name corrected, including sending in signed affidavits and copies of my ID. I finally talked to some clerk who assured me that it's fine that I'm voting under a different name. Swell! The system works!

And now for something completely different:

I really want them to change the text on the bottom to "Ho-Ho-Hope."

And finally: I don't have any firsthand information about starving orphans (sorry!) but we did see Slumdog Millionaire recently and LOVED it. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Beautiful, thought-provoking, tragic, inspiring, magical...seriously. Go.

Postscript: Merry Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas indeed

2008-12-11T21:12:00.001-08:00

Lately, work and life craziness have squashed all non-essential blogging; however, the newest addition to the LaBau household has inspired me to put on my blogging pants once more.

For Christmas this year, Jason & I decided to get ourselves a new TV/entertainment system. If you have had the "pleasure" of watching TV at our house, you will know that this investment is SORELY needed. Allow me to introduce our old TV:

That's right. An analog TV. Straight antenna system, no cable to be had. A sad off-brand DVD/VCR player that barely plays VHS tapes and is currently holding a DVD hostage and won't open at all. (We have vowed to attack it with a screwdriver once we get the new system fully functioning.)

But now...drumroll please...

A shiny new plasma TV! Not pictured: the new DVD/VHS player, and the DirecTV DVR system we're getting set up early next week.

"Teacher, mother, secret lover..." -Homer Simpson

People, this is going to be good. If we drop off the face of the earth, rest assured that we are probably 72 hours into a week-long Law & Order marathon, our pajamas glued to the couch with a mixture of popcorn butter and drool, our bleary faces basking in the sweet glow of a fully-functioning television.

[P.S. Apologies for the blatant consumerist nonsense. I promise to blog about needy orphans for the rest of the month.]

Yes, We Did (or, How I Spent My Election Weekend)

2008-11-05T18:36:00.000-08:00

So by now the Obama victory is old news, and I'm sure most people are tired of hearing about it. However, I'm not tired of talking about it yet and I'm anxious to share our canvassing experience, so consider yourself forewarned. It's no secret that Jason & I have been big Obama supporters this year. Our car is be-stickered. Our wardrobe is Obama'd. We've donated to the campaign almost a half-dozen times, and we've ~~telemarketed~~ phonebanked for Obama this fall. So when we heard the campaign was asking for California volunteers to go to Nevada over election weekend, we knew we had to make the trek. This is our story. *Law and Order theme music*

First, a quick sidebar about the drive. I am very much a greenery lover, but there is something about the desert that fascinates me, especially the dying towns scattered by the highways. I am kind of obsessed. J suggested I go for my phD in sociology so I can visit these godforsaken towns and figure out who lives there and what life is like. I dismissed that as crazy graduate student talk, but a nice idea nonetheless. We stopped at this truck stop on the way. I was especially drawn to it because I originally misread the sign and thought they had a "brain burger." Mmm, tastes like smarts.

So we get to Vegas and have some time to check into our hotel and relax before the "short training meeting." We were a few minutes later and were nervous that it would be embarrassing to walk into the room tardy. Um, we needn't have worried:

Hundreds and HUNDREDS of people were there. It was a zoo! Here's the awesome thing: there was another training meeting in this same location a few hours later. So this is just the turnout from one meeting in one location in one city in Nevada. AND these were just the California volunteers who needed training, so I'd guess there must have been thousands more who had already been trained, or who were native Nevadans, or who were going to be at other meetings in the state. The scope of the volunteer outreach was really amazing.

The atmosphere in the room was electric, there was a huge buzz and excitement. Of course with this many people the "short meeting" turned into (barely) controlled chaos, as the campaign leader was late, the Q&A dragged on, and the passing out of assignments was a logistical nightmare. By the time we were finished we were both kind of tired and cranky, as it was most definitely past our dinner time and we're both such Type A personalities, being subjected to disorganization is painful.
[At the training meeting. We're fuzzy with excitement!]

We had originally been told that we would be poll-watching. The short explanation of that is, poll-watchers record who has voted, and relay this information to the campaign HQ so that they can target their people who haven't yet voted, and call or visit them and encourage them to vote. Due to logistical difficulties we decided to canvass instead, which is kind of like tracting. We were assigned a field station to work out of, which turned out to be someone's garage. We were provided a neighborhood map and a list of addresses and names, mostly those of low-turnout democrats (who might need a nudge to get out and vote) or Obama-leaning independents. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, was to visit these folks, see if they'd voted yet, and if not, see if they were going to vote, if they knew where to vote, and if they needed a ride to the polls. Let the games begin.

Fortunately I had a former missionary with me, so after he got over the weirdness of tracting-yet-not-tracting, he was a total champ. I was more of a wuss and got psyched out by the HUGE dogs that were behind every single fence! Seriously, Vegas must be the dog capital of the world, because they were everywhere. And it didn't help that our first neighborhood was pretty run-down and a little scary.

However, here's the awesome part. Everyone was so nice. A lot of people weren't home, but those that we were able to talk to were so pleasant. And really, they probably weren't too happy to see us, since the Obama campaign has been stalking Nevada voters for months. [Really: starting at 6am election day, everyone on our lists got doorhangers with their voting information. We started knocking doors at 9, made another sweep mid-day, and a third sweep around 5pm. That's 4 visits in one day, not including the weeks of phone calls prior to the election.] So these people had good reason to be VERY tired of the election, and the Obama campaign specifically. But everyone seemed really happy, and excited about the election, and they cheered us on. So that was extremely motivating.

Of course there were a few bumps in the road: confusing street signs and maps. Gated communities (but we are sneaky and got into most of them.) Several very suspicious old people. Having to listen to a few overly smug liberals congratulate themselves on their general liberalness and awesomeness. [Another sidebar: it is a very weird position, being a liberal member of a very conservative church. It's often uncomfortable and sometimes downright frustrating, feeling like there's nowhere I can just be myself without walking on eggshells. I know we're not the only ones, but it often feels that way.]

So Tuesday was a very full day of canvassing. We did a total of five maps, which I estimate to be about 250-300 houses. We switched field stations mid-day, and canvassed until 6:30, which was pushing it, since polls closed at 7. The atmosphere at the second field station was pretty festive, since we'd started receiving early results from back east and there was some good news (once Pennsylvania came in we started feeling optimistic...and it only got better from there). We had chili and watched the returns with our newfound friends for awhile, but since I had to work bright and early Wednesday morning, we had to leave and drive back to LA.

We listened to NPR for as long as we could receive it, and fortunately were able to hear that it was called for Obama before radio silence set it. Although the ride back was long, and we were beyond tired, it was a jubilant exhaustion, knowing that history was made. We were especially excited to hear that Nevada went for Obama (and Clark County was up for him by almost 20%) because we felt like we had a personal stake in that outcome. I'm glad the election is over, but more than that, I'm glad that we were able to play a small part in such a defining event for our generation.

Trunk or Treat

2008-10-31T22:19:00.001-07:00

Halloween shenanigans at the ward Trunk or Treat party...

I went as a hippie, Jason went as a mime, together we were Peace & Quiet. Oh ho ho, it works on so many levels. Jason is a ~~terrifying~~ awesome mime, and people were really impressed. He also scared small children, including one who would run crying from him, shouting, "Witch! Witch!" Maybe now he'll listen when I say people don't like mimes...

We were supposed to decorate our car trunks. A last-minute trip to the 99 cent store netted a pretty sweet spiderweb, some spiders and rats, and a flashing skull. We only got one comment on how "scary" the Obama stickers were...we expected a few more!

Yeah, many other trunks put ours to shame.

I liked Brett & KT's the best. Everything is better with corpses.

Their costumes were pretty sweet, too.

Heather & Tom in their " Jaws" car.

Chris went as Shrek...
...while Holly and Whitney were a rabbit and a chicken, aka "ogre food."

Tim & Leslie also got into the couples costume spirit. All That & A Bag of...Hips?

Comic Wisdom

2008-10-23T22:58:00.001-07:00

Every time I look at this I laugh. Without fail.

I also really like this one, which basically sums up my life philosophy...

Which in turn reminds me of a classic Calvin & Hobbes strip...

Which is notably mostly for having my most favoritest Calvinism ever. Is it so wrong to take life lessons from a fictional five-year old?

Election Come Sooner

2008-10-19T16:27:00.000-07:00

Even inanimate objects now share my Obama-love.

Vermont and Melbourne, Los Angeles

Hey Senator McCain, what do you think of the Obama poster I spotted?

Lest I appear to pick on the GOP too much, I must say that Sarah Palin took her punches with grace on SNL yesterday. I won't even comment on the fact that she's doing SNL but not Meet the Press. Nope, not a word. That cool with you, Governor? Wink once if you approve.

In the alley behind the bakery

2008-10-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

Anatomy of My Trash Can

2008-10-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I don't realize how ridiculous my life is until I'm confronted by photographic evidence. During my two days off work last week, I made 4 candies and 4 desserts for my various websites. We valiantly tried to shovel as much as we could into our gaping maws, but in the end, we're only two people, and some of the sweets were relegated to the trash can. As I was cleaning up I was struck by how this totally, completely represents my life:

Pictured:
Spiderwebs Candy
Witch Hats Candy
Pumpkin Marshmallows
Biscotti

Not pictured:
Pumpkin Bread Truffles
Pumpkin Muffins (TBP - To Be Posted)
Lemon-Violet Meringue Tarts (TBP)
Dark Chocolate-Chile Souffles with Cardamom Creme Anglaise (TBP)

On a VERY related note, I'm giving up sugar/processed carbs for two weeks to give my body a little break. It's not bad when I'm at home, but outrageously difficult when I'm at work, literally up to my elbows in doughs and frostings. Wish me luck!

Half Dome!

