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After 4 glorious days of #winetasting in the #WillametteValley a #detox is definitely in order ;)1 week ago
Hooky twice in one week?
Published June 6, 2008 | Ahhh such is the life of being a self employed jewelry designer … :: rolling eyes ::
Yes, I can play hooky, but when you are going through a dry spell of sales, it’s hard to do TOO much since the money is slim. Right now, I’m gearing up to start July and August shows. Then I have one show a month until November.
It’s now been a little over two and a half years since I left my corporate day job (I was there – at the same desk – for 10 years). When we announced that I would be making that move to our accounting she did a lil jig saying, “you can’t go on W-2 again”. So far, I haven’t had to do it, but there are times that my inner voice screams, “what the bloody ‘ell are you doing … mama needs a new pair of shoes”.
Sometimes, it’s hard. The first year of going full time, I learned that June, July and August were slow. That’s when I was selling retail direct to boutique style shows. Now that I’ve moved into selling wholesale direct to stores, I have learned that it’s March – June. Regardless of which year of business I’m looking at though … I’ve learned that each business has a slow time and this has taught me that I need to work harder at balancing my budget to accommodate accordingly :: looks at my nearly empty pocketbook :: yeah easier said than done sometimes.
Today is the first day that the boy is out of school for the summer. So, we’re going to sneak off and play a little golf at the local pitch and putt where he gets half off – haha. Yes, my pocketbook loves THAT.
Can you tell me how to get, how to get to…????
Published June 5, 2008 | Last night I enjoyed a huge night out with my fave pals – Sean Niles, John and Shannon – down in Hollywood at the Vanguard…doing my FAVORITE thing in the world to do – DANCING…to my FAVORITE DJ in the world – TIESTO.
Yes, I am a total DJ whore…always have been, always will be…Yeah, that’s me…hanging out at the DJ booth in ANY club…schmoozing and getting ‘em to play MY favorite tracks…
Back in late 80′s/early 90′s – you could find me at the New Wave clubs…goth’d out as best as my little preppy self could be…batting my eyelashes at the DJ…and nowadays…I go to hear the music and listen to the fine craft that a DJ can perform in mixing tracks. The most flawless person in the world is DJ Tiesto…he does not miss a single beat…it is truly a marvel to behold and hear.
Mr. G and I saw Tiesto in Vegas 2 weeks ago – he had a sold out show at JET nightclub in the Mirage…but we hung around and got in around 1:30 am (at a very high price – thank you Gary…you are so very good to me!!! MUAH) and I knew that Tiesto was coming to Los Angeles to play 3 nights at the Vanguard. I BEGGED MY FRIENDS to please, please, please come play…and they did!
John kept saying…I can’t believe I am paying $65 to watch some DJ play other people’s music…but I have to admit, John danced like a maniac and we HARDLY saw him ALL night!!!
The sets were amazing and we met the COOLEST people…Hi Jennifer & Patty – the two hottest mamas on the dance floor next to Shannon and I!!! And a HUGE shout out to Danny & Ann!!! Too cool for school guys…(I will post your pics soon….) but I promised to say hello!
Fun times and great vibes…and thank you Sean Niles for always INDULGING in MY FIRST LOVE, and yours MUSIC, with me time and time again…big kisses…MUAH
WATCH THIS CLIP and see Tiesto’s kick ass spin on the classical piece Adagio for Strings…
Posted in Check This Out | 
Adagio For Strings, clubs, DJ, DJ set, friends, Hollywood, Hot Dutch Guys, JET nightclub, Mirage, spinning records, techno, The Vanguard, Tiesto, trance music, Vegas | 
13 CommentsSo You Think You Can Dance
Published June 5, 2008 | I love watching people dance. I’m really so intrigued by their moves sometimes. I tried watching this show last year, but one of the hosts, Mary Murphy drives me bonkers with all her screaming. I really want to be able to watch it, but UGH!
This morning I was tootling through YouTube and came across this video:
OMG this guy is BRILLIANT!! (*waves at Gary and Jody*).
Could someone turn down the volume on Mary Murphy so I can start watching these incredible dancers?
Posted in Check This Out | dancing, mary murphy, so you think you can dance, video, youtube | 5 CommentsDinner in the Sky
Published June 4, 2008 | 
Ok THIS would be a really fun thing to experience for a girls night. Although, I’d be afraid of someone dropping their fork – haha.
This company does Dinner in the Sky all over the world. Talk about an event to remember. They will even put an additional platform in the sky for a band to perform. That’s cool! I wonder how they came up with this? To check out more photos from their slide show click here: Dinner in the Sky
Kudos to being original Dinner in the Sky. I’m impressed!
