what's that smell?

I set a few eggs on the stove to come to a boil. In the meantime, I went into the office to read a few blogs.
...35 minutes later...I hear a crackling popping noise from the kitchen.
Uh oh.
All the water had boiled off and the pan is sizzling. With half a dozen dry eggs in it.

The house reaks of overcooked eggs. and burnt pan.

ugh.

Cherish Moments

remember.

Flowers left by children at the Lorraine Motel. Memphis, Tennessee.

I never fancied myself a princess before. But I'll take it.

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

Fresh Start

It's not very often when anyone looks forward to a Monday. But hopefully this'll be a fresh start to a brighter week compared to last week. I won't go into details here because the consequences didn't effect me directly so I don't want to share that to the whole world. But there are certainly a few things that I'm very grateful for that happened last week:
-I got to spend a few days with my dearest friend and her amazing daughter. It was so nice being with her, I just wish we lived closer together. I even went to a gymboree class with them - so fun!
-Long drives somehow give you free license to eat junk food. mmm...cornuts!
-I realized that there are a couple of advantages of being an only child.
-I ate at Chick-Fil-A. I tried to go last year in Dallas but it was a Sunday so it was closed. I didn't even know they were in California. Good chicken sandwiches.
Speaking of chicken, did you know that the average American eats 66 pounds of chicken a year?

The Ferry Building, San Francisco on our anniversary.

And now onto music...

Ahhh...gotta love those Saturday afternoons when nothing is pressing and you can spend all day answering and sharing slam book type questions.

1. Of all the bands/artists in your cd/record collection, which one do you own the most albums by?
Peter Gabriel

2. What was the last song you listened to?
The Girl in 14G, Kristin Chenoweth

3. What's in your record/CD player right now?
At home we listen to iTunes so our entire collection gets shuffled. But I have a 6 cd changer in my car and in there I have:
Kristin Chenoweth: mixed cd made by my SIL
Justin Timberlake: FutureSex/LoveSounds
Jewel: Goodbye Alice in Wonderland
Sarah McLachlan: Afterglow
Linkin Park: Meteora
Elton John: Greatest Hits Volume II

4. Do you know what music the person before you is into?
Lifted from Ragged’s blog. She mentioned a few bands I’ve never heard of before, but if we ever happened to be in a car together, I think we'd get along. :-)

5. What's your favorite local band?
Green Day’s awesome. Primus is pretty cool although I can only handle them for a little while, they’re very excited. Totally love Cake but they’re from Sacramento so they don’t really count do they?
More Bay Area Bands Here.

6. What was the last album you bought?
Purple Onion, Colonel Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade
Which, truthfully, was a while a go and for Jimmy.

7. What was the greatest show you've ever been to?
Ok, there are 2 stand out concerts…and 1 "show".
The first one was Rush opened by Primus in 1992. It was a visual feast. I didn’t like Rush before but that concert certainly made me a lot more tolerable to their style. And Primus is just so wacky they were so fun to watch.
The second one was Peter Gabriel’s Growing Up tour in 2002. It was Peter Gabriel. Nuf said.
The 3rd was The Beatles Love performance by Cirque du Soleil. The music obviously wasn’t live, but wow, talk about a show. It was so freaking amazing. I had to add this one since the question was greatest “show” you’ve ever been to.
And as I was writing about these 3, a few more stand out performances kept popping in my mind, but I’ll leave it at these.

8. What's the worst band you've ever seen in concert?
I can’t even remember who was headlining. But I used to work for a radio station in LA and got free concert tickets. Oldies. Snoozefest. Blech.

9. What band do you love musically but hate the members of?
Ya know, whatever floats their boat. I’m not much of a hater.

10. What is the most musically involved you have ever been?
I’m musically challenged. Does Karaoke Revolution on Xbox count?

11. What shows are you looking forward to?
Uh, well…since the word “show” was used again…I’ll say anything that Cirque du Soleil does that’s similar to Love.

12. What is your favorite band shirt?
Phin’s Social Distortion t.

13. What musician would you like to hang out with for a day?
Mike Mesaros and his wife Cindy of the Smithereens

14. What musician would you sleep within a heart beat?
Keanu Reeves plays bass.

15. Are u a stalker?
Yea. Riiight.

16. Sabbath or solo Ozzy?
Ozzy

17. 80's Madonna or Kabbalah Esther?
80's Madonna

18. Punk rock, hip hop or heavy metal?
Punk rock, then heavy metal then a little hip hop.

19. Name 3 timeless records or artists?
Peter Gabriel
Paul Simon
Natalie Merchant

20. Name 3 artists that suck?
Britney Spears
Her x does music, too, right? I’ve never heard his stuff though so should I judge?
?

21. Did you know that filling out this survey makes you a music geek?
(Shrug)

22. What was the greatest decade for music?
It’s all good.

23. How many music-related videos/dvds do you own?
There are at least a couple dozen in the collective collection of mine and the husband’s.
Ohhhh…musical type movies? A handful, including Grease.