2008-10-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I hiked Half Dome in Yosemite with my brother Jeremy. We had an amazing time and enjoyed gorgeous weather, beautiful views, and a really fun day out on the trails. I have approximately a million pictures, so here are some of the most representative that help tell the story...but I'm sure I'll post more in the coming days, they're too pretty to languish unpublished on my computer.

We chose the perfect time to hike. We'd originally planned to go in July, but the combination of short notice, busy schedules, and high hotel prices convinced us to put it off. People, late September is THE time to go. It's not too hot, but likely not too stormy, and much less crowded. We decided to hike it on a Monday, which also decreased the weekend crowds. We did see people, but it wasn't overcrowded at all. Bliss.

So we stayed in Mariposa, which is about an hour outside of the park. We got up before dawn and left the hotel about 5:40. We parked a little before 7, and after a bathroom trip and a 10-minute walk, we reached the trailhead and started our journey around 7:20. It was just starting to get light, but it was still quite cool and the first two hours were almost entirely in the shade. Very nice!The route we took was 8.2 miles one way, so it was about 16.4 miles round trip. This is the most direct route, but it has some REALLY brutal climbs, so some people choose to go the less scenic, less steep route, that adds about 2 miles onto the trip. We chose the shorter option.
Remember what I said about brutal climbs? This was the first of many, many, MANY stone staircases. At first they weren't too bad, but pretty soon the steps got higher and higher, and climbing 18-inch steps for a mile gets old pretty quickly. We were lucky the weather was good. The steps run by several waterfalls, and apparently in bad weather they get very slippery from the water and are quite dangerous and have to be shut down.

Our reward for conquering the Staircase of Death for the first 3 miles was an easy, gradual climb in miles 3-6. It was a nice change of pace, but after awhile it was kind of dusty and boring, until we broke through the tree cover and got our nice view back. We first glimpsed Half Dome at 10:15, three hours after we started our climb:Before we could get to climb the rock itself, we had another half-hour of gnarly stone steps. In some cases they weren't even steps, just steep rock face we had to scramble over. I thought this was the most difficult section of the climb, because it was so steep and we didn't have hiking poles, so there was no way to distribute some of the stress to our upper body. The surface of Half Dome is so steep and slippery, there are cables strung up between metal poles drilled into the rock face. You climb up the final 400 feet by pulling yourself up these steel cables. Gloves with a grippy surface are a must, as the metal cables are very slick in and of themselves. This picture is of us right before we began the ascent. If you look very closely at the surface of the rock behind us, you can see the cables and see a few people climbing up.

A closer view of the cables. The pictures really don't do justice to how seriously steep it is. Looking up from the bottom, it seems ludicrously steep, and I couldn't imagine how they first got the cable system drilled into place. The pictures below give a pretty good sense of how it looked. In the top picture, I'm starting the climb. The bottom picture is the descent, which felt even steeper and more dangerous than the ascent, because it was so slick. It was basically controlled sliding (with a little bit of falling thrown in the mix.) This is when I was glad it was uncrowded, because up and down climbers share the same cables, and passing people was difficult and time-consuming.

We reached the top 3 hours and 40 minutes after we started. The view was spectacular, the rock was uncrowded, and we had a nice relaxing picnic lunch while overlooking the whole park valley, 8000 feet above sea level.

The lack of security was amazing (and refreshing) to me. It felt like standing on the edge of the world. Our lunch spot was a precarious perch over a big vertical drop. Fortunately we refrained from a shoving match right then.
I'm that tiny little speck on the outcropping! We enjoyed the view (and took lots of pictures) for about an hour, then headed down. We finished the climb in 3:20, for a total of 8 hours out, including the break at the top. It was a perfect day, and I wouldn't hesitate to schedule a Half Dome hike every year.

Trick or Treat

2008-09-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

I can tell this is going to be the best Halloween ever! It's still September, and already the candy is coming to me. No more of this going door to door and begging nonsense.

I came home from work yesterday to find a huge box from the National Confectioner's Association. Inside was a big tote bag full of Halloween goodies (and some candy I recognize from the Expo, hmmm) to get me in the holiday spirit. I'm trying to refrain from munching, so that I can properly sort it and decide what I want to review for the website. (Here's a sneak peak for you: not a fan of sugar-free Peeps). Add this to the big bag of candy I still have from the Expo, and we have a serious Candy Situation in our apartment. Once I get on top of my work (ha!) and sort it all, we might have to have a big candy party.

Speaking of Halloween, someone should invite us to a far-out costume party this year, because I have been dying to make Sesame Street martian costumes for Jason and I. "Yep yep yep yep...brrrrrrring!"

Look, this girl did it and they turned out adorable. And Jason does a really good martian impression! Won't someone take pity on us and throw an awesome party so I can get crafty?

Supersize Me II: Revenge of the Burger

2008-09-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

If you saw Supersize Me on DVD, you might have caught the bonus footage on the DVD where he talks about a really old McDonald's burger he kept for months, and how it basically didn't change--it had so many chemicals it preserved itself.

I just came across this website about a 12-year old McDonald's hamburger. Ever wonder what a 12-year old hamburger looks like? (Hint: it looks like every other McD's burger). Definitely makes me glad I don't partake, as I'm sure my body wouldn't like trying to "digest" that.

Off my soapbox now. Happy eating, all!

Candid Camera

2008-09-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

The last of the vacation photos for awhile...

"Give it to me baby, yeah! Growl like a grizzly baby, nicely done..."

Check out the bite marks on that toast. Who's the grizzly now?

Third in a series about big mouths.

Ian & Amy, keeping their mouths to themselves.

Granddad putting the evil eye on his beanbag opponents. Didn't work though, as team Spawn of Spears beat the grandparents in sudden death overtime. Dramatic!

Extracurriculars

2008-09-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Arizona wasn't all choreographed musical numbers and random acts of cruiser-inspired violence, oh no. There was also fun and games and ill-advised singing sessions. Presenting...

KARAOKE
Proving that you don't have to be drunk to exuberantly fail at karaoke, my family got rowdy with the mike for several hours one night.
My signature song is "It's Raining Men," the Geri Halliwell version. I'm really, really good!

Clockwise from top left: Jeremy and I doing "Bohemian Rhapsody," Amy doing "Colors of the Wind" (she rocked it), my mom and Aunt Alice doing "Hello Dolly." Sadly they did not do it Louis Armstrong style.

MINIATURE GOLF
How creepy is Jason?!? This is why I can't take him places.
I failed spectacularly at mini golf, but I did get a hole in one! Once. The rest of the time I just gave myself sixes and moved on.

Yes, that is my mom fishing her ball out of the water. I'm not the only one who sucked.

SHOOTING THINGS

It wouldn't be a family vacation without...a gun? Well, an air gun, anyway. We had a little target practice. I was in the lead for a time (sheer luck) but then Grandma stepped up to the plate and blew us all away. Figuratively. I think I most enjoy the gleeful look on my mom's face as she fires (top left).

Introducing Cruiser Bruiser

2008-09-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a trip to Arizona, where we had a family party for my grandmother's 80th birthday and also got to spend time with J's dad and brother. Sweet! I have a ton of pictures, so I'll spread them out over several posts. Trip highlights include:

Hanging out with Grandma! She and my grandfather totally live the life I want to have once retired: they've traveled all over the world, had amazing adventures, and are very involved in their community.

During the birthday party we sang a song we had written for the occasion (set to the tune of 'Mame'). There was singing, there was guitar-playing, there was choreographed dancing with top hats and canes. There was also a lot of practicing leading up to this moment, with the result that this infernal tune was stuck in our collective brains the entire weekend.

It was great to have the whole family together. It just doesn't happen often enough.

The weather in Flagstaff was gorgeous: overcast, a little rainy, but mostly cool and breezy. Such a nice change from LA! (Phoenix was gross, but that's to be expected). Driving from Phoenix to Flag we had the most insane rain I've ever seen. We actually had to pull off the road because there was no visibility in the rain and hail--I couldn't even see the end of the car. What car, you ask?

Why, the electric blue PT Cruiser we were "lucky" enough to rent! I wasn't excited about it at first, but that all changed when I invented my new favorite game: Cruiser Bruiser. It's like Slug Bug only you get to wallop your partner whenever you spot a Cruiser on the road. There are a surprising number of them out and about! It was most excellent because Jason is tragically oblivious, meaning that I hit him more than a dozen times and he only got me twice. Mwahahah. WHAT a great trip indeed.

Yes, We Can

2008-08-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

“Now is not the time for small plans.”

Not to go all TV news anchor on you, but I got goosebumps watching Obama’s acceptance speech at the DNC tonight. (And yes, I was a little teary when he talked about Dr. King at the end.) Obama was strong, he was fierce, he had an urgency to his message that was so powerful. Yes, he’s charismatic, but it’s really not about personal charm so much as personal conviction. Watching him, I really do believe that he believes in his message of change. I am ready to be hopeful, ready to be inspired. I am ready for a political discourse about compassion and optimism, instead of the many years of war and fear-mongering that we have lived through.

Jason is the political prognosticator in this relationship, so I don’t have any brilliant analyses to share. I just have my overwhelming hope that change will come. Some of my favorite segments of his talk:

That's the promise of America – the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper. That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now.
* * *
America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.
* * *
America, our work will not be easy...What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose – our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore. But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about ME. It's been about YOU.

For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past...You have shown what history teaches us – that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes TO Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it – because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.

America, this is one of those moments.

An oldie but goodie:

A fairly ridiculous (but mildly amusing) anti-McCain parody: "No, You Cant."