Posted in Check This Out, Feeding A Food Obsession | dining, dinner in the sky, event to remember, food, impressive, original, party, thrill seeker | 4 CommentsAttn: DANCING QUEENS Get ready for: www.mammamiamovie.com – July 18th
Published June 3, 2008 | I CONFESS that Kristy and I played hooky from reality today and went to see a matinee of the “Sex in the City Movie”. I thought the movie was great and even though I had not seen one episode when it was on HBO I did not feel like too much of an outcast. They did a great job of drawing you in even if you were a Sex in the City Virgin like I was.
I am a fan of the previews of up and coming movies but I must admit that I almost jumped out of my seat when the preview of MAMA MIA THE MOVIE and the Music of ABBA came spewing from the big screen. I instinctively started belting out the tunes. ***Sorry Jody and Kristy to expose you to my obvious voice of an Angel *** I had no idea that it was even in the works – Thank you Universal Pictures for making my year. I will let you in on a little secret I am a HUGE Mama Mia fan – I love the music the energy and am a sucker for a happily ever after. The play really is a blast as the entire audience really is on their feet singing (some very badly like myself) at the top of their lungs!! Linda experienced this first hand as she shared in an earlier post. I loved hearing every bad note around me 
I pretty much love all musicals plays and movies but I especially love when my favorite plays become movies as is the case with this one. What a great cast as well Sexy Men Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth and Movie icon Meryl Streep as well as some great newcomers.
I feel a girls night out or girls hooky day in our future or at least a few in mine. My biggest challenge in all this is how am I going to sneak some great wine into the movie as that will really turn an ordinary day / night out into an EVENT 
HMMMMM is it the Grey Wolf Wine -The Silkwood Red Duet- The Volatus – The Bangin Red or would actually I think a bottle of each would resolve this dilemma very easily….
Mama Mia here I go again My My….. (Oh sorry I was practicing my singing…..)
Dancing Queens that will be most definitely be us after all those bottles!!
Good News Abounds … a barking dog update
Published June 2, 2008 | The barking dogs will apparently soon not be allowed to bark as much :: crossing fingers it’s true ::
I just talked to the neighbor on the other side of the barking dogs. He informed me that the husband will be returning home around June 15th and that he will fix their yard back up, work with the dogs and clean up the mess that his family has allowed to happen there. Apparently he didn’t die … he’s just been in the Philippines on business for a long ass time (since last summer almost).
The neighbor also said that the wife told him that one day she caught Zac out there squirting the dogs and wasn’t happy at all – in fact she was angry. I said, “well, we’ve told them to keep the dogs off the wall because they antagonize our dogs”. I can say that since we started squirting them, the barking has gotten a lot better, because they don’t leave them out ALL day when they aren’t home. So we must be doing something right – haha. Neighbor said that he can’t even hang out in their backyard to bbq anymore because of the flies that the poop attracts – nice!!
It honestly can’t come too soon … I feel bad for the dogs because the Mom and Daughter have really given them full run of the house and yard with no rules.
:: does a lil hopeful jig ::
Posted in Grateful "is not" Dead, If I ran the zoo ... | barking dogs, dogs, neighbors, pets, problem neighbors, training | 3 CommentsThought Provoking Statement “More Magazine”
Published June 2, 2008 | I was reading this article in More Magazine – you know the Magazine for those of us over 40 (even though I am really the new 30 something!!) and this one statement really caught my eye and really cut deep into my gut and my heart.
”If your identity is based on all the greatness you’re destined to achieve, the fear of Mediocrity can be devastating”
I have been searching for the best way to articulate in writing why this resonated with me and I cannot promise this will make sense but here goes. I have always felt that I was destined to accomplish something wonderful and substantial in this lifetime and yet at 41 achieving this “mystery” thing has still eluded me. The fear of being “average” has always loomed over my “crazy or monkey brain” I think as we get older we are searching for our “purpose” and realize that we better get moving if we are to achieve whatever it is that we feel we were “meant or destined” to accomplish. I feel that to a certain extent we are all judged in every aspect of our being and for me I do not just want to be mediocre, average or a failure. Those words were not allowed in my vocabulary and were never to be an option in my world – not as a kid in school – not with my relationships and not in business. I always wanted to do and to be better, more successful and to make a difference. Greatness, I felt was pretty much knocking on the door of the womb!!
What though I have come to realize is maybe this thinking has paralyzed me or hindered me in some way. Fear of Success as well as a fear of Failure – quite the internal tug of war. Here I am, a “grown up” adult and I feel stuck and unaccomplished - but maybe, just maybe this is not such a bad thing. Could it be that (brace yourself for what could just be a revelation here!!) while I was good at what I have done in the past and think I am pretty good at whatever is that I do now that ”just maybe” I am not meant to achieve the “STATUS QUO TYPE” of greatness that I initially felt was destined for in my life. What I have come to understand is that success can be measured in many ways – I realize that I needed to switch my crazy brain thinking to a different way of ”measuring success”. Maybe just the mere fact that I can acknowledge and own this is a great achievement and now the door is open to move forward. Many people never “own” who they are, what they are or never find peace or real satisfaction. That can be devastating, paralyzing and have severe “life” consequences. Maybe just looking in the mirror and seeing and fully accepting the “real me” is a great thing and is definitely not average or mediocre. I finally like myself and am happy with me and have found “inner peace” (not an easy task!!) That to me friends is how I have come to measure success – It is far deeper and more meaningful to me than what is currently in my $$ bank account $$. True success is an attitude and an inner strength. That is a huge Epiphany. I have really had to dig deep and think about what this means to me and how this will shape me and help me as I proceed in future endeavours, I like what I have discovered - The locked door is finally unlocked and I am tossing away the key!! Being “40 something” is not so bad – Age has taught me a lot and I am grateful for my experiences and I now look to the future to open new and brighter doors.
