a very disney (30th) birthday

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Rob and I were supposed to go to Disneyland for breakfast over the weekend but decided to sleep in instead. Hee. 😀

I still have pics to share, though, because I realized that I never posted any from my 30th birthday trip.

I love Disneyland in October. The resort celebrates “Halloweentime” all month so the park is decorated in various shades of fall colors.



From the entrance gates…



to Town Square…



to Main Street…



to the partner’s statue…



to the flowers planted in the hub…



and even to the balloons being sold throughout the park.

Love it. It looks so festive!

There were only a few (very important!) things I wanted to accomplish in the park…



1. Take advantage of the photopass system and get some fun “magic” shots taken of Rob and me. Like these with Tinkerbell and Stitch! Hehe.



2. Meet Mickey! He can be found on Main Street at various points in the day but I wanted to be sure I would get a picture with him so I dragged Rob over to Towntown to visit Mickey at his very own house. 🙂 And he’s wearing his Sorceror Mickey outfit. MY FAVORITE. I totally need a red velvet robe so I can be Sorceror Mickey for Halloween.



3. Eat at Cafe Orleans. I love sitting outside on the patio and people-watching. I had a cup of gumbo, pommes frites (OMG. THESE ARE SO GOOD), and beignets with raspberry and vanilla sauce for dessert. YUM.



4. Ride Space Mountain. My favorite ride in the park. Notice how Rob totally covered my face in our ride picture?! THANKS A LOT.

…And that’s it! Those were my must-dos. It doesn’t take much for me to enjoy Disneyland.



My friend Robyn met up with us for more rides and then my friend Carmen joined us later that night for dinner at Roy’s.

The following night Rob took me to Napa Rose at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel for dinner.



I know, it sounds weird. Fine dining on Disneyland property?! But it’s true! I had an AMAZING meal. Rob and I shared the tempura lobster and spicy asian beef salad as our appetizer and I had the yummiest beef short ribs over risotto and butternut squash sauce for my entree. Nom nom nom.

My food pictures didn’t turn out so great but I have to share this one of our dessert…



…a S’mores popover with toasted marshmallows, peanut butter ice cream, and chocolate sauce. HEAVEN.

It was a perfect Disney birthday. 🙂

numb3rs (series?) finale

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I’ve never mentioned it here but I started watching Numb3rs back in November-ish. I had seen episodes here and there previously but never got into it until Rob and I used instant Netflix (SO awesome, btw) to watch from the beginning. NOW I LOVE IT. I thought it was going to be yet another typical procedural but after a few episodes, I was hooked by the characters. They give the show an emotional center. I love (most of) them so.

Last Friday was the season finale. Possibly the series finale. *sob* Please CBS don’t take away the show when I’ve just found it. In case it is, though, I wanted to dedicate a whole post to the show so you too can meet the characters I adore. A primer if you will. Nicola’s Make It or Break It primer is my inspiration (and MIOBI is another show that has recently become a guilty pleasure though I’m way behind).



Numb3rs is about Charlie and Don Eppes — two brothers who solve crimes for the FBI. In very different capacities.



Don Eppes. Also known as my favorite character. He’s a Lead Special Agent in the FBI.



He kicks ass. Has a great smile. Likes the ladies. But has serious commitment issues.



This is Charlie Eppes, mathematical genius and Don’s younger brother. Socially awkward. Means well but often doesn’t understand subtleties of human interaction. He primarily works as a professor at CalSci but also does consulting work for the FBI.

Charlie and Don start the show with a strained relationship. Don resents Charlie for having to live in his shadow growing up (they graduated from high school at the same time) and Charlie feels excluded from Don’s life. However, through their work together, they get the opportunity to see the other at their best and manage to find a way to fit into each other’s lives.

Their dad, Alan Eppes, is also featured on the show because Charlie lives with him (and later on, vice versa). He doesn’t typically figure into the cases too much — he’s there to ground the Eppes brothers. To share their backstory and push them towards their futures.



Amita Ramanujan. Charlie’s girlfriend. He was also her thesis advisor in the first season when she was a student at CalSci. Scandalous! Ok fine. They didn’t actually date until after she received her doctorate but there was definitely sexual tension present. She is now conveniently a professor at CalSci as well. I can’t decide whether I like her or not. My opinion changes each episode.



Rounding out the CalSci crew is Larry Flinehardt (on the right above). Quirky and unique. He was Charlie’s mentor and professor at Princeton and now colleague and best friend. Both he and Amita assist Charlie with FBI cases when their respective disciplines are involved.

On the FBI side of things…



Megan Reeves. Appeared as an FBI agent in seasons 2-4 (she replaced a totally forgettable female agent, Terry Lake, from season 1). She was a strong and spunky character who held her own in a team with 3 males. Eventually the emotion and stress of the job caught up with her and she left the FBI. I miss her AND her unexpected romantic relationship with Larry. Whoa.