Your Hair is Your Head Suit

2008-08-21T21:45:00.001-07:00

It's been over a year since I tortured us all by turning pictures of myself into monkeys and sketchy men, so I was primed and ready for some photoshoppin' fun over at Yearbook Yourself. And my friends, the pictures did not disappoint. A few of my favorites:

Boogie WonderLiz

Madame Lizbrarian

"Nobody Puts Lizzie in a Corner!"

More fun with head suits after the jump.

This journey begins in the good old days of yesteryear, when men were men and girls were all aging matrons. Remember ladies, never leave home without your finger waves and a shirt with a hideous collar.

The 1970's brought the women's lib movement. Important gains were made, including the rights to equal employment, salary, and feathered hair. The oppressive male patriarchy (and common sense) said "No no," but drunk hairstylists said "Yes yes!"

The following picture gets included because I think I'm rocking a variation of this style today.

See for yourself...maybe I should reconsider my 'do.
Ah, the AquaNet 80's. Were there any heights of hair stupidity that could not be scaled with a can of industrial-strength hairspray and a ratting comb? As a child I really, really wanted my hair to look like this.

I also dreamt of color-coordinated bright pink leggings and plastic earring combinations, though, so I was perhaps not the arbiter of good fashion sense I fancied myself back then.

Fortunately things calmed down in the late 1990's, but not soon enough to prevent an explosion of truly unfortunate bangs. I spent way too many years with my hair styled into limp, unattractive forehead noodles because I thought my forehead was too big to go uncovered. I have never felt more liberated than when I finally decided to grow them out--at age twenty. Twenty! That's two decades of blissful bangs-free existence I could have been living!

Be Afraid

2008-08-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

Scary things abound in our apartment as of late:

Relentlessly aggressive pigeons, who won't rest until they claw their way through our nets and onto our balcony. We have been living in a Hitchcockian nightmare the past few weeks.
Our neighbor's demented scarecrow, designed (we assume) to scare away said pigeons. This thing greets us whenever we walk outside.
My new love, spinach smoothies. They aren't really scary, but they do bear an unfortunate resemblance to swamp water. And really, they're delicious! Just close your eyes and chug...

Honorable mention goes to the book I'm reading, Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Oprah was not lying, this book is intense. I thought No Country For Old Men was fierce, but this one is even worse. (Meaning better.) I recommend it only to the stouthearted.

10 things

2008-07-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

I’ve been tagged to list 10 things about me that you may not know. Since this sounds better than working on the website, I figured I’d play along…

1. In addition to the piano, I also used to play the French horn and the cello. I even marched in marching band for two years with the horn…which is just as difficult and dorky as it sounds. I was never very good at the cello—I played in college and just didn’t have enough time (or motivation) to really practice. Now I would like to learn the guitar. And I wouldn’t mind taking jazz piano lessons, either.

2. I danced for most of my childhood/teenage years. Mostly jazz and tap, with some ballet thrown in. (But I was terrible at ballet, so the only ballet lessons were those forced on me.) The pinnacle of my dancing career was playing Dorothy in an all-dancing version of The Wizard of Oz.

3. Throughout college I worked as a technical writer for Compaq/Hewlett-Packard. It was awesome and a total blast, except for the technical writing part. (Seriously, my division’s beach volleyball team was unstoppable!) I worked every summer and even telecommuted my senior year of college, but ultimately decided I didn’t want to take all the programming classes necessary to really make a career of it. And thus began my quest to find a job I actually liked…

4. I almost ALMOST went to graduate school at the University of Chicago. I visited the campus, loved the program, loved the people and professors, and decided to go. Everything was settled—I even had my housing arranged—but in the end I realized that it wasn’t what I should be doing. Although I’m sure I would have loved it, I’m really glad I didn’t go because I think I would have ended up with a lot of debt, and a not-very-marketable degree.

5. I am (was) a certified personal trainer, and I also had certification to teach Pilates. I loved the schooling, and loved studying for the exams—I’m an exercise fiend and found all of the scientific explanations fascinating. Turns out, I don’t love training folks—I am really not a people person, and I found the actual work of drumming up clients and the sales side of the business distasteful. Another career bites the dust!

6. London is my favorite city I’ve ever visited. (This probably isn’t a secret to anyone, but whatever.) I would move back there in a heartbeat, if it wasn’t ridiculously expensive. Everyone comments on the lousy weather, but I greatly prefer cool temperatures and cloudy skies to constant sunshine (are you listening, LA?) And the city vibe, culture, and omnipresent Indian food can’t be beat.

On top of the world, London's Primrose Hill

7. I really, really value my alone time. Jason is more social and always likes company, but I find that I need at least an hour or two by myself each day in order to stay sane. This is partially why I don’t think all of his research trips are a big problem in our relationship—I love being alone! Keep ‘em coming.

8. I have a secret hippie past. I used to be obsessed with jam bands, and the first concert I went to was The Other Ones (aka the Grateful Dead once Jerry Garcia died) and Phish in high school. I spent many happy summer days shopping the thrift stores on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. Fortunately my music taste and fashion sense have improved since then.

9. Recently I’ve developed a new reoccurring nightmare: plants or fungus-like things growing on (or out of) people, especially my loved ones. It may sound silly but these dreams are very vivid and disturbing. Anyone wanting to play Dr. Freud is welcome to tell me what it means!

10. This last item is a tie of three things I really, really hate: adults dressed as children (and talking like children, like in movies or plays), animals dressed as people, and babies dressed as animals or plants. The madness must END.

The unholy trinity

I’d like to hear 10 things about Jason…especially because something needs to break his 3-month blogging drought!

Productivity

2008-07-22T00:23:00.001-07:00

To-Do List When Unexpectedly Not Working:

Work out like a crazy person. Ideally twice a day. Go to the gym; hike in the park; hit those yoga classes you've been neglecting; curse your rubber-band tight hamstrings; sweat more than you've sweated in a year.

Do a full grocery shopping run, not just little things here and there. Make real dinner. And even better: eat real dinner, at a normal dinner time, with husband. Marvel at how it's still light when you're eating dinner.

Fiddle around in the kitchen making unnecessary desserts. Take lots of pictures and begin blogging on the neglected dessert website.

Watch movies of middling quality. Ponder how in the world Atonement got all those Oscar nominations. Wistfully recall the time when you did not have the warbling of Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep to haunt your nightmares.

Make lots of work-related phone calls. Be sure to not get ahold of anyone who can actually provide answers.

Calculate how long you can legitimately not work before changing your profession from "pastry chef" to "bum-about-town."

Four years!

2008-07-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

Six years ago this October, we started dating.
Five years ago last month, we were engaged.
Four years ago today, we were married in the Oakland Temple.

I never imagined I'd find someone who fit me so well, who could accept and even celebrate all of my (delightfully charming) high-maintenance quirks.
These past four years have been a blast. We have literally never had a fight, although I cannot take any credit for that. I keep trying to pick fights, and he keeps being awesome and mellow and peaceful. Hmph!

But seriously, how could I not love this boy? To quote Homer Simpson talking to his pet pig, "Oooh, you have soooo many looks!" Behold his versatility:

King Jason keeping a stiff upper lip

Model fierce but still "smiling with his eyes"

Thug life

Nutty Professor (this is what I have to look forward to)

Fangoria

Ice Cream's #1 Fan

we are for each other; then

laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph

(cummings)

Dial "L" for Listiness

2008-07-14T02:20:00.000-07:00

3 jobs I wish I Had In The Summertime Instead Of Working Inside A ~~Blazing Inferno~~ Bakery:

On-site camerawoman on March of the Penguins II: Revenge of the Penguins
Inventory Control Supervisor at Ben & Jerry’s Headquarters
US Ambassador to Greenland

3 foods currently comprising 75% of my diet:

Cottage cheese
Macadamia nuts. The saltier the better.
Half-price berries from Fresh & Easy. Mmm, spoilage makes them sweeter

3 Delightful Procrastination Tools:

Ask Metafilter. I especially enjoy the anonymous questions…other people’s lives are so screwed up.
So You Think You Can Dance, taped via my computer doohickey. Can I get a ticket on the Hot Tamale Train?!
Oh No They Didn’t! Surfing and consolidating all of the juiciest celebrity slander.

3 Songs I Can’t Stop Playing:

The Smiths: William It Was Really Nothing (2 minutes of perfection. This supremely stupid lip-syncing video has me cracking up uncontrollably. Let’s blame it on the late hour and move on.)
Black Kids: I’m Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You (Like if The Cure and the Go! Team had a baby. And yes, I know I’ll be sick of it in a week.)
The Pixies: Head On (Best played loud in the car. Singing along is encouraged.)

3 Books I’m In the Middle of Reading But Will Most Likely Never Finish:

Italo Calvino, If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler. The fact that I found this at the bottom of a pile of books under my night table does not bode well for the completion of this masterpiece of postmodern fiction. The fact that I didn’t even remember that I owned it, much less that I read over 100 pages, is perhaps a more damning sign.
Don DeLillo, Underworld. Pro: It’s DeLillo. Con: It’s 1000 pages of DeLillo.
Orhan Pamuk, Snow. No “most likely” about this one. After eight months of forcing myself to read this one torturous page at a time, I finally gave in (just 50 pgs from the finish!) and read the ending on Wikipedia. I am now convinced that I’ll never be chosen as a Nobel judge.

That last list got me all riled up and reminded me how much I hated slogging through Snow. To make myself feel better (ie, justified in my loathing) I checked out the Amazon page for Snow, and found some corroborating reviews. Check out some of these brilliant review titles:

“Did they like it because they're supposed to like it?”
“pretentious, vacuous, and down right boring”
“Mud would have been a more apt title because this was like a slog through it”
“Just Say No to SNOW”
“What's the reason behind the Nobel Prize?”
“tedious to the bitter end”
“Wooden Characters Make for Tortuous Reading”
“I challenge you to stay awake”
“Dry as toast”
“After a certain point, it's unreadable”

And, my personal favorite:

“Complex novel made me feel stupid”

Morrissey and his pompadour agree: Snow was rubbish!

