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this post actually will have nothing to do with donuts. so don't be disappointed, please.

anyway, what's new with me, you may be wondering. a few weeks ago, i participated in the san juan island marathon (you'll notice i didn't say "competed"). it was a lot of fun! needless to say, i did the HALF marathon. and i walked a lot of it. last year i did it too, and i walked the entire time. this time i ran some and managed to shave off a lot of time from last year! i finished in 2 hours, 56 minutes. afterwards i could hardly walk though. and later in the day i started to feel really nauseous which was a bad feeling to say the least. no one else seemed to have that problem either. figures.

here's a picture from the event: http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=07Q6009L040050&po=50 that is a friend, allison, my cousin joanie, and me. i kind of look like i have a mullet, but rest assured, i do not. we had a group of about 12 of us and we had those stylin' matching shirts. they made it easy to find everyone though. we all went up to friday harbor the day before and had fun around town, and ate dinner at a REALLY good restaurant called The Backdoor Kitchen. sounds cheesy, but the food was de-lish! a lot of local ingredients and interesting flavor combinations.

some of us are thinking about doing the skagit valley marathon in september, and i think i'm going to sign up for it. i've heard it's really flat (the san juan island one is pretty hilly) and that is appealing for sure. i'm also going to do a better job training for it, like actually doing some running ahead of time. i think that was my problem - i did some long walks but no jogging. i'd really like to be able to run a lot of it but i don't know if i'll be able to run the whole thing. the main incentive for doing so is getting done earlier though.

well, i'll try to post some other news soon.

hey, everyone! have you heard of the NEW Beverly Hills, 90210? i had heard some rumors about it a few months ago but i kind of forgot about it until today, when i found the rather horrible looking trailer for it. (you can see it for yourself here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU7EjzF1RJk) i noticed they've done a "cool" version of the song, complete with the "air punches" in the beginning. it looks like it's going to be awful. it's obviously going to try to compete with Gossip Girl, and to that i say who cares. the original 90210 is what it's all about! was there anything like it when it came out? i don't remember for sure, but i don't think so. by now we've had all the teen dramas the WB has been shoving down our throat, plus the OC and let's not forget the awesome 90210 spinoff, Melrose Place (which i've already posted about so i won't get into that too much).

in the new BH 90210 (which i think is going to be referred to only as "90210"), lori laughlin plays the mom, and she assures us that she's almost as cool as the kids! oh yikes. does this mean we're going to have a Very Special Episode where she gets high on Mommy's Little Helpers and we all learn that Drugs Are Bad? and jessica walters is in it! talk about a letdown after Arrested Development. i might actually watch it just to see her. i'm sure all the "kids" will be annoying to the nth degree however. i mean, they are in the original too, but that's what makes it great. it wouldn't be nearly as interesting without drunk dylan, shrill brenda and toolish brandon. and let's not forget steve's mullet!

want more evidence that the show is going to suck eggs? i leave you with the tagline:

you wanna live in the zip
you gotta live by the code

man, it's so true.

yep, i'm tooting my own horn here, but i think i have a pretty good reason! i was a runner-up in a purse designing contest! check it out here: http://www.chroniclebooks.com/blog/ (obviously i'm velouria73.) amy butler is one of my top 2 FAVORITE fabric designers ever, so when i found out she was judging a contest to make a bag "inspired" by her fabrics, well i couldn't leave it alone. unfortunately, i found out about said contest exactly one week before the deadline, so i had to come up with a plan and execute the bag in a pretty short time. it was crazy, i tells ya! i'm not a pro bag maker either, i've only made a few. you can't tell but there are some pins there. i didn't have it quite done, but i was up until about 1:30 the night before you had to post your pics and i barely got it up there in time. i need to do a few nice finishing touches and then i'll actually be able to use it.

anyway, i can't believe it! i really haven't won much, so it's really surprising. it totally made my day when i found out!

so there. horn tooting finished, back to our regularly scheduled self-doubt.

so last night i watched the Melrose Place season 2 finale and let me tell you - they do not make them like that anymore. it was an hour and a half with no commercials. i kept waiting for it to be over, but i knew it couldn't end until alison climbed out the upstairs window, leaving poor sap billy at the alter. but you can't really blame her because she just realized that her dad molested her as a kid, so what do you expect?! lay off!