I love the last line in the article by Laura Fraser – ” Who knows? I might even be the first among my peers to become a late bloomer”
Real Simple Makeover
Published June 2, 2008 | Boy am I perfect for this one (except for the fact that I have trouble thinking any makeover in my life could be described by the words “real simple”). TLC is doing a show with Real Simple Magazine and they are looking for people to make over in various areas of their lives. Here’s the link in case you want to apply – my suspicion is that many of us would make for great subjects. www.myspace.com/realsimpletvshow
My biggest problem now is figuring out which area of my life to ask them to make over to be REAL SIMPLE. Maybe they can do some sort of overall simplification process that will make everything clearer and easier to get done. Maybe I need to ask them to work on my thought processes – can you simplify someone’s brain functioning? If you know me, send me some input on this one – I am seriously going to send in an e-mail application. I think you all should too - it would be a hoot to know someone on the show, and we could actually get some real help we need!
Karen
Food Porn: Playing in the kitchen with Ron and Kristy
Published June 2, 2008 | Last night Ron and I decided to try something I saw on Food Network on the DVR. It was from one of the Throw Down with Bobby Flay shows so we didn’t actually have a recipe in front of us, just the basic ingredients. Fine with me, that’s how I usually cook anyhow – just tell me the ingredients and I’m in … oh did I mention that I might throw in a few of my own too?
So I tried to get ancho chillies but had a tough time finding them at Whole Foods. I texted Ms. Jody and asked where they would be and she told me Ralphs – haha. Ron finally found them (at Whole Foods) on the end of a row up high where us short folks wouldn’t see them without knowing they were there. Then she texted, “now you’ve piqued my interest, whatcha making?” – haha. I told her and invited her over but she already had Thai on the way. So she asked me to take a photo of the finished dish.
Ron and I timed each piece of this dinner very easily. It turned out amazing. The only thing I would do a little different is to serve it with a little less of the sauce per plate because we had a lot left over.
Here’s a photo of how it turned out and then below it, I’ll tell ya what’s in it.
So for the sauce we used:
4 dried ancho chillies, 1 small can of diced tomatoes, half a jar of roasted red peppers, 2 slices of white onion, 3 cloves of garlic
Put all that into the food processor (or blender) and make it into a yummy puree. Once all blended, saute it in a pan for about 10 – 15 minutes just to blend all the flavors a little bit more.
Garnish on the sauce: We roasted pine nuts. Also made garlic chips which were fabulous by slicing two cloves of garlic really thin and then frying them in a little olive oil.
Steak: salt and ground pepper it on both sides and then grill it on your bbq until medium well (or however you like your meat)
Goat Cheese: I would have rather used a torch on the cheese to brown the top a bit but we didn’t have that. I tried to use the broiler in the oven to just quickly brown the top, but it didn’t work very well.
Plating the steak: Pour a large scoop of the yummy sauce on the plate, then sprinkle some of the garlic chips and pine nuts over it. Place the steak in the middle of it and then add the goat cheese to the top of it. Add your broccoli or other veggie and serve.
Sit back and wait for everyone to say, OMG there are so many flavors in there. It’s SO yummy.
I’m sure you know how to do the broccoli so I will spare you that. Ron can’t say broccoli without singing the chop a broccoli song – gotta love THAT. This video is just for Ron – hehe:
Voting for Judges
Published June 1, 2008 | For years I’ve never really paid that much attention to the candidates for judicial office on the ballot when I go to vote. I read an article today that has probably changed all that!
There is an interesting and terrifying article in this week’s Pasadena Weekly about the upcoming election and how we pick judges: You don’t know Dick! The article talks about candidates for the judiciary who may not be the people we want wearing the robes and ensuring the law is followed.
One candidate whose name is Richard A. Nixon refuses to give any information about himself to the press, the League or Woman Voters or the county Bar Associations Judicial Election Committee.
Even more terrifying are the allegations against candidate Bill Johnson, a La Canada attorney that he once wrote racist literature and advocated the repeal of the 14th and 15th amendments.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to minimize the importance of finding out information about those judicial candidates again. The hard part will be actually finding the information to base a good decision on.
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