Paging Garren

We're doing BBQ tonight at the house. If you have time to think about what you want to make you can call or text me with a list of groceries and I'll get them on the way home so you can take a nap. You might need to get the protein on the way home though....the butcher closes at 6 and I might not make it.

Oh and I just had an idea. What about doing your ribs?

Love you!
-N

If only I had just won the lotto

I was walking home from the library last night and on the street behind where we live there was a house for sale. I love the houses around here and am always curious as to what they look like inside so I grabbed one of the informational sheets. 

Who knew the houses around here were so crazy?! I mean I knew that some of them were big, but wow. This thing has four stories, 4 bedrooms and a Master Suite and just craziness. Garren and I looked at the website and well if we had 1.5 million.....but we don't so in the meantime we can just drool over it and I invite you to do the same.

For Garren

I promised Garren that I would post this one of these days so he could see it. This is a pretty good imitation of him and Willoughby at home. Although there is a lot more swearing on Garren's part.

Either way it makes me giggle.

I'm Depressed

I just finished watching the Battlestar Galactica finale. My show is over. And I'm sad. There's a movie in the fall (from the cylon perspective!) and a new series by the same creators next year probably, but it won't be the same. 

Plus not all of my questions were answered. (like they promised) What is Kara? Was her father a cylon? And she disappears at the end and leave Lee all alone! I suppose the point being they were never meant to be. Maybe?!

I'm not saying it was bad. It was good. I still LOVE Baltar. As always his moments were my favorite. Especially with Caprica Six. That made me happy. And their alter egos. I like them too. But so many of the other characters had a sad ending. After everything the characters had been through to get where they are they all separate in the end. Many of them are alone. I find that depressing.

So I still love the series. I will probably frequently watch them again and that's saying a lot for me. I have to really love something to watch it again and not be bored. Maybe re-watching the last season will give me a better perspective about the last episode. Maybe knowing it was the last one and not wanting it to be over made it more depressing. Maybe watching the last season over and knowing what will happen will make the final 15 minutes more palatable to me. 

There are some answers from the creators here, which answers some of my questions above, but even with some answers I'm still sad. It's over and now I will stop babbling about it.

Mom's birthday celebration = FANTASTIC

Gary Danko is FAAAABULOOOOUUUS!!!!

I'm drunk. Best night ever. Food amazing. Mom totally happy. (It's the restaurant my dad worked at when they lived in SF aka Chez Michel). I got a free purse holder (thanks to Garren's inside tip) and we got nice cocktail and amuse bouche. SOO good. If you're willing to spend some money for a nice occasion. So worth it. Staff is AMAZING!!!

Will have to go again prior to moving to Morocco (if it happens). 

Isn't today done yet?

Today is dragging. It's just one of those days where a minute feels like an hour and the 2 hours until work is over feels like an eternity.

I'm bored. I want work to be over and it just isn't. Plus I'm looking forward to after work because:

1. It's the weekend
2. We're going to dinner at Gary Danko's for mom's birthday. So excited
3. The season finale of Battlestar Galactica will be waiting for me at home. Hwee!

So really. Is this work day over yet?

BSG Nerds

I just had the most awesome Reservations call. A gentleman called saying that he would like to stay with us but that the deal breaker was we had to have the SciFi channel avaialble in our rooms. I called the front desk and found out that we do not have it. When I was letting the guest know I asked him if he was looking to stay with us this weekend and if he needed the SciFi channel to watch Battlestar Galactica. He recognized a kindred soul and we immediately began talking about what we think is going to happen.

Poor man. He and his wife just moved to SF and their stuff is still not unpacked and they have no TV. Apparently no hotel in SF has the SciFi channel. I suggested they watch via the internet, but well as we all know that's not as fun if your connection is not great. He gave me his number before we hung up in case I thought of anything. And I did. Well kinda. I found on Craigslist a restaurant/pub in Berkeley which is having a viewing party. I totally just called this guy back and left him a message with the details. In case anyone else is having this problem or is curious the viewing details are here. Hopefully this will work for his viewing needs, otherwise I hope he figures something else out!

BSG Nerds Unite!

Me=Lazy Cook, Garren=Chef Extraordinaire

I can cook. I can make a good pasta, a passable chicken or meat dish, a good stew. But when it comes down to it I'm lazy. I don't want to do anything that takes a lot of prep or time or that I think is uber fancy.

Garren on the other hand. Well as an example, yesterday he spent at least 6 hours making his own chicken stock. He roasted the chicken bones, put all the veggies in, blah, blah blah and presto! Now we have a ton of home made chicken stock. My question was, what will we do with all this chicken stock, because me I wouldn't know how to use all that chicken stock. Garren's answer, make pan sauces (for his fancy meat/chicken dishes), risotto, soups, etc.

Shouldn't the daughter of a chef be the one making chicken stock from scratch and trying fancy things like scallops, lamb, parmesan fries, and fancy from scratch sauces? In my case no, because I'm used to it just showing up on my plate without any work. Like I said LAZY. So while I didn't try to find one, I've somehow ended up living with a gourmet who likes to try lots of complicated recipes and the product just shows up on my plate. And my tummy is that much more happy for it.

Sick to my stomach

I just told my Director of Sales and Marketing that I'm going to approach HR about applying for a position in Marrakech. She kinda looked at me like I was crazy. Well not crazy but maybe like it was random and out of the blue (I suppose to her it is). AND I just sent an email to the HR Director to ask what I need to do to apply. I don't even know if I qualify for a transfer. There may be some weird company rule that keeps me from applying.

All this freaking out could be for nothing. Deep breath. Heart beating too fast. But I did it. Officially people know I am applying. And think I'm crazy.

