I'm sad that the weekend is advancing so quickly to an end. We spent most of today shopping, of which I'm not a big fan, for bookshelves. In a desperate attempt to organize our house, we've concluded that we just need more storage, even with the purging plans we have. We came up pretty empty-handed, as our taste and space limitations are pretty specific.
The weekend has probably not felt like the long one it was since we slept most of Friday away. We did manage to make it to a midnight screening of Serenity at the Nuart Theatre. I hadn't been to that theater since it was renovated and it's really nice now. Even though the movie didn't start until 12:40am, it was a lot of fun. There was a really good turnout...even two guys dressed like Browncoats. I was tickled when much of the audience sang along to the instrumental bit of the Firefly theme song toward the beginning of the film. Yes, I have the dvd at home, but I'd never seen this movie on the big screen, which was a treat.
We also caught a flick on Saturday night--Singin' In The Rain. E is a member of the American Cinematheque and gets two free tickets to use during his birthday month. I really enjoyed the movie, which I had never seen. It's dated, but still very funny with entertaining dance numbers.
It was nice to end the holiday weekend with a nice dinner with a couple of good friends at one of our favorite restaurants. The four of us had eaten there together last May or June and we were seated at the same table. It sort of felt like we were continuing that dinner, months later.
Now I'm settling in with some hot tea, watching the hamster run around on his track, and getting ready to catch up on some things Tivo has been saving for us. Basically, I'm doing everything I can to hold on to Sunday, and postpone Monday, for as long as I can.
Showing posts with label eating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eating. Show all posts
11/25/2006
A Very Disney Thanksgiving
I'm so thankful we were in town this year and were able to resume our many-year tradition of spending the day with good friends at Disneyland. "Why Disneyland?" many people ask. It's something that a friend of E's, Wendy, who he has known since he was a kid, and her friend Jeff started a long time ago. Neither of them have family in Southern California and they travel for Christmas, so they launched an "orphans" day at none other than The Happiest Place on Earth. We joined them for the first time back in 1995, I think. We've missed a few...once I went to see my family, another year E got severe food poisoning the night before, and then of course last year, we traveled back East for E's 20th high school reunion. I was really, really excited to rejoin Wendy and Jeff this year!
Another thing people say when hearing about our odd holiday plans is, "Oh, the park must be empty on Thanksgiving!" Um, no. I've heard and been told by Disneylandemployees cast members that Thanksgiving is in the top 3 busiest days of the year. What we have noticed though is that around 6pm, there is some crowd thinning and then a mass exodus after the nightly fireworks. This year's crowd seemed somewhat light overall though. We walked right on to most of the laugh-in-the-dark rides. Of course, Peter Pan still had a ginormous line, up until midnight, which I just don't get. We did go on it, for a change, spending our last half hour at the park in line. It was worth it as it is a cute ride, but why does it always have the longest line? Can anyone explain that to me?
Over the years the size of our Thanksgiving group has varied, from just the four of us, to 10 or 12 people. For a few years, a friend of mine from high school was living in the area, so he and his wife joined us. One of the most memorable occasions was when four English guys who worked for the software company E was working for at the time, experienced Disneyland with us. They were slain by the It's A Small World ride (we take anyone who has never been to the park before on the scariest ride there).
This past Thursday, we had a nice group of six people. Wendy's niece from Philly, Julia, joined us, as did my friend Cheryl. Julia had come with us a couple of years ago and apparently we didn't scare her off with our silliness and dorkiness. Cheryl was our Disneyland virgin, so yes, we tortured her with a go on It's A Really Repetitive And Annoying Ride. I sure do hope that Ren checked her voice mail because, being the good friend that I am, that's when I called her to wish her a Happy Turkey Day.
Highlights of the adventure-filled day included accidentally catching the parade and seeing the Presidentially pardoned turkeys, Flyer and Fryer, practically walking on to several rides due to relatively short lines (we didn't even really use the Fast Pass system very much at all as there just wasn't a need), laughing ourselves silly at our Jungle Cruise driver...he was really dorky and funny, checking out the updated-with-Jack Sparrow Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, watching the fireworks and snow, getting some great seats for Fantasmic, near perfect weather, and generally acting like big kids, laughing and giggling ourselves silly. I did observe a lot of people who just don't seem to loosen up and have a good time at Disneyland and I don't get that. At all. Stop scowling and find your laughin' place people! You paid at least $60 to get in, make it worth it!
