shades of operation downsize

huh. yesterday's post was my 950th! wow, i'm a chatty mofo. as if that's news. heh.

i actually have a shitton of stuff to recap from my weekend (including a fabby birthday party and glee live!), but i got so distracted yesterday with all sorts of fun stuff going on that i didn't get a chance to upload the zillion photos. no worries, though.

but i did manage to pull it together and make dinner last night. we went out so much over the last couple of weeks that i'm determined to get back to our cost-cutting ways and dine at home as often as possible again.

i've been browsing recipes for homemade tortillas on and off, and when i came across a super easy one in taste of home magazine this weekend, i decided to give it a shot. there were all of about four or five ingredients in it, but i still managed to eff it up somehow. i just googled for a recipe to link for you and came across this post in the magazine's online forums from someone who had the same problem i did, which was that the dough was far too soft and sticky to knead and shape properly. i kept adding flour to it, but i still ended up with a good portion of it stuck to my hands. but i was determined - having decided to mix up a batch of creamy black bean burrito mix for the teen's dinner - so i forged ahead. i was finally able to shape the gooey dough and roll them out into some semblance of a tortilla shape - if tortillas weren't round, anyway.

i plopped it into my now-hot pan and watched it puff up and brown. hey, it looks like a tortilla, right?

but because i couldn't get them to roll out properly, i ended up with some pretty thick, almost pancake-like tortillas. FAIL.

or so i thought. the hub declared them a win - "i like these, they're thick and chewy!" - and the teen slathered her burrito filling on top and ate it like an open-faced sandwich. maybe i'm not a tortilla failure after all.

as for me and the hub, i decided to give this recipe for pork tenderloin in sour cream sauce a shot. it turned out really tasty, although it looks like a "g-nasty mess," as the teen put it. well, i'm not really known for my presentation skills anyway.

so back to the tortillas - is it super lame to put in all that effort to recreate something that i can buy a whole bag of for, like, $.98 at fresh & easy? dang.

winners all around

soooo...remember a couple of weeks ago, when i enlisted your help in voting for my spring top in that contest? well, it kind of turned into an interesting clusterfuck.

voting was to go from saturday through monday evening at 8pm - hence my uncharacteristic saturday morning post, whoring for votes. and then i figured i'd rally for votes via twitter, facebook, and my favorite boards on the nest on monday - which likely irritated some folks, but oh well. i was getting my ass beat big-time, but as i continued to harangue for votes, the margin shrank and by about 7:15 that evening, i was only behind by a handful of votes. later on, just before 8, one of my twitter friends (twirlies, we call each other) alerted me with an excited tweet: "you're 20 votes ahead, yay!" yay, indeed!

but not so much. it turned out that the poll was supposed to have shut down an hour earlier - since rae is in a different time zone. somehow, the poll stayed open later than she'd expected. at 8 her time, she checked the results, determined the winner (at that point, not me), and wrote her blog post with the announcement, scheduled to post the next morning. d-oh! when she went back and glanced at it again, she was pretty alarmed to realize that voting had not ended as she'd thought, and even worse, there was a new winner - me. uh-oh.

being a busy mom, she was pretty wiped out by that time. she shut the poll down, removed the widget from the blog, wrote up a quickie post right off the top of her head, and e-mailed me a very apologetic note to let me know what had happened. i was pretty bummed to find out that i hadn't won - and not even because i wanted the prizes, but because i am a stereotypical only child who likes to win at everything. heh.

the next morning, i went back to her blog to check out the announcement and noticed a handful of comments on the post she'd written about the snafu. as i read them, i got more and more irritated - folks were damn near calling me a cheater for using twitter (et al) to get votes. um, hello - the rules clearly stated that we were allowed to promote ourselves and rally for votes. i was pissed and fired off a response of my own, and called it a day.

i got another e-mail from poor rae, who got stuck having to write an update to the original post to clarify all that had happened. how silly, right? anyway, she was apologetic again and asked for my address to send me a consolation prize. i thought it was sweet of her to offer, told her that it wasn't really necessary...but sent my address anyway. ha!

and on friday, i picked up the mail and found this waiting for me:

to be honest, i'd forgotten about the whole debacle by then and was pretty confused as to why i was getting a package in a jelly belly box from san francisco. heh. i tell you, i'm getting old - i'm forgetting shit all the time these days.

i cut open the top of the box and totally grinned as i read the note inside:

underneath the styrofoam peanuts was this:

and after whipping that pretty blue bow off, i found this:

mmm, fudge. i fired off a "thank you" email to rae, and thus far have resisted the tug of that fudge, but i'm thinking i'll have to bite into that chocolate caramel brownie square later today.

and now, for my own giveaway! here are the four winners:

can you all see that? working with "paint"on this computer kind of sucks, but that's the way it goes. anyway, for my four winners - katrina, betty, caryn, and winnie - i'll be emailing you later today to get your addresses!

yay for fun prizes!

fabulous friday giveaway!

so, even though i fear that the storyline itself will likely suck ass, i'm still excited to see this:

even though quite a few of SJP's outfits in SATC are pretty outlandish for my conservative ass, i still love checking them all out. besides, in addition to her reported 40+ costume changes throughout the movie, i find myself admiring outfits on prissy, girly charlotte. i love her pearl-clutching, full-skirt wearing character, and more than once i've headed off to the mall in search of something similar to one of her ensembles from the show.

and, of course, SATC is nothing without the shoes. those chicks get to rock some pretty fantastic footwear, and even if one can't pull off the fashionista getups, every girl can strut her stuff in a kick ass pair of shoes.

every girl, of course, except me - because i'm a total heels wuss. i'm almost always in flip-flops, flats, or wedges with maaaaybe a 2" heel. anything taller than that and i'm whining within the hour about my feet hurting. beauty is pain, this i know, but i just can't sacrifice my comfort to that extreme.

and now, something fun for you guys - an almost completely unrelated giveaway. haha! i'm signed up for daily updates from a site called groupon - they offer some really great discounts every day for products and services. usually, they're local to wherever you live. anyway, a few weeks ago, the offer of the day was for something called rolleez. i clicked on the link and found these:

they're what i call "emergency flats." you know, you're out and about, looking fabulous in your 4-inch stiletto heels, but you're pooped and your feet are killing you. and driving or doing pretty much anything outside of the house or at the beach barefoot is gross (at least, i think so), so you continue on miserably in your fabulous but hellish footwear. OR, you reach into your trunk or wherever you keep stuff like this, pull out a pair of little ballet-style flats, unroll them and slip 'em on. and then you can put your awesome heels in this little tote bag, which unfurls from this strawberry shape:

okay, i sound like a damn commercial. no, i'm not being paid to sell these things - but i do have a bunch of pairs to give away! i've got black, pink, gold, and silver ones in size medium (supposedly for a 7-8 foot). granted, they're not the most beautiful shoe in the world, but i think it's nice to have an option available just in case. i've found myself hobbling around after attending a party or a wedding or something, and having a pair of flats in the car would've been fantastic.

anyway, if you'd like to get your hands on a pair, leave me a comment with your e-mail address, your top two color choices, and - hmmm. just for fun, tell me (or link me) to a pair of shoes you'd love to scoop up this summer. i need shoes, and maybe you guys can help me shop.

you've got till monday at 9:00am (PST) to enter, and then i'll use random.org to pick some winners!

surprise sucker

i've always been enthralled with the idea of grab bags/mystery boxes/whatever you want to call them. you know, you pick out a sealed bag or box for a few bucks without any idea of what waits inside, hoping to find some cool shit that often adds up to more than what you paid for it. i was always a sucker for the ones at the hello kitty store, where you could choose a "regular" grab bag or a candy-filled one.

so when i saw a post on facebook from delight.com, a site that i check out all the time because they carry all sorts of fun, silly novelty items, advertising their "mystery boxes," i had to have one. old habits die hard, you know. i placed my order, plugged in the code for $5 flat shipping, and waited.

yesterday, this arrived:

i ripped it open excitedly, and then i kind of slowed down to build up the anticipation. holy good gracious, i am a doofus.