A Photo Tour of our Trip to Chicago

Garren and I went to Chicago back in mid December. I know I know. We're crazy. I mean Chicago in winter?! WTF. Even as we flew to Chicago and landed during a break between snow storms were wondering why we weren't in Mexico or Hawaii. The question of the trip was, "Why aren't we in Mexico again?!" We mostly went to see our friends, the Nenners and experience Chicago (cold style!) as neither of us had ever been there. We were upgraded (courtesy of our friend Monsieur Nenner) to a one bedroom suite upon our arrival at the hotel in Chicago. Yea working in hotels!

View from the living room.

View from bedroom

Bedroom

Living room

Overall it was a fantastic trip. We had some great food(because it's what we do), went to a show at Second City, did some shopping, experienced real winter weather, and enjoyed each other's company. On the way to Chicago we just missed a snow storm and on the way back we did as well. We got really lucky getting in and out of Chicago without too many delays. The only problem on the way back was that we had a connecting flight in Las Vegas, which we missed, but was also cancelled (try to figure that out). The nice lady at the desk was able to offer us vouchers for a hotel and food because even though the flight was cancelled even if it hadn't been we wouldn't have made the connecting flight because our flight was late (does that make sense to anyone else?). That apparently makes it their fault and they have to give us vouchers. 

Of course the vouchers were for the Super 8 behind the Strip(with it's own mini casino! I played slots and got lung cancer at the same time!) So we went from a five star hotel in Chicago with sweeping views of Lake Michigan to a Super 8 with a mini casino (Ellis Island was its name) in Vegas. I give you the Super 8 Motel photo experience (please bear in mind we were REALLY tired and found it REALLY funny that we were now in a skanky motel)

Garren hanging up coat in the "closet"

Garren's head blocked by the "chandelier"

The extent of the bedroom. Garren walking to the bathroom.

The bathroom products display. So fancy!!!

Nuala displaying the free Venus Razors available in the sink area

Super 8 is as always GREAT! Seriously, without it we would have been extremely grumpy and tired with no where to go for the evening. So yea Super 8 vouchers! 

And that was our long ago Chicago trip told via random hotel pictures.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I did not bake this cake, but well mom doesn't like cake anyways. So, Happy Birthday Mom! Enjoy your day and I'll see you Friday for dinner celebrationess.

Love,

Me

Hallelujah!!

Praise the tech gods! We have internet. And it was only took half my Sunday to get it working. And this 2 days after we were supposed to have it. 

And now my weekends will be spent in front of the computer instead of in front of the TV. Or maybe in front of both....hmmmm...

Covers over my Head

You know when I pictured my grown up life oh so long ago back in High School. I always imagined me having a job in another country or traveling for work. Basically I was not in the same area I grew up in. I was free and having adventures and not stuck within the social norms of boring old 9-5 jobs. I was footloose and fancy free!

That picture in my head didn't take into account how terrifying it is to leave what you know. First I never want to travel full time for work. The few times I have done it, it has been fun, but to do it constantly and never be at home. Not for me. Two, now that I may have the opportunity to live abroad and work I've come to a few realizations. While it would be awesome to experience a new culture and be able to say, "I live in Africa" (I mean really, that is kinda cool), it is also very frightening. I don't know what to expect from Morocco or Marrakesh. But I do know what to expect from California and San Francisco. I am a creature of comfort apparently and anything upsetting my apple cart is cause for panic.

So while in my head I am a sophisticated multilingual woman totally up for the challenge of living and working in Morocco like it's no big deal. In reality I am a homebody who wants to stay at home and pull the covers over her head and just keep everything the way it is.

I want to move where?

So I have not mentioned anything more about Marrakesh because there was nothing to talk about. No word on the work front and I kinda refused to think about it until something happened. And that caused me to be really relaxed and calm about it.

Well nothing really happened but apparently my boss spoke with the Regional European Director yesterday and I'm to get a call.....soon. Now it seems real again. And I'm freaking out. I mean Africa. Having to speak and READ French every day. And what about my cats. Will they freak out? What if they run away? What if I lose them? I will never forgive myself. And the culture shock. I mean were not talking Europe here. We're talking Africa, an Arabic country. And me a tiny white western girl.

During my freak out this morning I located a few blogs of Europeans/Americans living in Morocco. I found this one of an Irish woman and her husband who lived in Marrakesh for a year. That gave me hope but at the same time some of her descriptions of living there freaked me out as well. Not anything overtly bad just uncomforable senarios that I do not have to deal with here in my safe western metropolis. And she didn't seem to work which you know seems easier to me a little. No outside work stress.

Oh god. Am I crazy to even consider this?

We Caved

We signed up for internet. They don't activiated it until Friday. WTF!?

I know, I know. We've been without internet for over a year at home and I'm told to wait 5 days and NOW I'm freaking out. But now it's a reality. Not just an idea any more. We've signed up. We're waiting. Where the hell is it? Damn you AT&T. Damn you.

Horrible Day = Cocktails & Fun Evening

Horrible day for Garren at work = Drinks and Dinner at Wood Tavern = Uber happy Garren and Nuala

Obsessed, pathetically addicted and happy damnit.

It only took me

Four hundred days to go back to Irish Dancing after returning to the Bay Area. Procrastination at its best. Now I just need to get my dancing shoes back from mom. I wonder how long that will take?

Nerds Together

My favorite moment from Michele and my wacky crazy 1 day trip to Disneyland this past weekend to surprise Christine for her 30th birthday.

We are nerds who are shocked, awed and so excited that a mobile High School Musical 3 show is going on in the middle of California Adventure Land. That's right. 30 year old geeks who still think they are 12 years old.