Liz Warner. My other favorite female FBI agent. I love that she’s feminine and sexy yet tough. She was introduced in season 3 as an agent who was also a former love interest of Don’s when they met at Quantico. OMG. I really loved them together. But she came into his life again after his recent break-up with Robin Brooks and the writers gave Liz the rebound storyline.

Robin Brooks doesn’t deserve a picture because I think Don deserves better. She’s an attorney who frequently works with the FBI. She and Don have an off again/on again relationship.



Nikki Betancourt. Another female FBI agent brought in to replace Megan in season 5. Terrible choice. My LEAST favorite character. Possibly ever. I cannot stand her. She’s impulsive, arrogant, and has an attitude problem. She’s featured above on the left with Liz.

Now for the men of the FBI team. SQUEE. My absolute favorites next to Don.



David Sinclair. An original character. Has worked with Don since the pilot. I have to admit that he was a little bland in season 1. He didn’t really show much of his personality until…



Colby Granger showed up in season 2. They became partners and so started my favorite FBI relationship. 😀 They are the very definition of bromance. When a situation at the end of season 3 (don’t want to reveal too much) causes the team to question Colby’s loyalties, David gets PISSED. Ok, that’s understandable since they’re partners and he thought he had been betrayed. But he continues to hold a grudge at the start of season 4 when Colby’s actions are explained. David doesn’t speak to Colby, doesn’t look at him, and it affects their performance at work. What a girl! It takes Don yelling at them for David to come around. David <3 Colby. SQUEE. Seriously, they’re my favorites. The only time I ever liked Nikki was when she asked David, “Hey where’s your girlfriend? You know, Colby – not the other one.” Heh.

Phew! Now you know all the characters. As far as the episodes, the format is fairly typical — it starts off with a crime, then moves on to the investigation, and ends with the Eppes brothers (many times with their dad) hanging out, having a beer, and goofing off…



OMG. They’re so awesome. Watch this show! All seasons except the last are on DVD. Please CBS. Don’t let the Eppes brothers leave me.

Thanks to FanPop and CBS for the pics.

monday tv update: 24 + chuck

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Thanks everyone for the congrats! Rob and I are super-duper excited to buy our first home. It’s very close to where we live now so we’re constantly walking by to see if any progress has been made. So look forward (or not) to pics as it gets built.

😀

Anyway, I haven’t blogged about TV in a looooong time. Not since last year (sounds so far away, heh). It’s not that I haven’t been watching (I totally have) — it’s just that I’ve been feeling a little uninspired. But finally, my Monday shows brought me out of my blogging funk (possible spoilers?)…

24
OY. This used to be one of my absolute favorite shows ever. Those days are gone. Now I watch this show only out of loyalty to Jack Bauer. This makes me sad. I can forgive the recycled storylines (Jack no longer works for CTU but is sucked back in due to a national crisis) but I CAN’T STAND the ridiculous storylines and even more annoying characters. They seriously suck the life out of the show. Examples:

– Dana Walsh. UGH. I was really looking forward to the addition of Katee Sackhoff to the cast but wow does her storyline suuuuuck. First she’s saddled with Kevin, an ex-boyfriend who’s stalking her. Then she agrees to help him and his buddy Nick steal money from an evidence warehouse in order for him to leave her alone. When he does not (OF COURSE), she follows them, her fiance Cole (poor Freddie Prinze Jr — I want better for him) follows her, they try to scare them off, Nick kills Kevin, Cole kills Nick and they dump the bodies. IDIOTS. Sadly this storyline is not over yet. Now Dana has to deal with Kevin’s parole officer who is conveniently looking for him at 2:30 in the freaking morning. COME ON. Get it together, writers.

– Arlo. He’s not a main character by any means but MAN does he annoy me. I think it’s the permanent smirk on his face, condescending attitude, and constant attempts to flirt with Dana. His role (and his job at CTU, I think) is pretty similar to Milo (Eric Balfour) and Adam (Zachary Quinto) from seasons past and while they had their jerk-y moments, they were still characters you liked to hate. I just hate Arlo.

As far as the main terrorist storyline, it’s finally ramped up in the last 2 episodes. With the Russians out of the picture and Tarin being revealed as the big bad (possibly?), things are finally getting interesting. It only took 11 episodes.

If I might make a suggestion, the show needs more Jack and Cole working together…



YES PLEASE.

But as much as I’ve been dissatisfied with this season, I’m really going to miss this show if the cancellation rumors turn out to be true. 🙁

And now a show that I’m completely enjoying this season…

Chuck
Aaahhhh! So good this season! Chuck as a spy totally cleared up some of the issues I was having with the show — in the past, missions involved him flashing, