Hell ya, I am an American

As I read through today's San Diego Union Tribune, I read a few stories that reminded me how lucky I feel to have been born an American...

Mumbai begins grim recovery
300-plus dead in Nigeria's sectarian riots
Death sentence upheld for woman convicted of adultery in Iran

As a nation, we are facing economic travails, sure. I am not saying that our county is perfect by any means. In the good ole' USA, there is corruption, poverty, and crime. For heaven's sake we have citizens so hell bent on getting the cheapest television set that they will trample a man in order to get it.

But I am so lucky to be wrapped in a warm blanket of security as my fundamental human rights are protected by our collective belief in a just society, our infallible Constitution, and our incredibly well-outfitted national defense. I can live each day with the knowledge that I can say what I want, see who I want, lay claim to my own property, and find fullfillment in a meaningful job. Not many women around the world can claim the same. For all our flaws, I do truly believe our country is the greatest on earth.

A Website I Love

Okay, it's time for one of my patented free endorsements again...

I love allrecipes.com. It's been my go-to recipe search site for a couple of years. I no longer rifle through cookbooks when I'm looking for a recipe. Instead I just sit down at my computer, bring up allrecipes, and search for what I need.

Why do I love this site so much, you ask? Well, of course, I will oblige with a bulleted list of reasons...

• It's asthetically pleasing, streamlined, and easy to use.

• There are thousands (millions?) of recipes in the searchable database. I can search by name, ingredients, course, rating, preparation time, cooking method....

• Once I've found the recipes I like, I can add them to my "recipe box," where they will stay forever unless I delete them. I can also modify the recipes and add recipes from other sources. Many people rate recipes and add comments and modification ideas, which are often very helpful.

• My favorite feature is the "shopping list." For Christmas this year, I've decided to do some baking after a several-year haitus. I chose four cookie recipes and added all four to my shopping list. Allrecipes compiled the ingredients on to one list, so I know exactly how much flour, sugar, etc. to buy. Love it!

I'm sure there are many more features, but as a rather reluctant cook I have not delved into many of these. Check it out and let me know what you think/find out!!

My Wishlists

It seems that there are a lot of movies and music I'm hoping to add to my own personal collections right now. At the risk of revealing how cheesy and lame my personal tastes are, here are my wish lists:

DVDs - just a few movies I could watch over and over, but don't yet own...
Little Miss Sunshine
Aliens
Juno
Sex and the City
Enchanted
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Lost Season 4
The Big Chill
Like Water for Chocolate
The Dark Crystal
Office Space
Finding Neverland
Heathers

Music - I want to get the new CDs by...
The Killers
David Cook
Christina Aguilera (greatest hits)
Guns 'n' Roses
Pink
Leona Lewis

Photo Mosaic

A clever idea from Sabrina's Blog:

The rules:

Using fd’s Flickr Toys,

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker).

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name. (I didn't have anything for this one, so I stuck in a picture of Brandy!)

Here is my mosaic...


This was fun to put together, even though it took a little time. I would like to play around more with the Flickr Toys website - it has tons of cool projects to try!

More Birthday Pics

Brandy wanted to get in on the birthday celebration. Say cheese...



Out to dinner tonight at Pacifica Del Mar. Devika was dressed up in her pretty sparkle dress, with her finest shoes and her wavy hair. What an honor!!

She was holding the fork but eating the salad with her fingers. Such entertainment!

The whole dinner crew: Karla, me, Devika, Karla's parents - Carmen and Octavio.

If I tell my wish, it won't come true...

Yummy dessert

Today's Horoscope

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (Nov. 18). Your charms multiply this year. Communication skills sharpen as you head into the new year and you make many graceful requests that are gladly obliged. The interest of one person is all it takes to set a deal in motion. In January you learn what you need to know in order to increase your earnings. Leo and Pisces adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 13, 20, 14, 4 and 18.

Birthday Pics

I'm too tired to write. They say a picture's worth a thousand words, so here are 4,000 words....
Thanks to all my dear friends for coming out and to Meggie for organizing. Love you!!

Obama on 60 Minutes

A couple of weeks ago, our country elected a new president. I voted for Barrack Obama on November 4 after having voted for Hillary in the California primary. I still have a lot of concerns about how Obama will perform as president. He is handsome, intelligent, dynamic and refreshing - no doubt about it. But he is relatively inexperienced and spent nearly his entire campaign speaking in broad generalities with that calm, soothing voice. I am hopeful, yes, but our country is mired in a pretty ugly economic mess right now and hope alone won't change that.

I am watching 60 Minutes tonight as Obama gives his first interview since his election. As soon as he takes office, our new president plans to:

1. Spearhead a bipartisan economic stimulus package with a specific focus on helping homeowners on the brink of foreclosure.

