Kiss the Cook

I distinctly remember the very first time Shrek came over. We were sitting on my couch drinking some wine and at the point we decided it was time to think about dinner, he strode into my little kitchen, took quick stock of my fridge's and pantry's contents, and then proceeded to create a wonderful meal out of seemingly nothing! Last night he did the same. (Thank you, Mama Shrek. You taught him well!) 

After a few glasses of wine, we decided to forgo the sushi date we'd planned on to, instead, light some candles and stay in. Shrek surveyed what is now our fridge and our pantry and quickly assembled a chunk of leftover meatloaf, garlic, red onion, black olives, chili flakes, a bottle of pasta sauce, a couple of tomatoes, and a box of linguine. "How do you feel about Bolognese?" Uh, YU-UMM!!! 

And my job? Shrek instructed me to snip a handful of basil from our balcony's make-shift garden and keep the wine flowing. 

Enjoying the wine I picked up on my recent Sonoma visit

Last night's Bolognese a la Shrek. It was molto delicioso! 

A few other homemade dishes a la Shrek...

Homemade ravioli:

Manicotti:

Enchiladas:

Filet Mignon with corn and asparagus:

I guess you could say that the way to my heart is through my stomach.

2 thumbs down

doesn't this burger look promising? i'd heard such good things about this new burger place, the counter, on santana row that i urged shrek to try it out with me. (it didn't take too much urging.) unfortunately it was really disappointing and there are too many genuinely good restaurants around here to go back there.

above all, their service stinks. you'd think with the economy as shitty as it is and people not eating out as much, you'd have your best servers on point. not so here. not only are they slow as molasses, but shrek and i watched as our appetizer was served to a couple at a nearby table right after they were seated and still had their menus open. the couple was annoyingly passive and didn't say anything like, "we didn't order this," so we watched them examine our appetizer and let it sit and get cold as we tried to flag someone down. when the mistake was finally acknowledged, our server simply picked the appetizer up and brought it over to our table. i, i think rightfully, didn't want something that was cold and had been possibly picked at, so i sent it back. our burgers also went to that same couple. this time they looked at the plates a little more closely (they'd just ordered) and motioned that it wasn't theirs. once shrek and i finally got our food, i found it really bland, especially for all of the good ingredients on it. shrek and red robin make waaay better burgers for a fraction of the price. which brings me to my second gripe:

this place is way overpriced. 2 burgers ($10 each) + 1 fry trio ($6) + 1 beer = $32. they also brought us someone else's bill. and if had been less than what we ordered, i would've just paid it. but it wasn't, so i, once again, flagged our server down and alerted her to the mix-up. not once did she apologize--just said she'd get our bill. come to think of it, she also never brought the condiments that she offered to serve with our plates, which is annoying. finally, i also overheard another server say to ours that his table left a note on his receipt complaining about his service and mixing their food up, too. man, get it together!!

2 THUMBS DOWN for THE COUNTER on santana row.

"is there anything he doesn't do?"

last week i overheard shrek getting some major props from our ceo, r, for a job well done running our warehouse. (okay, i didn't just overhear. i may have been filing some paperwork in r's and c's office and they were actually talking to each other over my head.) r specifically praised shrek's attention to detail, planning, and keeping the warehouse clean and organized.

c's response? was directed towards me (and to kinda tease r): "shrek cooks, shrek cleans...is there anything he doesn't do?!" :D

i gleefully told her about the mask shrek was making for me this weekend. check it out!

tips for snoozing with a snorer

i'll begin with a funny story:

shrek's got some super cute nieces, ages 4 and 7. the little one in particular is of an age where it's good and necessary to continually remind her of her pleases and thank yous.

one night after spending the afternoon with his nieces, i poked shrek in the back and asked him to roll over because his snoring was keeping me awake. (it isn't quite so ferocious when he sleeps on his side.)