ANYWAY. that show is so ridiculous, i love it. now i have to get season 3 on my netflix queue ASAP! i know i used to watch the show when it came out but i really have no recollection of actually doing so. like, i can remember actually watching beverly hills 90210 while doing my biology homework on the couch, but MP is sort of a hazy memory. it's been nice catching up. i can't believe how many episodes are in a season. there were 8 dvd's! i think it was 31 episodes total including that grand-slam 2 hour finale. also: kimberly is totally insane.

if you don't know the joy that is Melrose Place, i highly recommend checking it out. season 1 starts out a little bit slow, but once they kick of some of the more boring characters (not all of course, billy still remains) and bring in uber-bitch amanda to torment alison it gets A LOT better. plus, the mid-90's fashions are hilarious.

hello folks! it's been awhile since i've posted, but you know how it is. last week i went to NYC to visit my bestest friend ever, michele. we had a blast! here's the rundown:

i took the redeye on tuesday night, putting me at JFK around 8:00 wednesday morning. somehow i managed to pack light, so no checked bags for me! my cab ride took awhile thanks to rush hour traffic, and i was pretty exhausted what with about 2 hours of sleep, so i have officially rethought the whole redeye flight there. i used to think it worked out pretty well, but now it just seems like a pain. ANYWAY, the cab driver found michele's apartment in red hook (brooklyn) pretty easily. it's a super nice place! i love it. she actually has her own room now and a living room and kitchen. michele had to go to work but she did direct me to an excellent bakery before she left. i kind of napped and lollygagged awhile, and then finally headed into town. the only minor downside to michele's living area is that there's a bus ride before you get to the subway, and since her stop is at the end of the line, it pretty much comes whenever. so there's some standing around. but eventually i made it to downtown and decided to hit the union square shopping where i managed to find some discount free people tops. yay!

next i met michele at her place of employment and we headed to the upper west side for a play. and not just any play, my friends, but a play that michele co-wrote and starred in! her group of funny friends, the wunderkind consortium, wrote a musical based on the movie "beaches" (which i have never seen, but i think i get the gist). it was hilarious! and very good songs. they did a really good job and then we all hung out a diner afterwards. her friends seem really nice, so i'm glad she's got good people over there.

on thursday, michele had to work again, but it was a beautiful day so by the time i dragged myself into town, i figured i'd make the best of it. i took a ride on the staten island ferry, which i highly recommend doing because a) who doesn't like a ferry ride, and b) who doesn't like a FREE ferry ride? it goes pretty close to the statue of liberty so you get to see that, and you also see the manhattan skyline which is pretty awesome. then i did a little more shopping and got some super cute shoes and cheap designer jeans! i'm telling you, they have more good cheap stores there. then it was time to meet michele and head out to our exciting evening plans - XANADU! it. was. AWESOME! i don't know what to tell you except that there is rollerskating and a LOT of disco balls. the music is great (ELO!), and the cast was excellent. the whole thing was top notch. in fact, i am wearing my official xanadu on broadway t-shirt right now! i really hope it comes to seattle eventually.