Home sweet home

2008-05-22T02:37:00.000-07:00

Back from Chicago! Totally, completely bushed. Overall the trip was fantastic and I'm so glad I went. I met a lot of friendly, interesting people and sampled a lot of fun candy. I tended to gravitate toward the smaller chocolate companies out of taste bud preference, and there are some really exciting new companies and products out. Yum. The final haul covered most of my (king size) bed:

I have more fun pictures but posting them is beyond my sleep-deprived brain right now. But before I go, I must say: I met Jacques Torres! He gave a luncheon lecture/chocolate tasting session and was funny and charming and oh so French. He's done some instructional videos for the candy site so I introduced myself afterwards and got to chat with him for a bit. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Hello, Chicago. Hello, Candy.

2008-05-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

Day one of the All-Candy Expo is down. After perhaps the most horrific hotel stay I've ever had, and a grand total of six hours of sleep over the past two nights combined, I was more than ready to walk around an enormous convention center, shmooze candy reps, and eat sugar for eight hours straight. BRING IT ON.

Over 400 candy companies are at the expo, which makes navigating the center an overwhelming task. This is a shot of the inside right after the doors opened, which explains why it's so open and lacking in ravenous freeloaders.

The smallest booths were about 10x10, while the largest were larger than most restaurants. The Hershey's "booth" had a full-on bakery inside, where they assembled made-to-order cupcakes, brownies, etc. Other booths had cars, chocolate fountains, stilt walkers and jugglers......and let's not forget the power of Elvis in candy promotion.Master Chocolatier Joseph Schmidt had one of the most visually striking displays. Here he is with a chocolate bowl:

Yes, these are all made out of chocolate. He makes them by blowing up a balloon, dipping the bottom in multi-colored chocolate, letting it harden, then popping the balloon. The tulips, from stems to blooms? Chocolate. The vases? Chocolate. The picture frames? Chocolate.
The leg on the left was labeled FRAGILE. That's Italian.

The take after one day. Wisely, I packed a duffel inside my suitcase to help cart all this loot home. I was so sick of sugar by lunchtime, I didn't really have any all afternoon at the convention, then I had a sensible dinner...and promptly came home and tore into it. Like a kid on Halloween, I tell you. My room's trash can has such an embarrassing number of candy wrappers, I'm considering taking it out myself so the maid won't see it and wonder at my gluttony. More updates to come!
P.S. to my Chicago peeps: many apologies for not calling, this trip is super short and overbooked...J & I will just have to come out and see y'all sometime soon!

Yes, I know I'm creepy

2008-05-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

This is BIG NEWS for the three people besides Jason and I who obsess over 30 Rock. (Karl, I'm looking in your direction). Jack McBrayer, who plays Kenneth the innocent Southern NBC page, lives across the street from us!
Jason saw him walking on a nearby street awhile ago, and then a few weeks ago I saw him leave the apartment across the street. Today I made like a crazy person and checked out that building's directory. Lo and behold:

Stalking commences immediately. All interested parties are invited to join. Bring binoculars and cookie jars with upside-down WOWs written on them.

And a few choice Kenneth quotes in celebration:

Kenneth: Mr. Jordan himself said, “Don’t let no one in who’s not on the list because this mess is gonna get raw like sushi. So haters to the left."
Ridikulous: What?! Man, what's your game?
Kenneth: Boggle!

Kenneth: I know how you like this cornbread Mr. Jordan.
Tracy: LIKE it? I love this cornbread so much I wanna take it back behind the middle school and get it pregnant.
Kenneth: Hee hee, pregnant cornbread.

Tracy: I'm even attracted to you, Kenneth!
Kenneth: Well, I am wearing a cuffed trouser today.

2008-05-14T13:49:00.001-07:00

Holy moses. I am afraid I will never sleep again, let alone have enough time to catch up on crucial TV viewing (what is going on with Top Model??) or fill my blog with the usual ~~interesting~~ ~~insightful~~ posts.

Quick recap: work is good but busy. The wedding weekends were great but busy. Upcoming trip to the candy expo in Chicago promises to be delicious but (you guessed it) busy.

I hope to do a wedding picture post soon. Someone's gotta document the sexiness/craziness of a Payne family reunion...

Spring Cleaning

2008-04-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

First order of business: I have chopped off my hair in anticipation of summer. Huzzah!

I've also been giving my work area a haircut of sorts. Lots of reorganizing, sorting, and throwing things away. I wish I had some before photos, because this place was a mess. Jumbled, dirty, disorganized, gross. Nothing was labeled or dated (two huge imperatives in a kitchen) and it was impossible to see what we had in stock. I've been getting jiggy with the tape, sharpies, and plastic storage containers:

Here's a funny little story from work. We have this mammoth oven I like to call The Beast. It's built into one wall and is basically five huge shelves that rotate around in a circle. This is one of the shelves:
In the belly of The Beast:So one night last week, I hear what sounds like knocking. The oven is near one of the back doors, so I thought it was just someone outside. No one was there, so I ignored it and went about my business. When it came time to take my cookies out of the oven, I opened the door to find two normal trays of cookies, and one mangled parchment sheet of cookie carcasses on the shelf, with no tray to be seen. Finally I look closer, and see that my poor sheet tray had been bent in half and was lying crumpled on the floor of the oven. Apparently if the trays stick out the tiniest bit over the rim of the shelves, they get caught in the gears and eaten by The Beast. Sheet trays are sturdy, so there is some serious power in this oven. We've kept it around the kitchen and are thinking of giving it a face and a name--sort of a totem or mascot for us.

Stompin' Grounds

2008-04-20T23:11:00.000-07:00

Guess where I went last weekend? Here's a hint:

Here's an even bigger hint:
Yes, back to the old stomping grounds! Jason presented his first! academic! paper! at a conference in Claremont on Saturday, so I went down to cheer him on (and by the way, his was totally the best, both in terms of content and presentation, he's an academic rock star). A bout of nostalgia made me walk through the Scripps campus before I left town.

The campus looked exactly the same. It's hard to believe that I graduated five years ago this May. Our reunion is the same weekend as my brother's wedding, so it's fitting that I took this side trip since I won't be able to attend the official reunion weekend. This was my senior year dorm:

I had a sweet second-story pad with a balcony overlooking the rose garden. Aforementioned garden:The garden is bordered by Graffiti Wall, where each graduating class paints a themed mural and signs their names. The most infamous is the "hanging graduates," a mural from the 1930's depicting a group of cap and gown-clad women hanging from gallows. They didn't mess around back then! Our "Women Under Construction" theme was considerably tamer. Look, Ma, I'm a tagger:My old friend, the Humanities Goat. He has suffered more indignities--and been outfitted in more costumes--than I can mention. I particularly liked his toga party outfit.
Artist: Elizabeth LaBau
Medium: Digital Photography
Title: Self-Portrait With Goatstache, 2008
The Motley was hopping as usual. All of those studious folks brought back competing feelings of nostalgia and relief that I don't have to write a senior thesis ever again.
Kicking it with La Semuse, one last time:

Shareen Vintage

2008-04-12T17:36:00.001-07:00

A few years ago, a stylist friend raved about a great vintage dress store she had found. "Amazing selection," she said. "Brilliant discovery," she said. "Hidden gem," she said.

How hidden?

Let's just say I got a little nervous while trying to find this place. I drove from the freeway to a large street, to a smaller street, to a semi-paved road with lots of sketchy loiterers walking down the trolley tracks in the center. I had to stop myself from doing that obnoxious yuppie lock-the-car-doors-while-looking-casual thing.
I actually missed it the first time around. I was on the correct street, trying to find numbers on the warehouses, and came to a dead end. I gambled that the vintage store wasn't housed in someone's RV, and turned around.
Success! A true sign that I found the right place.
They weren't kidding about no boys allowed. The selection is wonderfully, exuberantly feminine, with lots of frothy party dresses. Most of the merchandise is vintage, but the owner designed her own clothing line for awhile, so there are some new pieces as well. There are also monster bargains: most dresses were priced between $25-65, and many of them were gorgeous.
Another reason no men are allowed: no dressing rooms! Lots of half-nekkid ladies running around, stripping down in front of the mirrors to change. I made like a prude and changed behind some curtains...I guess I'm not as bohemian as I used to be.
The space is a large warehouse, with oversized comfy furniture juxtaposed with racks of clothes and artwork on the huge walls.
This store also offered two of my favorite things: orange accessories......and free food! A veritable smorgasborg for the taking. Power shoppers need to keep up our strength, you know.
I sadly didn't find a dress for my brother's wedding (although I finally found one today at another store, yesss) but I fell in love with this charming place and will definitely be back. Mwa!

Shareen Vintage
350 North Avenue 21
Los Angeles, Ca. 90031
(323) 276-6226
Open Wednesdays & Saturdays, 10-5
Sundays 12-6

The Duce

2008-04-12T17:26:00.001-07:00

The scene: LA Fitness on Hollywood, Friday morning. I've just finished my workout, and I'm sweaty, hungry, and feeling like someone just pounded me with a baseball bat. I'm stumbling down the stairs, bone-tired and not looking where I'm going. Who do I quite literally run into?

Yes, the creepy man-child himself, Danny Bonaduce. He was sans bow tie but plus a shirt, which is the kind of math I endorse. He was also about five-five, which perhaps explains his life of tragic overcompensation/underperformance.