24. Do you like Journey?
Yes, along with Styx and Foreigner

25. Don't try to pretend you don't!
(Rolling eyes)

26. What is your favorite movie soundtrack?
Xanadu. Uh huh, I admit it.

So I don't mislead anyone...

This is "MY" bookshelf. Yup, all in a disarray. Equals my life. ;)
Most of my reading type books are at the hideaway.

The technical ones in the previous photo are the husband's.

What, me read?

I claim to not be a reader. I'm very slow. I really only finish reading about 3-4 books a year. But I've amassed quite a collection of books and surprisingly, I've at least read a page or 2 in nearly all of them. But if a book has my attention, I'll dutifully read it even though it'll take me months (years) to finish.

I was tagged by Cate to respond to these few questions regarding books. It was tough but fun once I started recalling some of the books I've read. Most of them are at our hideaway so I couldn't refer to them and my pea-brain doesn't store "titles" or "authors" so although I can totally remember storylines, I can't even google them because how do you search "that San Francisco series that took place in the 70s.". Or "that one autobiography about the girl who ran away and lived in the woods."

1. A Book That Changed My Life:
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The parable keeps repeating itself in my and Jimmy’s life journey.

2. A Book You’ve Read More than Once:
I’m not one to read things over and over again since it takes me so long to read in the first place. But I will refer to "how-to" books over and over again.

3. A Book You’d Take onto a Deserted Island:
Maybe Pride and Prejudice. I’ve always wanted to read it but I know I’d have trouble focusing on it with all the many distractions that surround me. But if I had nothing else to occupy myself, then I’d probably get through it.

4. A Book That Made Me Laugh:
The Sweet Potato Queens’ Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner), by Jill Conner Browne.

5. A Book That Made Me Cry:
The autobiography about the girl who ran away and lived in the woods.

6. A Book I Wish Had Been Written:
An autobiography by my dad. He'd have an amazing story to tell, immigrating from the Philippines in 1924. Trying to make a living in San Francisco, Seattle, Alaska and the Mojave Desert. Living through the Great Depression and being an immigrant. Becoming a US Citizen and signing up to for the army when he was in 40s during WWII. And so on.

7. A Book I Wish Had Never Been Written:
Can't think of a single book that I wish wasn't written. Books are good. Even bad ones. I just won't read them or agree with them. Maybe something that glorifies or praises extremely horrific unmentionable wicked behavior, like there are a few movies that I think should never have been made because the topic was so malevolent. I donno though, I'm pretty big on freedom, too. Just don't hurt anyone, k?

8. A Book I'm Currently Reading:
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals.

9. A Book I've been Meaning to Read:
Oh my, there are so many! I need to take a speed reading course or something. How ‘bout the Dan Eldon book(s) on my coffee table.

10: Now tag five people you want to hear from:
Ginnie, Jodi, Susan D, Paris Parfait and anyone else who likes to read!

Married 16 years, together since we were babies

Not really babies, but sheesh! Lookie how young we were.

We started dating December 1985 so, wow, we've been together for over 21 years. This is our graduation picture June 1986. Four and a half years after this, we were married at 22.

Happy anniversary sweets. It's been a blast!

Suburban wildlife

Yesterday it warmed up to nearly 60 degrees! A beautiful day.

The birds were out playing and sunning. I took the opportunity to play with my new lens that I got for Christmas. So happy with this result. The new lens zooms to 300mm and has image stabilization so I don't need a tripod to be able to get a clear, crisp shot of this little hummer up in the tree.
I expect the hummers weren't so happy seeing this guy invading their territory.
This little birdy hangs out in the wisteria brumble. Is it too soon to be nesting? I don't see a partner. I need to put out some water for her. Jimmy insists there's a lot of water out there for the little birdy to fly to, but I'd feel better if I had a little bird bath or something. Otherwise, why would she be hankering for sugar water?
I don't know anything about birds.

Martin Luther King Jr.

I should have posted this yesterday. My SIL and I went to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta during our roadtrip last month. It's good to see how much information they have there and all the resources that are available for all of us learn from. We were only there for about an hour, which wasn't enough time to be able to see and read the displays.

The church where Martin Luther King Jr and his father Martin Luther King Sr. pastored, Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Ebenezer Baptist Church.

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."

"Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with fact; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals."

"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Elsie Challenge #3: Ribbon Border

I need to get that book so I can follow along and play with Phin. Get inspired by Elsie's style, which is completely opposite from mine, but I admire her technique a lot.