friday was pretty much more of the same, although i did get myself going earlier, so i had more time to shop. yes! i went to H&M, but it was a bit disappointing and i'm not too worried, since they are FINALLY going to open them here. i discovered a new gem, this place called uniqlo, that has really good basic stuff for reasonable prices. i was kind of going crazy. i also got a little bit lost trying to find a subway to go uptown, but i whipped out my new iphone and just mapped it, and there you go! thanks, iphone! you're the best! after i met michele at work, we went to a nice movie theater and saw U2:3D, an imax movie. again, super freakin' cool. i think it's already gone from the seattle science center theater, but if you do get a chance and you like U2, go! the screen is giNORmous, you get to wear bitchin' 3D glasses, and it's super loud. it's really like you are at a concert! crazy. we were kind of in the neighborhood of the dakota, the apartment that john lennon lived in, so we walked by that and then went to strawberry fields in central park. even though it was pretty early, we were really beat, so we headed back to red hook and had dinner at a diner called hope and anchor which has really good food and free drinks, since michele is a loyal patron.

this is really long - sorry. but we're almost done! saturday - beatles brunch! what might that be, you ask? well, it's really pretty self-explanatory. you eat brunch. a beatles cover band plays. it's really fun! the band, strawberry fields, was really good. they played a lot of favorites and everyone was really into it, especially these older folks next to us. it was a nice sing-a-long time. the food wasn't too bad, although i was hoping the fried chicken would've been a little better (yes, they had chicken at brunch). afterwards, we headed to MOOD! mood is the fabric store they go to on project runway all the time. it's pretty cool. they have a TON of cool fabric, but it's all rolled in bolts and stacked so it's hard to find things sometimes. i bought some fabric for a skirt and some plastic purse handles. jealous much?

our only other plans for the evening was a comedy show with kristen schaal and arj barker, and that wasn't until late, so we napped a little and then went to the show. both of the comedians are on the hbo show "flight of the conchords", which is quite good, although i've only actually seen one episode. i know it's good though, so just watch it. i had seen kristen schaal another time when i was in NYC, and she is so dang funny. i love her. plus, we got free tickets! cha-ching! of course, the diabolical club got theirs by charging $5 for DIET COKE. yeesh.

sunday was my last day in town so we decided to just chill in the 'hood for the day. we had a delicious breakfast at hope and anchor (it's just down the street!) and then we walked a few blocks to a park that is right along the water. michele agrees that the bus is kind of a pain but she thinks it's worth it to have the water so close. we walked down the pier (luckily it was not a long walk and a short pier) and we could see the statue of liberty, the southern tip of manhattan and new jersey. it was SUPER windy, so we didn't stay too long. we pretty much just relaxed for the rest of the day while i packed up my discount goods and watched "dexter". (that, along with "how i met your mother", was the show of the trip. every time i go visit michele, she gets me hooked on some new show. she's a show pusher. she really should get a cut from the networks.) a car came and picked me up at 4:00, and off i went. it was sad to leave michele, but actually she's in seattle this weekend, so it didn't seem so bad this time.

so, fun times! i'll have some links to pictures and stuff at some point.

once again, it's been awhile since i posted. i find that when i am nowhere near a computer, i can think of all manner of interesting tidbits i could post about, but when i actually have time and am at a computer, i don't feel like writing much. so here goes.

here are some goals for 2008:

* cook more, eat out less. i tend to eat out for most meals, so my goal is to cut down on that. i am going to try to cook more at dinnertime so that i can bring leftovers to work for lunch. so far i haven't been doing great, but i did make a really good quiche the other night for dinner that has been my breakfast for the past two days. i got the recipe from a new cookbook i bought by rocco dispirito (he of the short-lived reality show bomb "the restaurant". i never watched it but apparently he came off as a real tool. the book seems pretty cool though.) the quiche was really easy and it came out so good. it had shrimp, carmelized red onions and BACON. bacon pretty much improves everything it's added to ten-fold (if not more-fold). it's made pretty decent leftovers, but it smelled up the house and everyone at work whined that it made our hallway stink, so i guess that's the end of bringing it here. i put post-its on a lot of other recipes in the book that i want to try. hopefully i'll get a little better at avoiding fast food places on my way home from work.

* be more aware of my financial situation. i know, finances are a snooze, but i think it's important that i know where my money is going. i don't even really have a budget because, well, snoooooooze. so i bought a work book about financial planning that helps you plan a budget and explains about investing and stuff. last year at work i attended a seminar at our women's conference and i was inspired to learn more about investing and what not (see, i don't even know enough to say something other than "what not"), instead of assuming my parents and/or savings will always help me out of jams. don't depend on the men, ladies! you listen to destiny's child and be an independant woman (girl, i didn't know you could get down like that).

* pick a career direction. ah yes. how long have i been hemming and hawing over that? a LONG TIME. i feel ready to make a decision though. i have been taking more design classes lately and i think that has helped. i'm also doing some freelance stuff for a friend (not much, but it's a start). so i'm going to try to do more work and decide for reals what i'm doing with myself.

well, that's it for resolutions. i am also going to try to do a triathlon this year, but it's not an "official" resolution. i'm just going to do it.

if you haven't seen the movie juno, i highly recommend it. it's so funny and sweet.

that's it. happy new year!

well, the work christmas gifts have finally started rolling in. one of the benefits of working in a large office and dealing with law firms is that the holiday gifts cannot be stopped. usually i get a few boxes of candy, but other people get more food than they know what to do with, so there's some snack run-off which is always nice. however, i just got something from one of our firms that i haven't gotten a gift from before. i opened up the cardboard shipping box and... it's from tiffany's! i must admit, i was pleased to see that lovely turquoise box. they say it does something to a person, and i guess they're right. every year the firm sends our people a piece from some collection of dishes and serving-type stuff, so after awhile you get a nice set of matching pieces. this year it's an off-white pitcher with blue flowers painted on it. it's not totally my style but it's very pretty. actually, it's probably something my grandma would really like. BUT - and here's where i'm a bad grandchild - i have been told that we can exchange said pitcher for anything we'd like in the store. obviously, i'd have to contribute some of my own cash for pretty much anything there, but i am tempted. would it be completely tacky to return a gift for a nice piece of jewelry for myself? probably.

oh christmas! i am in your evil materialistic clutches already. must remember, it's about GIVING. right?

okay, check this out: http://3hundred65shirts.com/ (particularly day one hundred twenty three). why is this noteworthy, you may ask? because the geekweek shirt this guy is wearing was created (in part) by ME. geekweek was a zine my friend michele decided to start and since i'm her best friend, obviously i was in. plus our friend jason, who is pretty much a genius. we wrote about local goings-on, music news, movies and our pathetic love lives. it only lasted about a year because thinking of stuff to write about every month and also funding it ourselves got difficult. but for awhile it was the most awesome part of my life. here's our VERY old website (and keep in mind, this was in 2000, so the web was still kind of new-ish): http://www.geocities.com/geekweekmagazine/headpage.html

ANYWAY, so this guy. probably a month or two ago i posted about this guy who is wearing a different shirt every day for a year. it's to raise money for alzheimer's, which his grandma has. it's already a good cause, but my grandpa had alzheimer's so i am especially impressed that he's doing something to help. and since i have been trying to get rid of geekweek shirts for the past seven years, i thought it would be nice to send him one. i also threw in a few copies of geekweek so he could see whether he wanted to endorse it or not. so take a look! there he is, in all it's red glory, complete with photo-shopped-in glasses. he also said some nice things about the zine and the fact that i included a handwritten note (which he scanned). so, pretty neat!

here's a cool blog i came across earlier this week: http://3hundred65shirts.com/

this guy is wearing a different t-shirt every day of the week for a year. believe it or not, it's to raise awareness of alzheimer's. if you're interested in the connection there's more about that on the blog, but if nothing else, he's got a great shirt collection. there's your regular old solid colored ones, a good selection of band shirts (some of which he designed), plus some that are just plain dorky (airbrushed unicorns, anyone?). so you might want to check it out. needless to say, a geekweek shirt is already on it's way. i will definitely post if he wears it!