Another inquiry I get is, "Well, what are you going to eat?" It's not that big of a deal to me. Thanksgiving has definitely come to mean more to me about the company I'm with than the food I stuff into my face. The meals have varied over the years from Mickey cheeseburgers to barbecued ribs to a nice feast at the Blue Bayou. As you can now make advanced reservations over the phone and I didn't call until a week and a half ago, the Blue Bayou was a no-go. Wendy made a reservation at a place just outside the park, but we decided to optimize our time and have dinner at one of the cafeteria style places in New Orleans Square. I went with the traditional meal, which included turkey, andouille sausage stuffing, green beans, and garlic mashed potatoes. It was all quite delicious. I was able to snag the last piece of pumpkin pie, which is the Thanksgiving staple I truly cherish.
That of course leads me to The Great Pumpkin Pie Incident of 2006, where I ended up with pie on my face, quite literally. I'd really had my heart set on a slice of pumpkin pie and had gone on about it for quite some time. I was nearly devastated when it looked like they'd run out, but they managed to find one last slice for me. So, we're all enjoying our dinner and E started taunting me, saying things like, "Too bad you're too full to eat that pie," or holding up his fork and pointing it toward my dessert. I'm not sure what came over me, but I got really protective of this piece of pie, picked it up, and proceeded to lick it...you know, like a little kid does so his sibling won't touch his food. Well, it would have been clever if the pie hadn't flipped off the plate, landing on my shoulder/in my hair/on my face. Yeah, I'm an ass. Of course this was also the moment when everyone, who were previously engaged in their own conversations, turned to look at me. We laughed about it for hours. In the end, I gave E the very last bite of the pie. Naturally it was the piece with the most spit on it.
By the time we left Anaheim, at 1am, we were all super-exhausted, but quite contented. Luckily there was no traffic and we sped home, fed the dogs, and were passed out by 2:30. I had to get up around 9:00am to feed Daizy, but promptly returned to bed once I was home and slept until about 3:30pm. E got up at 4. I was that special kind of tired that I'm sure new parents experience and that I can only handle a couple of times a year.
I do still have my fantasy Thanksgiving where serve friends buttered toast, popcorn, jelly beans, and pretzel sticks...on plates that I toss to them. All the while, my pets will be preparing a fabulous turkey for us to eat when everyone leaves to go to Charlie Brown's grandmother's condo. For now, Disneyland will more than do. Click here to see photos from the day.
Another thing people say when hearing about our odd holiday plans is, "Oh, the park must be empty on Thanksgiving!" Um, no. I've heard and been told by Disneyland
Over the years the size of our Thanksgiving group has varied, from just the four of us, to 10 or 12 people. For a few years, a friend of mine from high school was living in the area, so he and his wife joined us. One of the most memorable occasions was when four English guys who worked for the software company E was working for at the time, experienced Disneyland with us. They were slain by the It's A Small World ride (we take anyone who has never been to the park before on the scariest ride there).
This past Thursday, we had a nice group of six people. Wendy's niece from Philly, Julia, joined us, as did my friend Cheryl. Julia had come with us a couple of years ago and apparently we didn't scare her off with our silliness and dorkiness. Cheryl was our Disneyland virgin, so yes, we tortured her with a go on It's A Really Repetitive And Annoying Ride. I sure do hope that Ren checked her voice mail because, being the good friend that I am, that's when I called her to wish her a Happy Turkey Day.
Highlights of the adventure-filled day included accidentally catching the parade and seeing the Presidentially pardoned turkeys, Flyer and Fryer, practically walking on to several rides due to relatively short lines (we didn't even really use the Fast Pass system very much at all as there just wasn't a need), laughing ourselves silly at our Jungle Cruise driver...he was really dorky and funny, checking out the updated-with-Jack Sparrow Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, watching the fireworks and snow, getting some great seats for Fantasmic, near perfect weather, and generally acting like big kids, laughing and giggling ourselves silly. I did observe a lot of people who just don't seem to loosen up and have a good time at Disneyland and I don't get that. At all. Stop scowling and find your laughin' place people! You paid at least $60 to get in, make it worth it!
Another inquiry I get is, "Well, what are you going to eat?" It's not that big of a deal to me. Thanksgiving has definitely come to mean more to me about the company I'm with than the food I stuff into my face. The meals have varied over the years from Mickey cheeseburgers to barbecued ribs to a nice feast at the Blue Bayou. As you can now make advanced reservations over the phone and I didn't call until a week and a half ago, the Blue Bayou was a no-go. Wendy made a reservation at a place just outside the park, but we decided to optimize our time and have dinner at one of the cafeteria style places in New Orleans Square. I went with the traditional meal, which included turkey, andouille sausage stuffing, green beans, and garlic mashed potatoes. It was all quite delicious. I was able to snag the last piece of pumpkin pie, which is the Thanksgiving staple I truly cherish.
