Wednesday, August 10, 2005

lunch time

Day 4 of Birthweek - When The Fun Skids To A Halt

Two of the companies we contract with haven’t/won’t pay us.  People are rude.  My hands are killing me.  Heh, not literally, although that would make for a great video I could sell online.  It was like last week, when I couldn’t control my wireless mouse.  The cursor started moving on its own when I rebooted the computer.  To be honest, it was a little scary.

Here’s something cheery for Expat Chick.

And something cheery for Y.  I’m not rubbing it in...I’m not getting one today.  We’re havin’ Big Train stuff!

This is for Marge & Babe (you guys can duke it out for ownership)

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

early evening

September Giveaway - Contest Ends The 7th!

Updated 8/24 to include what I gave away last month, not that it’ll be repeated, but you never know when I might find a good web bargain.

I’ve started the new contest.  I’ll pick the winner on September 7th.  You can sign up here or in the left sidebar.  I don’t know what I’m giving away yet, but whatever it is, it’s better than nothin’.  All I’ll need from you is a physical address, if you win.  And let’s just say that, even though this won’t happen every time, the retail value of giveaway #1 is approximately $70.  Updated 9/4 We donated a bunch of money in the past month or so, so no huge giftie this month.

What was given away last month - a bunch o’ Kensington products:  An anti-glare lamp to prevent eye strain, a keyboard brush, two surge protectors - one for the office, and one for the road (protected up to $10,000), lint-free wipes and screen cleaner, surface cleaning wipes, and a can of compressed air.

Monday, August 08, 2005

evening

It Been Long Time.  I See You In Eyeball

God, I love those magnets.  So, today was Day 2 of birth week.  It’s still going pretty well.  Leftover pancakes for breakfast and fresh blueberries.  Then, lunch at Claim Jumper with my parents.  Yummy food.  Then, a trip to Whole Foods, where we bought stuff that can’t be found anywhere near us.  Chocolate tapioca pudding, fancy cheese, etc.  Then, a trip to Barnes & Noble, where we only browsed the magazines because we have stacks and stacks of unread books waiting for us to read.  So, then we come home and get the mail - and woo hoo, more birthday gifties.  Some great books.  Jann Arden’s journals, which I didn’t even know existed in print.  I read her journal on her website, but in book form, even better.  Leigh-Ann rocks.  And cool Dirty Mean & Nasty mud flaps for the car.  Not only are they cute, but there’s a story behind them.  When my parents bought me my beloved Honda CRX, my dad also bought me the Dirty Mean & Nasty mud flaps and installed them.  They looked so cool on my cute little car in the 80’s.  It was such a great little car.  It drove like a slot car.  It was great fun.  I’d be terrified to drive one in Vegas these days though, what with all of the Hummers on the road that could squish me.

My new best friend forever, Kimberly from Syrup 2 U.  Go buy stuff from her.  Now!  I especially recommend the Big Train iced coffee blender beverages and the Torani Frusias.  Stock up on ice and milk in preparation for making fabulous beverages at home.  So far, we’ve tried maybe ten different Big Train iced coffee beverages and every single one of them has been stupendous.

Sunday, August 07, 2005

evening

Magical Secret Power Make Lucky Happy Time

The day started with a lovely pancake breakfast and iced coffee made with espresso shots.  Then, we decided that only a lovely sushi meal would be fitting for dinner, so we went to a sushi place near us that we’d never tried, Sushi KO.  From the moment we walked in, we knew it was a place we were going to end going to again.  The atmosphere was really friendly and the food smelled great.  We mulled over their menu and finally decided on a multitude of things.  While we were waiting for our order to be prepared (they apologized and said they were really busy, so the wait would be 15-20 minutes --- really not long at all for a busy night), we went next door and shared a Green Tea frappuccino at Starbucks.  We strolled back over to Sushi KO to get our food, opened up the boxes to make sure we had everything, then drooled all over it.  Okay, we wanted to drool, but we managed to hold back.  When we got home, we ended up having the best tasting meal we have ever had.  The sushi was amazing.  It was fresh.  The portions were generous.  No, it wasn’t cheap, but really, what good sushi meal is?  Luckily, we checked it out and they have reasonably priced lunch specials.  Phew!  Because that sushi...was...GREAT!

Whoops, forgot to write about our booze shoppin’ experience before we went to the sushi place.  We went to look for a nice sake to go with dinner.  We ended up getting some plum wine (mild & tasty), some stuff made with sweet potatoes and green tea (haven’t tried it yet), a little sample bottle of Godiva Cappuccino and Just Desserts Chocolate Chip Cookie Cream Liqueur, which is soooo good.  The aftertaste is just like chocolate chip cookie dough.  Heh, I’m clearly not a beer drinker, huh?

Gifties so far have been good enough to not require any more gifties for the rest of the week - a tie-dye shirt, a shirt with a moose, a Mountie and a beaver, Curious George boxer shorts (for girls - it’s hole-less in the front), dictionary software, Airplane 1 & 2, the Sports Night series dvd and bunch of fun magnets...an example which can be seen in the title of this entry.  Wheeeee, birthdays are fun, even when you’re oooooooooooooooooooooold.

early evening

Idiot of the Day - Lung Cancer

NEW YORK - Peter Jennings, the suave, Canadian-born broadcaster who delivered the news to Americans each night in five separate decades, died Sunday. He was 67.

I loved Peter Jennings.  I grew up watching him on ABC World News Tonight.  My parents always watched the ABC local news station in the Los Angeles area when I was growing up and the national news with Peter Jennings always followed.  Peter Jennings was a constant in our household every single day.  Until he announced that he was taking time off to fight his lung cancer (PEOPLE, QUIT SMOKING, dammit!), he was the person I looked to as a familiar and comforting face during tragedies.  A couple of weeks ago, I said to Leigh-Ann, “Gee, I wonder how Peter Jennings is?  We haven’t heard anything about him since he stepped down.” It’s selfish, but it makes me extra sad that he died on my birthday.  I hope he didn’t suffer too much and that he died with as much comfort as he provided millions of other people during world tragedies throughout his career.

I’ll miss you, Peter Jennings.