The Original White Meat

2008-04-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I decided to start eating chicken again. I've been doing a fantastic workout program called Turbulence Training* and, among many other benefits, it's made me pay more attention to my diet and to the macronutrient ratios I eat each day. In an effort to seriously up my protein intake, I've been eating chicken breast on a regular basis for the first time in over a decade.

Ethical quibbles aside, we've been enjoying culinary experimentation and the greater variety and meal flexibility. Since these pictures would be out of place on the dessert blog (debatably--they don't contain cake, but they DO contain death) they get featured here. First up: blurry Easter dinner. Chicken roulade, roasted balsamic veggies, and garlic-rosemary roasted (purple!) baby potatoes.

The chicken was stuffed with a mixture of chevre (soft goat cheese), sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions and garlic, and other spices. I had to pound it flat with a rolling pin, which is NOT easy due to the rolling nature of said pin. Since then I have procured a meat mallet. Who would have thought?
This is from two days ago. Pesto grilled chicken on a salad containing heirloom tomatoes and grilled orange bell peppers, with shaved parmesan on top.
Since I'm now a chickenphile, feel free to pass along your favorite (healthyish) chicken breast recipes!

*Yes, the website looks terrible and no, it is not an "as seen on TV" scam, all appearance to the contrary.

I can handle the truth

2008-04-02T16:36:00.001-07:00

Update: Internet, you are awesome! Thanks to your straight talk I can see the green purse for the mediocre accessory that it is. I think I'll let the Internet determine my spending habits every day.

Tagged

2008-04-01T22:10:00.001-07:00

First, I was tagged by Carrie with this relationship meme. Then Jason, unbidden, brought me some gorgeous tulips. Subconsciously buttering me up to get good answers? Perhaps. I'll take it!

Where did you go on your first date? Lunch and a lecture at Pomona. This is what happens when nerds date.
How long have you been together? Married almost 4 years, together almost 6 (yow)
Who eats more? Jason can eat more at one sitting, but I probably eat more throughout the day--he forgets to eat and I'm ALWAYS hungry
Who said I love you first? He did--the second day we were dating! I figured he was either psycho or psychic.
Who is taller? Jason, fo sho
Who sings better? He definitely sings a lot MORE. I can't take him grocery shopping because he'll sing down the aisles
Who does the laundry? Jason (That's man's work)
Who pays the bills? Jason (man's work)
Who mows the lawn? no lawn, but I tend the potted plants
Who cooks dinner? I cook, Jason does the dishes. (Man's work for the hat trick!)
Who drives when you are together? I do, probably 90% of the time
Who is more stubborn? Me. I'm also more competitive and more spiteful. I don't know why he married me...
Whose parents do you see the most? I think I see mine more, and he sees his more
Who kissed who first? I dove in!
Who proposed? He proposed and completely surprised me
Who is more sensitive? Sensitive like thoughtful? Jason. Sensitive like touchy? Me.
Who has more friends? We are both exceedingly popular people
Who has more siblings? He beats me by one
Who wears the pants in the family? Yeah, that's me

Now I tag...Amber, Chadlee, and Meaghan

LA Confidential

2008-03-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

A trip downtown yielded great sights and adventurous eats.

Jason and I must have had about eight burgers each. I have seen the error of my vegetarian ways!

Give us a little smooch...

"So am I to understand, Professor Pooch, that you are arguing for a neo-realist analysis of the making of the Constitution? Why, the implications of that historical reinterpretation are preposterous!"

Bastion of book learnin' and inscrutable public artwork:

This door display is really only funny if you can read the two posters.

Exhibit A: Obesity is bad!

Exhibit B: Maximizing your fat for fun and profit.

2008-03-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

We decided to take advantage of the absolutely gorgeous weather and go to Santa Cruz on Monday. Skies were sunny, weather was mild, wind was low, keys were locked in the car...

After we bid farewell to our friend from AAA, we explored a lagoon/wildlife refuge we found. It was about 40 acres of wetlands with wooden footpaths winding through the trees and over the lagoon itself.

Lots of rare birds nested there. We mostly just saw the nests.

We also saw the world's most aggressive carp. I think they're used to being fed by humans, because big schools of them would follow us as we walked the footbridge and jostle the surface of the water. We nicknamed this one Hot Lips:

Then it was on to Natural Bridges, a state park with beautiful arches and bridges the ocean carved from rock outcroppings. In the winter thousands of monarch butterflies rest there, but we'd mostly missed butterfly season. Instead we contented ourselves with exploring tide pools and harassing the inhabitants. We saw starfish:

And sea anemones, which I realized I have spelled (and pronounced!) wrong my entire life:

These were either more anemones or crumb donuts, I'm not sure which:

Mussels on the beach:

And of course, muscles on the beach:

In Soviet Russia, playgrounds play on YOU

2008-03-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

Other chumps go to playgrounds to play. We go to playgrounds to pump iron.

But sometimes, the iron ends up pumping us instead.

Goodbye, Los Angeles...

2008-03-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

I once again Megabussed my way up to the Bay Area. Can't argue with $30 round-trip, and I love being able to read and work on the way up. I also love the smug feeling of superiority watching all the polluters clogging the roadways.

Small wonder our bus driver chose this restaurant to stop at on the journey.

Gorgeous views on the drive up. I missed my greenery!

Little known fact: the Bat Cave is actually located in San Jose.

I saw some great wildlife on my run yesterday. Apparently deer, like leprechauns, cannot be photographed successfully. I took about 20 pictures and all of them turned out blurry. I also saw a flock of wild turkeys-- those things are scary! They came up to my waist and were seriously huge.

Mark Your Calendars

2008-03-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

Apparently April 12th is National Licorice Day. (What gave it away?)

Sorry, Red Vines, but you can’t quite compete with the 15 varieties of gourmet chocolate Green & Black’s sent me, or the 25 lbs of sugar candy from Topps:

The life of a food writer is...wait for it...sweet.

My life in numbers

2008-03-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

ONE mini-Claremont reunion. Tim was in town and we got to hang out with him Sunday night. We counted and figured it's probably been about four years since we've seen him. We're old! It was great to see him again--somehow blog posts aren't the same as in-person conversations. I tried to get Jason and Tim to give me the Sagehen Sign, but they claimed there was no such thing.

TWO things that made me laugh recently. And for some reason, both reminded me of Karl...

FIVE new additions to the balcony. Yes, spring has sprung and with it comes my ever-optimistic attempt at an herb garden. Back row: two basil plants and the grizzled old veteran rosemary that's been with us for 3 years. Front row: pineapple sage, spearmint, lemon balm. (FYI: pineapple sage is amazing. No lie, it smells exactly like fresh-cut pineapple. Yum!)

My Kingdom for My Camera

2008-03-08T20:19:00.000-08:00

This story actually starts on Thursday. I'm innocently driving to my haircutting appointment, listening to the end of Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW. I hear my boy Nic Harcourt announce that they're giving away free tickets to the Blind Boys of Alabama concert Friday night, and since my favorite hobby involves driving while decoding the weensy numbers on my cell phone pad and endangering the lives of my fellow drivers, it seemed like a fine time to try to call and score tickets. Karma, which usually laughs at my face, smiled on me and I actually won tickets to the concert! Sweet! I tried to parlay my luck into getting a free haircut as well, but the salon wasn't having any of that.

So Friday night rolls around, and we make our way to the Knitting Factory, taking the metro as all cool eco-conscious city kids are wont to do. The concert was on the main stage, which is still a really small, intimate venue. The Blind Boys of Alabama are a rollicking gospel-based group who've been around forever, and are thus getting on in years a bit:

Nevertheless, they put on a GREAT show. Lots of passion, great harmonies, and those soaring gospel notes that send a shiver down the spine. Toward the end, they were rocking out and the lead singer decided he wanted to come down into the audience. Since they are literally blind, his bodyguard carried him down into the crowd as he meandered around, the song still pounding, and the rest of the band singing and playing from the stage. He walked by us several times (and wound his mic cord around our legs) and we were able to touch his hand. Many of the audience members were hugging him and clasping his shoulders, but that seemed a bit too intimate.

He stayed down in the crowd for probably 10 minutes as the song went on and on, growing in intensity. With all of the craziness, their lead guitarist was helping the other blind members navigate the stage, so he couldn't concentrate on playing properly. So who comes out to help on guitar but...

PRINCE. PRINCE! On stage, not 15 feet from where we were standing! (The wee little elf was looking pretty hot, too.) We couldn't BELIEVE that the one time we didn't bring our camera to a show, we could have gotten pictures with the lead singer of the band and gotten front-row pictures of Prince jamming on guitar. It was incredible. After the song was over, he gave a modest little bow and left without saying a word. We were hoping he'd come out and play for an encore, but the absence of any encore at all pretty much prevented that. Still, the whole show was amazing and so much fun and...Prince! Can't stop saying it!

UPDATE: I got a nice link from the KCRW blog! I surely do love that station. Also, fellow concert-goer Glenn was there with a camera and got a picture of the elusive Prince. I like the blurriness, it makes him seem more rock-n-roll.

Rock the Vote

2008-03-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

Now that I have some free time, I'm thinking of starting my own candy/pastry company. I don't know if I'll really do anything with it now, but I want to start getting organized--get a logo, a webpage, stuff like that while I actually have time to do it all. The actual business of producing sweets will come later.

First, though, I need a name. I've been toying with options revolving around a play on my last name. Since it means "the beautiful" in French, there are a lot of dessert-related possibilities. I like the rhyming of "LaBau Gateau" or its properly spelled cousin, "Le Beau Gateau"--meaning "beautiful cake." I also like the sound of "La Belle & Le Beau," which simply means "the beautiful (girl) & (boy)" but has a nice ring to it. And of course, I can't decide whether I should use the proper spelling or the way my name is spelled.