That of course leads me to The Great Pumpkin Pie Incident of 2006, where I ended up with pie on my face, quite literally. I'd really had my heart set on a slice of pumpkin pie and had gone on about it for quite some time. I was nearly devastated when it looked like they'd run out, but they managed to find one last slice for me. So, we're all enjoying our dinner and E started taunting me, saying things like, "Too bad you're too full to eat that pie," or holding up his fork and pointing it toward my dessert. I'm not sure what came over me, but I got really protective of this piece of pie, picked it up, and proceeded to lick it...you know, like a little kid does so his sibling won't touch his food. Well, it would have been clever if the pie hadn't flipped off the plate, landing on my shoulder/in my hair/on my face. Yeah, I'm an ass. Of course this was also the moment when everyone, who were previously engaged in their own conversations, turned to look at me. We laughed about it for hours. In the end, I gave E the very last bite of the pie. Naturally it was the piece with the most spit on it.
By the time we left Anaheim, at 1am, we were all super-exhausted, but quite contented. Luckily there was no traffic and we sped home, fed the dogs, and were passed out by 2:30. I had to get up around 9:00am to feed Daizy, but promptly returned to bed once I was home and slept until about 3:30pm. E got up at 4. I was that special kind of tired that I'm sure new parents experience and that I can only handle a couple of times a year.
I do still have my fantasy Thanksgiving where serve friends buttered toast, popcorn, jelly beans, and pretzel sticks...on plates that I toss to them. All the while, my pets will be preparing a fabulous turkey for us to eat when everyone leaves to go to Charlie Brown's grandmother's condo. For now, Disneyland will more than do. Click here to see photos from the day.
11/08/2006
Quality Rodent Time
A friend at work asked me today if I still like my hamster. WTF? Of course I still like him! I told her that I actually kind of miss him because I haven't had a chance to play with him very much for the past couple of weeks. This led to loud exclamations such as "You are the biggest dork I know!" Yeah, yeah I get that at least once a week. This same friend and another co-worker started talking about what horrible experiences they had with hamsters. They were clearly traumatized. I guess I got a good one.
I was able to take Ami out of his cage tonight and let him run around in the bathtub a bit. Here are a couple of videos. The first is Ami stuffing broccoli into his cheek pouches. In the other one, he is nibbling on a tiny corn cob. And yes, Jenn, that is the little dish I won in one of your contests. I'm sorry.
I was able to take Ami out of his cage tonight and let him run around in the bathtub a bit. Here are a couple of videos. The first is Ami stuffing broccoli into his cheek pouches. In the other one, he is nibbling on a tiny corn cob. And yes, Jenn, that is the little dish I won in one of your contests. I'm sorry.
10/03/2006
Lost: One Metaphorical Small Dog
I'm posting a brief update on my progress with my recent return to Weight Watchers. In the past eight weeks, I've lost 20 pounds, or as E likes to put it, "the equivalent of a small dog." Now, some of you may have seen me and think I'm lying. Twenty pounds is a lot of weight, but I have much, much more to lose, so it might not be that noticeable yet. I can definitely tell, not only in how I look, but in how my clothes are getting roomier and I'm able to wear some stuff from last summer that I'd "outgrown." I've been sticking to monitoring my portions, etc. while not depriving myself. I even had a couple of drinks last Saturday night and those chicken and waffles on Sunday. I've found my focus in terms of food and eating, so now I need to bump up my activity. I am walking more than before, which is a start.
By my next update, I'll hope to be able to say I'm down a Standard Poodle.
By my next update, I'll hope to be able to say I'm down a Standard Poodle.
10/01/2006
Southern Comfort
I decided to try something different for my birthday dinner this year. After catching Idiocracy at the ArcLight, we headed over to Roscoe's. Yep, THE House of Chicken 'n Waffles. I've wanted to eat there for a long time and figured gettting older was a good excuse to try it.
Roscoe's did not disappoint. The Hollywood location is small and cozy with an eclectic mix of diners. Tourists and locals of many races and nationalities filled the place. The fried chicken was delicious, like my mama used to make it when I was a kid in the South. The syrupy waffle was perfect as a side dish. I also had a biscuit, which was big and fluffy. It was music to my ears when the server asked if I wanted my iced tea "sweet or unsweet." That's not something you normally hear north of the Mason-Dixon Line or west of the Mississippi. (I ordered it sweet).
It was a treat to indulge in such yummy comfort food. I'll have to see how it affects tomorrow's weigh-in. Whatever the result, it was worth it.
9/28/2006
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