2. Close Guantanamo and end any continuing torture of political prisoners.

3. Begin reducing the amount of troops in Iraq while beefing up the military in Afghnistan and "stamping out Al Qaeda once and for all."

Obama is currently reading up on Abraham Lincoln for inspiration. He is putting together his new cabinet which will likely include Hillary and, he promises, at least one Republican.

The disconcerting parts of this interview, in my humble opinion:

1. Obama basically said that he will spare no cost in order to turn the country's recession around. I'm no economist, but this seems contradictory to me. Didn't unchecked, willy-nilly government spending get us here in the first place?

2. A couple of times, Obama called interviewer Steve Kroft by the familiar slang "man." As in, "What are you asking me, man?" It sounded very non-presidential and kind of freaked me out a little.

3. Michelle is also very strong and intelligent. She engaged in some good-natured ribbing with her husband throughout the interview, and challenged him on several minor points. There was something uncomfortable about their ineractions, though. Michelle seemed very eager to get attention on her own right and maybe even prove that she has a say in the way things happen. It felt like she was showing off for the camera "look how much control I have over my husband."

Barrack Obama says he'd like to restore the faith of Americans in our government. His words belie a strong sense of idealism, and his tone reflects his likeability and respectability. It's hard not to feel optimistic listening to our new president, when he seems so optimistic himself. Best of luck to you, President-Elect Obama.

My Naughty Doggie

Brandy had a play date this weekend at her best friend Boca's house. When it was time to go home, Boca sent a stuffed toy hedgehog with Brandy, and before I'd completed the 15-minute drive, here is what happened to said hedgehog:

Cooperstown Day 2

Baby, it was cold outside today. This morning, I would guess the temperature was hovering the low 40's. That made it very difficult to get out of bed. We finally stumbled downstairs around 9:00 for another lovely breakfast, then it was off to the Hall for more baseball history.
It's really overwhelming how much stuff is on display - there's no way anyone cold possibly read and absorb all of that information. We took our time wandering around though. I think I most enjoyed the exhibit of old "board game" interpretations of baseball. Jared's favorite part was the hall of famer's busts themselves, especially when he noticed the small badges beneath the many inductees who served in a branch of the armed forces.

Here is the best-looking baseball card I've seen to date...an uncirculated 1915 Cracker Jack card featuring "Future Hall of Famer":We exited the Hall in the midst of a little snow flurry - a pretty scene which certainly made this cold weather worthwhile.

Cooperstown Day 1

We arrived in Cooperstown last night after a long day of travel... and found out right away that this small town in rural New York shuts down very early. We could not find a single shop, restaurant, or convenience store open at the late, late hour of 8:45 PM. And we could not find our bed and breakfast either! Finally, though, we inquired at a little restaurant that was closing down for the night, and they pointed us in the right direction. Once we got to the Nelson Avenue Pines B&B, we found our lovely attic suite, complete with two bedrooms, a kitchenette, and a terrific view. This morning, we got up around 9 for our proprietor's yummy breakfast. Later, we ventured out in the 40-something degree weather for a visit to Cooperstown proper. We decided to check out the Wax Museum, which was actually pretty cute...


Here is Jared with the "Holy Grail" of baseball cards: a T206 Honus Wagner...
Me, with a wax Madonna from A League of Their Own.
We then spent a couple of hours at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, checking out the inductees plaques, but we'll be back tomorrow for a longer visit followed by a more detailed post...

Madonna!

Last night I was so privileged to see the infamous Madonna in concert in San Diego. This was the fifth time I've seen the Material Girl live:

1. 1987 in San Jose - The Who's That Girl tour
2. 1990 in Oakland - The Blond Ambition tour
(skipped the Girly Show tour - not exactly my favorite Madge phase)
3. 2001 in Los Angeles - The Drowned World tour
4. 2004 in Inglewood - The Re-Invention tour
(skipped the Confessions tour - didn't want to go to Inglewood again)
5. Last night - the Sticky and Sweet tour in San Diego

11 years of attending Madonna shows, and I'm not tired of it yet! Last night's show was not my favorite, but it was an amazing show, nonetheless. Madonna is beautiful, tireless, and so talented as a performer. She mostly performed songs from her newest album, Hard Candy, but she threw in some old classics too. My favorites were Into the Groove, La Isla Bonita, and Vogue. My recommendations for Madonna, just in case she reads this...

• Keep touring. You are awesome. Your 50 years barely show and you looked great on stage.
• Play more oldies!! Holiday! Like a Virgin! True Blue!
• Please stop playing guitar. Please. You were not good at it in 2001 and you're really not much better now. Stick to the singing and dancing.
• Don't play Petco again. A baseball stadium is not a great place for a concert. Due to the angles of the stadium, there were really no great seats, as far as I could tell. A baseball venue is maximized for watching a huge field, while the concert stage takes up maybe one-tenth of that field at most. Our seats, right behind home plate, felt like they were a mile from Madonna.