So internets, I turn to you. There's a poll on the right where you can vote for which one you like, or if you have any brilliant ideas of your own (or even moderately smart ideas, I'm not that picky) leave me a comment.

I am adding this to my March to-do list

2008-03-01T16:12:00.000-08:00

Today I spied matador practice in the park. Complete with red capes and bull horns, but absent any apparent gorging. Truth be told, the 'bulls' all moved rather slowly and didn't seem to challenge the matadors too much.

They also used this awesome wooden cart to stand in for a bull, which moved much faster. Add a motor to this thing and I think you'd really be in business.

Purple Haze

2008-03-01T16:09:00.001-08:00

Nine months after the big fire, the burned areas of Griffith Park are recovering nicely. [These pictures are dedicated to Jason, lover of all things purple].

Northern California Dreamin'

2008-02-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

At last the day of my (pseudo) unemployment is almost here. I finally decided that the only thing better than whining about my nutso job all the time was, you know, not being at my nutso job anymore. This Friday is ostensibly my last day, although I might be back next week to train a replacement if we don't hire someone this week.

Obviously, I can't WAIT for the sweet freedom and utter irresponsibility of not having a daily job. (I'm still at my other job). My to-do list for March is packed full of exciting things like shampooing the carpets (yay!) replanting our balcony herb garden (delicious!) and finally setting up a recycling system for our household (ecologically responsible!) All of this will be accomplished between bouts of existential angst, daytime movie watching, and hunting for a newer, better, shinier job. Another pastry position? Another freelance writing gig? Who knows?

However, the BEST thing about the next few weeks is my upcoming trip to the Bay Area. Finally! We went for a few days at Christmas but it was very brief and not nearly long enough to really relax. The top 3 things I'm looking forward to:

1. Family time. Jer & I are already planning epic trail runs and gym time, karaoke parties, and food feasts.

2. Tiiiiina! My college BFF--ever since she went back to school for her masters our cross-state visits have been too few and far between. She has a swank pad in SF and every trip north yields further explorations of the city's endless awesome restaurants, boutiques, and book stores.

3.The outdoors. There are some gorgeous places around LA, but it still can't compare to the cooler, lusher Bay Area. These shots are from the park near my parent's house. There's a nice 7-mile loop I run here every day when I'm home. I always see deer and sometimes bobcats and once, possibly, a mountain lion. (Or else the world's largest bobcat). I am tired of desert and want my greenery back!

Andy made it seem so easy

2008-02-23T00:36:00.000-08:00

I have just wasted several hours of my life trying to Warholize a photo following the world's most convoluted instructions. (Alternate theory: I am not as smart as I think I am.) I was lost by the third page and ended up inventing numerous crafty shortcuts because, seriously? I would be up all night trying to do it the 'right' way. In the end the picture turned out okay...not as good as the examples, but a girl's gotta get her beauty sleep.

2008-02-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

Climbing the walls at Catalina. Seriously, I never know how to relax on vacation.

Odd Man Out

2008-01-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Poor Jeremy! Everyone was paired up over the holidays but him!

My parents had each other...

Jason & I explored the world of edible plastic together...

Ian and Amy were jointly not crooks...

And Jeremy...well, let's just say when the clock struck midnight, the results were not pretty.

Come on, ladies. This handsome bachelor is single and ready to mingle! Picture your face here:

Fashionably late

2008-01-17T21:08:00.000-08:00

Pointing thumbs? Kicking heels? The Elaine dance can only mean one thing: birthday!

The best present was seeing my brother Jeremy, who just got back from his mission. I love this kid! He stayed the same (in all the good ways) and changed (in all the good ways).

But aside from Jer, the other presents were good too. Some were of a delicious nature:

While others were of a stabby nature:

I also received several hats for my birthday. I fear that this one was from the bargain bin:

This one, however, was custom-made for my noggin (haute couture!) by a professional balloon artist. Seriously. I could never part with it, of course, but I'm sure it's worth thousands on ebay.

Is this thing on?

2008-01-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

An innocent family gathering over Christmas turned into a Blair Witch-style docudrama of terror and a fair amount of narcissism.

In a surprising twist, the villain turned out to be...drum roll...

Sacre blue!

2008-01-08T22:54:00.000-08:00

The holidays are over! I haven't blogged in ages! I have so many ~~fantastic~~ embarrassing family photos to post! Stay tuned...

Christmas Party Time

2007-12-15T23:00:00.000-08:00

No mistletoe required:

Here's a challenge for all the eagle-eyed readers out there. I have artfully Photoshopped an element in the photograph below. Inspect it carefully--can you tell what I've changed?

Try Poppyseed Muffins

2007-12-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

I was wrong about lambs being the new dogs. I think opium pipes are the new dogs:

You know what makes MY days bright? Getting my hair cut and styled! You can't tell from the picture, but my 'do smells fantastic.

The Agony and the Ecstasy

2007-12-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

Lessons learned from running the High Desert 50k last weekend, illustrated version:

It is seriously cold in the desert in the winter. Like, ice spontaneously forming in the hydration pack cold. The desert is not messing around.
[Corollary to the previous point] Los Angeles does not condition one to endure temperature extremes.
It is not necessarily a good idea to try to smile while running. It is never as flattering as one thinks it will be:
Photo agencies are way too possessive of their proofs. (This lesson was actually learned after the race)
The High Desert 50k has the worst finish route in all of racingdom. It starts and ends at a college gymnasium, and about a mile and a half from the end, one can see the gym and the parking lot (where one's car is parked!). However, one still has to slog a mile and a half around the back of the gym, skirting the football field and the basketball courts, dragging one's tired, swollen feet on a rocky dirt path. Uphill. At this point, one feels murderous.
Finish line pictures cannot be trusted to convey the true murderousness of the subject:
There are worse things than one's bra strap chafing under the hydration pack. For instance, one could have the brilliant idea to tape the oft-chafed area, and one could then suffer 31 miles of tape rubbing one's back entirely raw. For instance.
As has been proven innumerable times before, the misery of post-race soreness is soon forgotten in the pursuit of the next big race. Catalina 50 miler, I'll see YOU in a month.

Someone's 28!

2007-12-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Jason!

To celebrate, we gave him presents of a highly dubious nature:

"Vhat's zees? More of zee...how you say...geeefts?"

Having a Hallmark moment:

Lambs are the new dogs

2007-11-27T18:59:00.000-08:00

I need a pet (or a child?) so I can post obnoxiously cute videos on YouTube.

They All Thought I Was Joking

2007-11-18T22:11:00.000-08:00

This post has been a long time coming. At last, I am the proud owner of a fetching pair of orange legwarmers.

Yes, they are cabled AND ribbed. And no, I didn't make them. Are you kidding? I'm still making the world's longest scarf because I don't know how to end a knitting project.

Equally adorable when scrunched. Note that I decided not to photoshop out my sexy road rash from the marathon last weekend. Battle scars, baby!

Starving Students

2007-11-18T22:10:00.000-08:00

Poor Jason. His USC stipend isn't enough to pay for pillows, so he just uses the dresser drawer instead.

My folks are the cutest

2007-11-07T11:23:00.001-08:00

So full of joy and life and youthful enthusiasm...

Los Angeles is on fire

2007-10-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

Photos from the LA Times

We are far from the fires (knock wood) but they still seem inescapable. They dominate the news, they dominate everyone's conversation. Everyone knows someone who has been affected. The air is thick and grey like damp cotton, the temperatures smothering. I can't help but feel the earth is dying.

I'm it!

2007-10-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged, and being an unrepentant narcissist, I've had no trouble thinking of fascinating* personal tidbits:

Jobs I've Had:

Temp Worker (including two of my worst jobs EVER: 1. I arrived to replace someone who didn’t know he was being transferred- slash- demoted, awkward, and 2. telemarketing disguised as “market research”)
Receptionist (law office, event design company)
Administrative assistant (insurance company)
Technical Writer/Editor
Personal Trainer/Pilates Teacher
SAT Verbal Tutor
Pastry Chef
Food Writer

Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:

Harold and Maude
Wes Anderson’s movies (Rushmore, Royal Tenembaums, Life Aquatic)
Little Shop of Horrors
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Mean Girls

Books I Can Read Over and Over:

Gilead
Birds of America
Candyfreak
Lolita & Pale Fire
Short stories by David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, etc

Places I Have Lived:

San Jose
Claremont
London
Los Angeles

Places I Have Visited:

Western/southwestern US states
Hawaii
British Columbia
New York
15ish European countries

Places I Would Like to Visit:

Australia
New Zealand
Brazil
South Africa
Thailand
Croatia
The Corn Islands

TV Shows I Watch:

ANTM (yessssssssssss)
30 Rock (see above)
Veronica Mars and Arrested Development on DVD
The Simpsons
Jeopardy, to prove my mental superiority

Foods I Like:

Refried beans…no joke, these top the list
Chocolate, any and all desserts
Fruit and veggies
Homemade bread, peanut butter, banana (world’s best breakfast)
Vegetarian Mexican & Indian food

I'd Rather Be:

reading in bed

Websites I Visit Daily:

My zillion email accounts
About Candy—of course!
Ask Metafilter
Oh No They Didn’t!
Go Fug Yourself

*This might be a bit subjective

Start Spreading the News

2007-09-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

In celebration of the World's Funniest Sitcom returning to TV this week (Thursday night! NBC! DOOOOO ITTTTT) I present yours truly at the shrine of 30 Rock in NY:

Apologies for the blurriness. I had two different people take this picture, and both were horribly out of focus. Thanks for nothing, nice strangers.

I went to NY to do a media event for About.com, and they ~~sequestered me~~ stationed me in a kitchen, where I made sample candies and tried to force-feed anorexic magazine reporters:

The event was in the top floor of a midtown loft, and it had a pretty sweet rooftop view:

Requisite Empire State shot:

My last morning there, I ditched the first hour of meetings (true story) to go running through the muggy air of Central Park. The humidity was good enough to eat.