"PLEASE!" he loudly reminded me, before rolling over.

haha, he didn't even remember saying that the next morning!

anyways, aside from having your snoring partner roll on his or her side, invest in these:

twins?

way back in 2007 i caught the majority of this 20/20 special (intriguing story and worth checking out the link) reporting on the belief that somewhere, right now, there is someone who looks just like you.

interestingly enough, even before the air date, a friend forwarded me a link to another girl's blog citing that when she came across it she did a double-take because the blog's profile photo looked like, well, me!

check out my "twin" here and just try telling me you don't see a resemblance. i actually find it kinda creepy... but i joke with shrek that if things don't work out with us, he can always pursue her. we checked out her profile and it said something about her being a child prodigy in the startup world whilst in h.s. and liking ping pong and dogs -- and shrek's really nerdy like that :P

seriously?! a double-date story

i came across an article which reported that i currently reside in the nation's second wealthiest city. on average, the median household income is $74,000 with san francisco not far behind in the ranking. i had to give myself a little pat on the back after reading that because that translates into bloated prices for everything (it shows in gas and real estate) and, well, i'm still here! ...in my apartment, with food in my belly and gasoline to get me to and from work. i even have extra cash to take jetsetter's date out for drinks. yeah, about that...

i got a call from jetsetter around 8 pm last saturday. she was on her way to santana row for drinks, dinner and a movie with her most recent suitor, freeloader, and could shrek and i meet them? actually, it was more of a demand. she insisted that we witness the ridiculous freeloading for ourselves which she'd described in dissecting her latest dating dilemma. (or her date's dilemma?)

i guess on their first date in downtown sj back in july or august (a date which he actively pursued!), jetsetter politely offered to split the bill to which freeloader immediately accepted with an, "okay!" and it hasn't stopped to this day. yeah, and i'm pretty sure he's hoping to get laid with those moves! :X

jumping right to it, when the check arrived after dinner and drinks it was placed in front of freeloader. when he finally picked it up to have a look, i caught jetsetter giving shrek, who was seated across from her, a little knowing wink and nod towards her date.

i dutifully handed over my card, signaling to shrek that i had this one. shrek, being a smart ass and aware of the situation, responded rather loudly, "oh thanks, babe, you got this one?" freeloader definitely didn't take the hint and definitely didn't offer to pay for jetsetter. in fact, he suggested, "graciously," that only $30 go on my card since shrek and i only ordered 3 drinks and 1 soup between the two of us (we'd already eaten) and the rest be split between himself and jetsetter. did i mention he ordered one of the more expensive items on the menu + 2 drinks whereas jetsetter had just 2 drinks + an appetizer? and that's how we ended up handing 3 cards to our server (so tacky!) for a tab which i later discovered totaled about $100. that means that with freeloader's stodgy math, jetsetter ended up footing his drinks. and, surprise, surprise, he continued to drink the rest of the night (i think we didn't call it until 3 a.m.) without dropping a dime-- or a thank you!

the movie was forgone in favor of the outdoor tequila bar/lounge where just 4 drinks were ordered. this time the check was set down on a low table separating freeloader and shrek. it was a bit of a stand-off, although more entertaining than uncomfortable since jetsetter and i had a nice buzz going and were chatting away but definitely aware of the white elephant. according to shrek, freeloader had his wallet out resting on his knee with the appearance of paying. assuming we were going to reenact how we paid for dinner (i.e. shrek and i pay for ourselves whilst freeloader and jetsetter settle their share of the tab), shrek placed his card down first. it sat there for a bit until our server came by and picked up the tab. jetsetter immediately realized that shrek's was the only card being whisked away and insisted on paying some of it whilst freeloader sat there and said NOTHING. shrek expressed that he doesn't mind paying for me and my girlfriends to which jetsetter thanked him and said she had lunch next time. and that was that. freeloader neither thanked nor even acknowledged that shrek paid.

...seriously!?

unfortunately my buzz made me insistent that we go to a club. shrek, not feeling it but not wanting to be a party pooper, instead suggested drinking at our place. long story short, freeloader and jetsetter came over and we continued to drink seven and sevens and tequila squirts until 3 a.m. before they left, freeloader managed to complain that we were out of ice but could not manage a thank you!

seriously?!

addendum:
all complaints aside, this story is really more entertaining than anything because i am aware that i can't fully fault the guy for several reasons.

1. we are, but jetsetter especially is, passive-aggressive about thinking freeloader should treat her. if she really feels that strongly about it she just shouldn't offer to pay. or the optimal choice would be for her to find a cool, socially-savvy guy for me and shrek to hang with :D

2. shrek and i were the instigators in inviting jetsetter and freeloader over, so of course he'd be drinking on us! i also know you're not suppose to do things and expect a thank you.

..but, if you're trying to make a good impression on your date's friends all the while trying to win her affections*, seriously?!

*does not imply that my friend can be bought. just that it's nice to be treated once in awhile!

Two-Tone Halloween

i fell in love with this "courtier marie" costume after trying it on at a local seasonal store. only problem? it's marked $65! i'm totally cheap and when it comes to chintzy purchases and wasn't willing to pay that amount for something i'd only wear once, maybe once a year. plus, if you want it to be a kick ass costume (which i do), it requires the wig, stockings, shoes, and ruffled petticoat - none of which is included for that price. fortunately i had enough sense to check online and found the exact costume for $24!! also found a -10% checkout coupon and i rationalized that with all my "savings" i could afford the $14 petticoat and $13 wig (already have stockings and shoes). and, yes, now i'm back to $65 with s+h. well, at least i've got the entire costume for that price and not just the half-dress :P by the way, i make a lousy blond, so i got a gray renaissance wig with a spider tangled in it! i'm so stoked to put it all together!


i realize i mentioned a princess leia costume in the last post. my original thought was to complement shrek's han solo costume, but the one my friend lent me is totally nunnish (see immediate left) and perfect for the office but not so for my friend's halloween party later that night. shrek's reaction to me ditching leia for marie? "good thing it's sexy!" ;) although he later skyped me this alternative, seen below. my response? such a cliche!

attachments

way back in may, my dad gave my mom quite the fancy digital camera for her birthday. yes, they were still purchasing FILM up until may! whilst in washington for labor day weekend, my mom begged me to teach her how to get the photos "off of the camera and onto her computer." she had about 500 photos captive on her memory card. thinking this was the perfect opportunity for shrek to earn some brownie points with my mom (plus he's a ton more patient than i am!) i delegated the task to him. i guess he took it one step further and taught her how to email photos as attachments. the result? my inbox was flooded yesterday with a single email containing 80 photos --80!!-- from my parents' recent roadtrip to CO and back. imagine opening an email on your cell phone and having to scroll through the following, plus all the photos were open for me to view... yeah, many thanks, shrek!

Whoa!! I think I finally figured this out and have given you far too many picts. Many Thanks to Shrek for helping me...............L/k Mom

Your message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:
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boyfriend giggin wih wii fit

as you may have guessed by now, i am playing a bit of catch up today whilst nursing a little hangover. i LOVE this video i shot of shrek over at jetsetter's house after we spent the day wine tasting in the east bay. my favorite part is when he's yelling at his avatar (aka himself) as the grand finale!

washington hospitality 101

after dating for roughly nine months, shrek finally met the family and got to see where i grew up. jetsetter and prius were also able to join us for our whirlwind labor day weekend filled with wining and dining, crabbing, clamming, and site-seeing. click here for a link to photos.

am starting to wonder where i'll spend christmas this year, as mom and dad were talking about flying down for a california christmas.., it's just around the corner, you know. i booked our corporate christmas party a month+ ago and the best we could get was a THURSDAY night because fridays and saturdays were already booked!