and here's what i got: a reusable shopping bag that folds up nicely into a little pack that closes with velcro, some little doohickeys to organize cords (which i could really use, actually), a couple of organic suckers that i hid from the bean for the next time she earns a "surprise," and something i've wanted for a while - a SIGG bottle! actually, i came across the little cap loop holder thingy first and thought, huh. this is random, since i don't have a SIGG bottle. and then the teen pointed to the last item in the box, wrapped in bubble wrap.

maybe it wasn't quite as fun as the hello kitty grab bags - or just a little more mature. ha! in any case, i'm pleased with my mystery box. yay!

the other package that arrived yesterday yielded these, purchased on ebay just this past weekend:

woo-hoo! i'm stupid excited to take the teen to the glee live show! i was trying to figure out how the seller made any money on these, though - face value is $64.25, plus stupid ticketbastard fees, and then she spent almost $20 to overnight them to me. maybe she got 'em for free.

whatever, i really don't care. WE'RE GOING TO GLEE!!

books + pudding = good times

so there's a handful of my buddies who've formed a book club. i've been exposed to all sorts of great books i'd never have given a second glance to, because whoever volunteers to host the next gathering gets to choose the book of the month. unfortunately, my schedule hadn't allowed me to actually attend any of the meetings...until this month. yay!

everyone always brings a little something to munch or drink, potluck-style, and you know me - i love to bring dessert. i debated making a batch of cake balls, or perhaps some caramel macchiato cookies. but then i attended a birthday party for an old friend's baby, during which she introduced me to chocolate pudding shots. that's right. PUDDING SHOTS. i got the recipe from her, hit the grocery store to buy the ingredients, and got to work.

it was super easy to make - although, of course, there's always a back story that involves some kind of fuckup on my part. see, we've got lots of liquor stashed away - but because we rarely drink at home, it's rather, uh, aged. of course, when i made my grocery run for the cool whip and pudding mix, i assumed it was all good. and i didn't get a chance to start mixing it up until late the night before book club (like 11:30ish). i whisked the mix and some milk together, opened my unopened, still sealed bottle of bailey's, and tipped it over to pour some into my measuring cup - and nothing. i capped it and shook the shit out of it, tried to pour it again, and still - nothing. crap.

and then i turned the bottle over and saw that the "use by" date was...2/10/05.

good gracious. my alcohol is older than my marriage.

i was super bummed - and since my pudding was "instant," it had already globbed together into a thick, gooey mess and was unsalvageable. dang. i really wanted to have this done because the shots have to be frozen to get them to the right consistency.

so the next morning, i got up bright and early, trucked my happy ass to the grocery store, and bought new liquor and pudding mix. lucky for me, my local store has a starbucks inside, too.

i mixed everything together, folded in the cool whip, and poured it into a ziploc bag to pipe the concoction into my little baking cups. kinda looks like poo, a little, huh?

it was an easy drive down to north orange county - the meeting was at nabum's new house, which we were all excited to visit. not to mention, i've been online buddies with her forever but had never actually met her in person! she's just as cute and friendly as i expected, and as she gave us a quick tour of their new abode, i admired her style and fun little decorative touches.

this was the book of the month, and she'd found a cool illustrated version of it. i have to admit here that i didn't actually finish the book - i didn't even get around to picking it up at the library until two days prior, and only got halfway through.

lots of great grub!

there were also pretty champagne cocktails. i didn't indulge, but i learned that there was such a thing as elderflower liqueur.

nabum's back yard was just as awesome as the rest of the house. i loved the fountain, the lawn, the cozy little seating areas. my friend marshy (also a longtime internet buddy who i got to finally meet for the first time) was more than happy to model for my shot. she's adorable and i heart her, despite her hatred for my beloved lakers.

i set up the timer to take a group shot before we left - sadly, amber and champagna were gone by the time we took it.

we are some hot ass book nerds.

still celebrating the teen

the teen's birthday (yeah, so it was a week ago today, what of it) was a fun day. she got to wear a cute new dress - well, of course i think it's cute, since i made it. ha! another upcycling project, check:

yes, it's totally a knockoff of one that we saw at unique LA a few weeks ago. but i was pretty stoked to have been able to figure out how to make it sans tutorial or pattern. fairly simple stuff, but still - i wouldn't have had a clue say, six months ago. and i loved that she liked it so much that she wanted to wear it on her pretty princess birthday.