Leaving was quite the ordeal. There was a huge storm, and dozens of flights were canceled. My plane almost didn't make it out, but after a 10-hour delay, I arrived safely in Burbank at 4:30am. I'll bet some of my fellow lounge lizards weren't quite so lucky:

Quick Griffith Park update

2007-09-04T11:49:00.001-07:00

This past weekend they opened up the Charlie Turner/Mt. Hollywood Trail, which is (was) the most popular trail in the park. FINALLY. The trail leads up to an overlook, then eventually connects to a winding trail that ends at the base of the Hollywood sign:

Pictured: the famous Griffith Observatory (the "hood ornament" of LA), the famous Los Angeles skyline, the famous Los Angeles smog. Pictured but not visible: the ocean.

Signs of rebirth all over the park...I have hope.

Running the Backbone Trail

2007-07-22T20:52:00.001-07:00

This summer I've had the pleasure of doing some awesome trail runs along the Backbone Trail, which extends for 60+ miles through the Santa Monica mountains. Bruce has been the driving force and organizational whiz, and he's now completed the whole thing. (What a champ.) While I've only run parts of the trail, the sections I saw were beautiful--and challenging--and I definitely want to continue to explore...maybe by fastpacking it over an extended weekend?

My running companions, L-R: Bruce ("Rolling Hills"), Karl ("I Found A Shortcut") and David ("The Animal").

I'm smiling because the run hasn't started yet. Fortunately we had a nice steep hill to hike so that I could properly warm up.

David, on the other hand, ate the hills for breakfast...and then went back for seconds.

The views were completely stunning the entire time. Too bad the trail was so rocky, we had to constantly choose between admiring the scenery and staying upright.

It's like the skeletal version of Mt. Rushmore.

It's hard to tell from this picture, but I'm straddling two rocks about 4 feet off the ground. There's a narrow passageway between them, and supposedly if you walk through the rocks, your sins are magically forgiven (according to a highly reliable webpage Bruce read.) I wish I'd have known in advance, since I would have sinned a lot more Friday night, but I made do. I don't know if it worked, but the air between the rocks was really cold and refreshing. I could have happily stayed crammed inside for a good half hour.

I didn't get the memo about wearing Cho-Pats. How embarrassing!

Bruce: We just have to ascend that trail for 4 miles, then it's aaaaallllll downhill to the finish.
Karl: Um, haven't you've been saying that for two hours?
Bruce: But these will be rolling hills.

I've fallen for Bruce's tricks for the last time!
(In all seriousness, he did an awesome navigational job. It's not his fault I'm a whiny baby who doesn't like uphills).

Ultrarunner's secret #42: Pringles are the best method of sodium ingestion. Karl recommends seasoning them in a sweaty pocket for several hours. Gourmet!

I don't have pictures of the end of the run, but the last few miles were definitely the highlight. We ended on the Ray Miller trail, and it was 3 miles of gentle downhill switchbacks, cruising towards the ocean. Sweeping views and a nice sea breeze made the pain disappear and reminded me why I love trail running.

Thanks, guys...let's do it again soon.

Fangs for the Memories

2007-07-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people ask me how I knew Jason was "the one." Was it his intelligence? His sense of humor? His dashing good looks? His impeccable dental hygiene?

Yes, all of those things were important. But what clenched it was how well he fit in with my family.

Through a Glass, Darkly

2007-07-08T21:35:00.001-07:00

Jason is more ominous when behind translucent plastic, yes/no?

Everyone knows the most delicious part of the muffin is the top

2007-06-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

Jason and I are obsessed with 30 Rock in the worst way.

This obsession is partially explained by the fact that it appears to be based on our lives. Exhibit A: "Kenneth" is clearly modeled on Jason, while "Liz Lemon" is a poorly disguised version of Liz LaBau.

The original:

The knockoff:

The original:

The knockoff:

But these television dopplegangers are just one reason why this show is so brilliant. Alec Baldwin is fantastically funny, Tracy Morgan is surprisingly tolerable, and it's given us a steady supply of one-liners to interject into random conversations at inappropriate times. ("Teehee! Pregnant cornbread!")

But undoubtedly the best--and worst--thing about our 30 Rock habit is the tenacious tapeworm of a song known as "Muffin Top." I'll finally get it out of my head, only to have Jason sidle up and whisper, "Everyone knows..." and then I'm back to square one, with 30 seconds of infernal dance pop bouncing around my brain. Please, internets, take it away:

Important Update! Today Jason saw the actor who plays Kenneth on the street! Could it really be a coincidence that he runs into his televisual alter ego less than a day after I make this post? Worlds are colliding!

Little Indiscretions

2007-05-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

"Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway."

Malibu Mist

2007-05-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

In California in the early Spring
there are pale yellow mornings
when the mist burns slowly into day.
The air stings like autumn,
clarifies like pain.
Well I have dreamed this coast myself.
[Robert Hass]

Karl and Bruce aren't the only ones to have run the Malibu trails recently. And by "trails," I mean "rabbit tracks through overgrown meadows." I love it.

[Side note: I think our pictures are from the same trail! Ray Miller y/n?]

THIS was the stunning ocean view I was promised. 2000 feet of climb for crashing waves! Sweeping vistas! Typical coastal fog!

Do you see the ocean? Me, I do not see the ocean.

I did see some fun Seussian plants, though. Oh Malibu, you so crazy.

Insert "Bringing Sexy Back" Joke Here

2007-05-17T23:25:00.001-07:00

The Face Transformer is such a fabulous waste of time for a narcissist like myself. We begin with a simple webcam shot: face forward, mouth closed, expression neutral.

The "painting" transformations were kind of cool, although they're not really recognizable as me. I do quite like the second one, though.

Now things get interesting. Asian Liz looks familiar...I think I went to school with her.

There are so many things I love about Super Shady Masculine Liz, I can't pick just one. Is it the enormous ears, the caveman forehead, the unwashed hair, or the pathetic attempt at a 5 o'clock shadow?

Now you'd think the monkey photo would be the most disturbing, right? Staring into the evolutionary abyss and all that. [Mostly it just reminds me of The Simpsons "Planet of the Apes" takeoff. "Oh my gosh, I was wrong! This was earth all along! Well you've finally made a monkey out of meeeeee!" Ahem.] This picture is downright cuddly compared to the horror of the next photo...

THIS is the face that will haunt my dreams tonight. I look so sad. If I didn't hate old people, I'd want to give myself a hug.

After seeing my tragic future, I tried to oldify a smiley photo of myself. The results were even worse. They even gave me rotting teeth!

I feel like Ebeneezer Scrooge. I have been visited by the Ghost of the Ugly Future, and I am sore afraid.

Griffith Park Update: Walking on the Moon

2007-05-14T23:11:00.000-07:00

Well, the Griffith Park fire has been out since late last week. The final tally was over 800 acres burned, which is about a quarter of the park. A few structures were lost (including the beloved lookout/picnic area Dante's View) but only one house was damaged, which is incredible considering how many homes are in the hills near the park.

I'd heard last week that the park would be open by the weekend, but today was the first chance I had to explore. I drove up to the Vermont entrance, only to be turned away by park rangers, who said it wouldn't be open until Wednesday. Couldn't they see I was in my running gear, camera in hand? Not one to be foiled by The Man, I drove to the Fern Dell entrance, which was open because there are some grassy areas and playgrounds that were undamaged. Fools! Their first mistake was letting me into the park. Once I'd parked, I casually ran up into the park, past a few unguarded barricades, and onto a trail that would take me up to the fire-damaged areas.

In my defense, the signage was a little vague:

This one is especially ambiguous. The sign says "no no," but the broken caution tape says "yes yes."

As a comparison, this is what the undamaged hillsides look like. It's not lush forest, but there is (was?) quite a bit of plant life and greenery.

This was my first view of the fire damage as I began my climb to the top of the trail. From a distance, it was noticeable, but it didn't look terrible. I call it "the illusion of plants."

As I got closer things got spookier, and the smell got stronger. It actually wasn't bad--it smelled like a really strong campfire--it was just really unsettling.

It looks like there are green plants around, but the view from the trail is basically burned-out tree skeletons.

After awhile the scene was totally lunar. Compounding the otherworldly feeling was the fact that no one else was around. I was completely alone in this silent alien landscape. I saw rangers occasionally in the distance, but for obvious reasons I wasn't too reassured to see them. *cue sound of me diving into bushes*

Poor coyote! He looked so stark against the hillside. I wonder if many coyotes or deer got caught in the fire? I read an article written shortly after the fire where the reporter mentioned seeing "many charred rabbits on the trail, caught in the act of running from the fire." Fortunately I didn't see any dead animals--just lots of live squirrels, birds, and this little fella.

Random postscript: Aaaaah smoke! No idea what was going on here, but I didn't hear about a second Griffith Park fire, so I assume it was something the rangers had planned or had under control. (If I find out the park was closed due to a Ranger Weenie Roast, I'll be mad).

Even though the landscape was depressing, I feel better having seen it--I guess now I have an idea of what to expect once my regular trails are open. I'll probably bring my camera again and try to get up to Dante's View later this week.

Fire On the Mountain

2007-05-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

By now, you've probably heard about the raging wildfire in Griffith Park, very close to where we live. The latest estimate is that 200-300 acres are burning, no end in sight...no houses burned yet, but they're started evacuating people a few blocks north of us. Everything points to disaster: beastly hot temperatures (95+ the last 2 days), shifting wind, no rain all winter. Let's pray it's not as bad as it seems.