2006: Year in Review

January: Yosemite, cabin with friends
February: Race day with the Stutes, Dallas
April: Ashes and Snow in Santa Monica
May: Taylor's birthday, Mothers Day, Ryan at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Coach Max at NCAA championship game, Ashley's Graduation, Morro Bay & the coast highway
June: Picking berries with the Bowens, volunteering at CKU
July: Dinner with the Bowens, Forth of July, Childrens Tech Museum w/ Machados, San Jose Obon Festival, Capitola for my birthday, Steve and crew at cabin
August: SF Zoo with Bowens, cabin w/ Linda and Andrew, Seattle, cabin w/ Chancey's
September: Meeting Larkin, Bowen kids birthdays, Golden Gate date nite, exploring the high country, Disney 5k race, Kauai
October: Las Vegas, Bob's Big Boy, SF w/ Monica and famiy
November: Hanging w/ Danielle and Taylor, Thanksgiving, Disneyland, Sambos in Santa Barbara
December: misc. roadtrip photos, Christmas, kitty at the cabin

Cheap

As we were leaving our hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, my SIL and I were in desperate need of peppermint mochas from Starbucks. Couldn't find one. So, we stopped at what we hoped would be the next best thing. Delicious donut shop coffee with the added perk of donuts. Cheaper, too! Well, sometimes cheaper isn't better. In fact, these were the worst donuts and the worst coffee we've ever had. Blech.
submitted to Moody Monday: Cheap

I've been in a creative slump lately. No crafting, no scrapbooking, no writing, not even any photography. But I spent the afternoon with Phin and another one of our mutal friends, Mary and her friend Chandi. We sat around Mary's living room and made jewelry and chatted by the fire. It was a lot of fun working with my hands again and being in a room with very creative women. I'm feeling inspired. Chandi had purchased a necklace that Mary wanted to reproduce and Phin and I were along for the ride. Both Mary and Phin made necklaces. Phin finished hers and it turned out awesome! Mary still had to finish another strand by the time we had to leave. I didn't account for enough thread to make a necklace, so mine ended up being a bracelet. It still turned out pretty cool. Love the randomness of it and the various textures with the glass, ceramic, stone and wooden beads and shell buttons.

Phin's also been challenging me to get my crafty back on by motivating me with specific weekly challenges from a book I gave her for Christmas. Week #2 was something about B&W photography. I sort of cheated, but I finished this page Friday night:
I cheated because aside from figuring out what photos to put on this, the layout was finished. It had been sitting on my desk for about 3 months.

The next challenge is to create a ribbon border. Phin - I actually have an idea brewing in my head. Let's see if I can actually execute it now.

MIA

Haven't had much to say in the past week so haven't had anything to post. But I'm done looking at that old post. I haven't even taken any photos. So here's and old doodle I did about a year ago. Sometimes I just need to post something to get back in the swing of things.

The Mystery of the Upside Down Christmas Tree Revealed

Like it was a big secret. All I did was google "upside down Christmas tree".

Wikipedia says:
Artificial upside down Christmas trees were first used by retailers in order to better display ornaments, and place more gifts underneath the trees. When customers became interested in purchasing the trees, they were sold to retailers for resale. Their popularity is due in large part to their unconventional appearance, the way Christmas ornaments are more prominantly displayed, and for the space that is created for gifts and other Christmas decorations.

Want one? It'll set you back $600.

Kitty resting at the hideaway. She is one furry beast!

Home!!

Hurray, we're back home in the Bay Area!!

I love our little hideaway, but that was a long time to be there without anyone else to play with. It confirmed my original notion that we can't live up there full-time. Thankfully, Jimmy agrees with me because there isn't any hockey nearby. He's much more of a homebody than I am; I like having my creature comforts within 10 minutes, like Trader Joes, good restaurants and fast internet connection. Went into town twice, but aside from that, stayed fireside - at the hearth of the home, so they say. I should have brought some projects to work on while we were there, but I counted on reading a lot instead. Trouble is, I'm a challenged reader. I'm s.l.o.w and have to concentrate hard on everything I read, even magazines. So could only read about 20 minutes then my mind would wander and I'd have to move onto something else...usually Sudoku puzzles. Eek, I can't tell you how many of those damn puzzles I did. Thing is, I don't even really like doing them, per se. But I can't stop doing them and I'm not quite sure why. But since I've done so many of them, they're pretty brainless and quick to do so when I need something to do during commercials (no TiVo at the hideaway) or when Jimmy's watching football, I'll pick up my Sudoku and mindlessly do a puzzle. So, all those books I brought with me...I read a little tiny bit of all of them, but it was quite literally a t.i.n.y bit.

Aside from the drive, Billy the cat did fairly well up there. There were a few times when it seemed like she was wandering around looking for her familiar stuff. But she seemed very happy and content being with us. However, we're not sure if the drive warranted the comfort of being with us. But it's doubtful that we'll go up for a whole week again anytime soon. She's fine alone for 2-3 days. And if we stay for a few days longer, we suspect she'd prefer visits from her Auntie Phin rather than endure that long drive again. :-)