also, i had a delicious salami sandwich for lunch, and then just now i stumbled upon this "meditation on salami" on mcsweeney's, by michael ian black. it is hilarious. observe: "if salami is merely a hodgepodge concoction from whatever is left on the slaughterhouse floor, then give me a broom and tell me where to start sweeping." if you like that, read the whole thing!

http://mcsweeneys.net/2007/7/18black.html

just a quick note to tell you all: go see the simpson's movie! do it now (or soon)! don't wait to rent it, i promise you it's super cool to see it on the big screen. if only all of the episodes could be like that.

anyway, unless you absolutely hate the show, you should go see the movie in the theater while you can. it's really funny and well worth your 7 to 10 dollars.

okay, i don't want to toot my own horn to much, but check out this bitchin' thing i made! http://www.flickr.com/photos/47617045@N00/

it's called a tuffett (as in little miss muffet sat on a) and i took a class yesterday and last week monday to learn how to do it. last week we started with the top and my "homework" was to finish sewing it. it's pretty much a lot of narrow strips of fabric sewn on foundation pieces of muslin cut into a sort of pie-piece-shaped wedge. then you make 6 (or 8) wedges and sew them into a circle. i was up until about 2 on sunday night finishing it. it takes longer than you might think.

at yesterday's class we busted out the plywood, foam, and staple guns and assembled the whole dang thing. it was really fun building something and actually finishing it (i tend to start things and not get them done) and at the end of class, the teachers took a picture of everyone with their finished tuffett to show future classes. everyone in the class did really different things with their fabric choices, but they all turned out pretty cool. my sister did one with all polka dot fabrics that everyone went gaga over. it did turn out really cute.

anyway, i'm really happy with it. it matches my living room furniture and looks kind of cute with my decor. plus it's just groovy!

the simpson's quote for today will be furniture-related, to tie it all together.

(Marge tells Homer they can't afford the $2000 SpineMelter 2000 chair, which he is testing)

Homer: "Now excuse me while I kiss the sky."

(I can't remember the episode title but it's the one where Homer's half brother [voiced by Danny DeVito] comes to try to make back the fortune Homer lost for him. It's also the episode where Homer wins the First Annual C. Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.)

attending pillow presbyterian this morning. since it's sunday, here's some reverend lovejoy for you:

Lisa: "Doesn't the Bible teach us 'judge not lest ye be judged', Reverend?"
Reverend Lovejoy: "I think it may be somewhere towards the back."

(from the episode "Bart's Girlfriend")

i know being at work at 5:30 on a friday isn't the most unheard of thing in the world, but NO ONE is here and i've been too bizzay to chew almost all day, so it might as well be 9:00. and i will have to come in TOMORROW to do my stupid review! argh! (speaking of, if anyone has some brilliant career goals i can steal, let me know. and "get a date to the prom" has already been nixed.)

anyway, here's the quote o' the day:

Milhouse: "I've said the words 'jiminy jillikers' so many times, the words have lost all meaning!"

(from the episode "Radioactive Man")

man. today has been a doozy. i am on quite possibly the most annoying conference call EVER. i don't really have to participate but i have to "represent", as they say, so it's on speakerphone while i'm working. EVERYONE has an annoying voice or an accent. yeesh.

it occured to me that yesterday i didn't post a simpson's quote which means that today's needs to go above and beyond. i was hoping to bring out this one on the day the movie opens because i love it so. it's just so ridiculous, you gotta like it. it's even better when you're watching the episode. let's see if i remember it:

Homer: "I can't live the button-down life like you, Marge. I want it all - the terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles! Sure, I might offend some of the blue noses with my cocky stride and musky odors. Oh, I'll never be the darling of the so-called city fathers, who cluck their tongues, stroke their beards, and talk about 'What's to be done with this Homer Simpson?'"

(from the episode "Lisa's Rival")