she excitedly texted me during the day to report that her friend rock-ell had surprised her with a balloon bouquet, waiting for her as she walked into first period. so sweet! and after work, i stopped at a party store to buy even more to decorate her room with. it was pretty hilarious trying to squeeze two dozen helium-filled balloons into my little pri-YES, and it was hard as hell to drive home, but i managed. i did have a couple of casualties, but still had enough to achieve my goal:

lots of shiny, colorful happiness waited for her to open the door.

and she was happily surprised when she finally got home. look how cute she is in her little dress!

the bean rocked her upcycled frock that day, too. and yes, rachel, you were right - white leggings worked perfectly underneath it.

when my parents lived in northridge, we often hit up a nearby pasta joint that was a family favorite. i know i've mentioned chi-chi's before, but it's worth mentioning again because that was the spot for the teen's birthday dinner. it's such a trek for us - like 50 miles one way for freaking pasta - but we all love that buttery, saucy goodness, especially the teen.

inside her bag she got a handful of fun teenybopper magazines (tiger beat or BOP, anyone?) along with a gift certificate for a shopping spree at urban outfitters, a couple of tubes of lemon-scented lotion that she'd asked for. i'd also ordered her a case for her newly-returned iPhone, but there was a snag in the order and it didn't arrive till the day after. boo. she still loved her bag o'fun, though.

and this is completely off-topic, but the last time we went to michael levine she'd picked out this colorful comic book-style fabric and asked me to copy a simple top she had in her closet. she's worn it at least once before, but when she busted it out last week, i got her to let me take a picture of it.

cute, right? and she says she gets stopped in the hall all the time by people who want to know where she got it. "my mom made it for me," she always says proudly.

ain't that the greatest?

in stitch-es

okay, so it's been over a week now and i'm still not done recapping the disneyland extravaganza. but this is the last post, i swear. there's lots of new stuff to talk about.

we woke up not too bright and early the day after walking around the park for twelve hours straight. and as everyone dragged their asses up and into the showers to get ready, the bean decided to check out the balcony.

once we were all ready, we packed our bags and dropped them off at the bell desk to store for a few hours. we had a reservation at the neighboring paradise pier hotel for a character breakfast, and it was a nice little walk to get there.

this hotel is quite different from the one we stayed at - kind of like comparing a holiday inn to a ritz. sort of.

as we approached the restaurant, we noticed quite a crowd in front, waiting to be seated. after all, it was mother's day, and what better way to spend it than eating breakfast from a buffet surrounded by tons of kids and grown folks in character costumes? don't answer that.

mickey was stationed right as we entered - even before we were escorted to our table. the bean was stoked and ran right over to give him a big ass hug. she looks a little leery as he bent her over for a dramatic kiss, but i promise she loved every moment.

with a little nudging, the teen scampered over to join in the fun.

we got a nice table by the wall of windows, underneath the kites. there was no mistaking where we were, with mickey silhouettes on everything.

MIL and i had each been handed a cellophane-wrapped rose by the hostess who'd greeted us. cute. i took a picture of mine as i sipped my glass of V8 from a purple crazy straw.

the first character to visit our table was stitch, who was quite friendly. the bean allowed him to "kiss" her head and gave him a high-five.

the girls were slightly less amused when he came over and ruffled the shit outta their carefully-done coiffs. he's lucky they didn't smack him upside the head. but they put their game faces on and smiled for the camera anyway.

more character visits.

despite the teen's protests, our server arrived with a birthday surprise for her. she put it on the table and then left to "rally the troops." heh. what can i say - i'd mentioned it when i made the reservation. birthdays are meant to be acknowledged and celebrated!

stitch returned to join in the birthday song and paused to give the bean another hug before harassing the girls again.

i love it. she didn't, as much, but played along because she's a good sport.

the bean was more than happy to assist her sister in polishing off that birthday brownie surprise.

on our way out, the girls stopped to say goodbye to mickey.

the teen thought it was hilarious to stand underneath the giant goofy statue in the hotel lobby.

until she tried to get out and whacked her noggin on his teef.

i really do take some random ass pictures.