I feel violated somehow. I've run the trails in Griffith Park nearly every day for the last 3 years. It's the first place I explored when we moved to LA, and the first place I take visitors to show them my city. It's my view from the breakfast table and my refuge when I need solitude. I know fire is part of the natural order of things, that it's even necessary sometimes to regenerate growth. But it still gives me a sick feeling to see the blackening sky, to taste the soot on my tongue, to feel my chest tighten and head get dizzy from the smoke.

The feeling on the street is quite a bit different. It's almost like a perverse block party. People are clustered on street corners, chatting, taking pictures with their cell phones, trying to climb trees for a better view. I walked up to one of the park entrances that was cordoned off. This was at 9:30pm; there was no power, so the streets were dark except for the flash of cop cars and traffic cop flashlights. At the corner gas station, a news crew was interviewing local residents, while others mingled and chatted in small groups. A few even had picnic dinners they spread on the ground right in the middle of the gas pumps.

It's surreal, it's distressing, it's DeLillo's Airborne Toxic Event come to life.

Now a few pictures. Jason has some good ones from this afternoon, I think he'll post them on his blog. I had some amazing views on my way to yoga around 7:45, but I'd forgotten the camera. This is what my puny camera could capture around 9:30. It was much more striking in person.

View from our balcony:

View from the street:

News crews doing their interviews:

The Candyman Can

2007-04-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

At the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, CA. I was a little worried that the giant Jelly Belly would reach down, grab me with its giant jelly fingers, and eat me. The bunny ears did nothing to hide its sinister smile.

A slightly less menacing Jelly Belly. This one was creepy because I kept seeing the human underneath. Everytime I glimpsed human eyes (through the smile), I thought about how much he or she probably hated taking pictures with visitors like me. Sorry, giant jelly bean!

The Scharffen Berger factory in Berkeley was definitely an improvement. No anthropomorphized candy, just good old-fashioned free samples, and lots of them. The whole block smelled divine...it was like the building was surrounded with a chocolate cloud, and I even wanted to gnaw on the brick walls. I can honestly say the Scharffen Berger bathroom was the best-smelling bathroom I've ever been in.

SJT 50k: Why You Gotta Hate?

2007-04-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I ran the San Juan Trail 50k in Cleveland National Forest. This race chewed me up, spit me out, threw me down some gnarly, rocky hills, and then spat in my face. Highlights include a 10-mile uphill grind between aid stations, a "bridge" consisting of approximately five twigs, none of which could support the weight of a toddler, and the infamous "Stairway to Heaven," a 1.5-mile vertical climb that took me over 30 minutes. I kept trying to throw myself over the cliff to end the torture, but it was so foggy I couldn't find the edge. However, I eventually finished, and my noble valet was at the finish to capture the glory.

It was foggy, pea soup-style, the whole race. The weather was actually awesome (I was worried it would be really hot) but at times discouraging--there was no view to speak of, and on some uphill sections, the lack of frontal vision made it seem like we were on a satanic treadmill, going nowhere.

Who's that coming through the finish, and why is she so foxy?

The agony and the ecstasy.

Oatmeal Cookies: Post-Race Recovery Food of Champions.

Accepting my award for First Place in Age Group (Women under 29). "I'd like to thank all the lazy 20-somethings who don't race ultras...please continue to not attend so that I can keep winning." (Seriously, once I reach 30, I'm toast).

This silver fox is Baz, the race director. He also directs my favorite race, the Shadow of the Giants 50k. His races are consistently beautiful, low-key, and uber-friendly.

This is how I rock cold weather gear. One pair of sweats was not enough for the drive home, so Jason's pajamas were borrowed. The result was, as my friend Tyra Banks would say, "Fieeeerce."

Scenes from the Driver's Seat

2007-03-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

Recently I drove from LA up to San Jose. On my way up, the scenery was stunning, so I decided to drive recklessly, risking my life and the lives of countless innocents, to take some blurry through-the-windshield pictures. I am very pleased that I survived and that the pictures turned out better than expected.

I think this is what it means when people say "the sky turned threatening."

There were brief snow flurries, but nothing that really stuck to the windshield. Apparently, a few days earlier people were using snow chains. Being an oblivious Californian, I have never even seen snow chains in action, much less owned them, so I was VERY glad their services were not required.

Near the top of Tejon Pass, the snowy peaks seemed to melt into the clouds. I definitely swerved a few times taking these shots.

A few hours on: "Blue skiiiiies, smiling at me..."

Nothing but happiness from here on out.

Death Valley Trail Marathon

2007-02-18T19:31:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I ran the Death Valley Trail Marathon. Although I love Death Valley, and I love running, and I'm never up for any serious awards, I'm still always nervous before a race. The attitude progression is as follows.
Right before the race, I realized, "Golly, a marathon is far!"

This is the proper response when a well-meaning but non-running spouse asks, "Aren't you excited?!"

Summoning some enthusiasm before boarding the bus for the hour-long drive to the start in Beatty, Nevada.

Triumph! Exiting the bus after finishing 26.2 miles of gravelly, mountainous trails. Second in my age group, 19th overall, thankyouverymuch.

The race is followed by the grueling nap marathon, in which I try to sleep as much as possible in a 24-hour period.

Not Pictured: Super Mario

2007-01-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

Baby, you can type my car

2007-01-21T20:44:00.000-08:00

For some reason, I think I have found the perfect car for Tom and John...aside from the sunny sentiments across the back bumper.

I will leave it to you to determine why it might be an appropriate choice.

December montage

2007-01-08T21:24:00.000-08:00

Two months later, I'm back to blog again! Here is the Cliff Notes version of December.

I had a birthday! Sweeeet. I guess I was more excited about it than my father was.

Then we had Christmas. Overflowing stockings bring out the beast in me.

I fell in love with a reindeer, but we found our glowing noses prevented any effective smooching.

Jeremy sent my parents Tongan fans from New Zealand. They knew just what to do with them.

I'm sure Ian will appreciate these pictures being posted for the world to see. He's like a toddler, discovering the world for he first time. Shiny tie!

We took a trip to the Griffith Observatory, where I had my best celebrity encounter ever. He was so polite...willing to pose for pictures for hours.

This perfectly captures the true nature of my family's holidays.

My mom is the cutest. So cute, in fact...

I just can't resist singing "Shake Your Whammy Fanny" whenever we're dancing.

Free fall

2006-11-27T21:51:00.000-08:00

Today was a be-yooo-tiful fall day. Rained a bit in the morning, then it was sun sun sun and blue skies all afternoon.

I love it when the air is slightly brisk and cool, but not uncomfortable. (And for me, that's like 62 degrees. Anything below 60 and I'm a mess.) Ah, Los Angeles.

America's Next Top (Hair) Model

2006-11-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

So THIS is why people spend oodles of money in hair salons! One cut and color later, I am in love.

Green-eyed monster

2006-11-05T14:53:00.000-08:00

I bike to work every day, and in my effort to avoid monster hills, I take a roundabout way through residential streets on my ride home. Every day, I pass this adorable Silverlake house.

I have a serious case of house envy. The carved door set into the round turret! The huge beveled front window! And above all, the whimsical, Alice-in-wonderland roof. Merciful heavens, I love this roof.

I can just image the charmed, slightly quirky lives that are led in this house. Every time I pass it, I can't help but think that I should be living in this house, polishing my ancient brass binoculars and dusting my taxidermied parrot collection in the study. If there is any justice in this world, my parrots and I will someday have a house as cute as this cottage.

Law and Order: Couture Criminals Unit

2006-10-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

Midnight. Fade in on a darkened alleyway. The sound of traffic from a nearby freeway is heard in the distance. The light is dim, and the smell of rotting garbage is pervasive. Suddenly, we hear the rapid clacking of stiletto heels like a gunshot. A woman appears, her face in shadows. She reaches toward her $12,000 crocodileskin handbag, undoes the gold clasp, and pulls out a can of spraypaint in her signature pink. Working quickly, she leaves her mark on the wall and runs. She has almost left the alleyway when she gives her work a quick glance backwards, reconsiders, and goes to add a finishing touch...just in case any other taggers get big ideas about using her sign.
Police are initially baffled. However, one lieutenant has a wife with a pricey shopping habit, and after her spring trip to Paris, he gets his big break upon looking through her photos. Justice is swift, and Coco is once more behind bars, never to terrorize propertyowners in Silverlake again.

True story

2006-10-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

Last time Ian visited, we roamed the park and found crazy plants of Seussical proportions:

On my morning runs I began noticing bright red stalks growing everywhere. Thinking Ian would enjoy seeing these fantastic plants, I brought my camera to the park to take a picture.
No sooner do I get set up to take this shot, but Kirstie Alley rounds the corner and walks right into my frame. I tried to make it obvious that I was aiming for the plants and she was blocking my picture, in a I'm-not-a-papparazzo type of way, but she kind of gave me the stink-eye when she passed anyhow. Previous to this incident, we were on a "good morning" basis and I had high hopes of becoming BFFs and having Jenny Craig dinner parties, but now I'm afraid it's all ruined.

The revolution...something something...televised

2006-10-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Griffith Park

2006-09-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Come trail run with me...

I run in the hills behind my place almost every day.

The famous Art Deco observatory. It's been under construction since we moved here, but we are (foolishly?) hopeful that it's almost finished.

Gauzy layers of smog, towering buildings, and the occasional palm tree. Aaah, my city.

It wouldn't be Griffith Park without the obligatory view.

I'm so conflicted

2006-09-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

To conform or to dissent?

2006-09-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

Even the graffiti in Los Feliz is idyllic...

2006-09-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

Our apartment building is well-protected from the more undesirable stuffed animals.

2006-09-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

Our fierce guard dog. We call him ~~Fluffy~~...er, Killer.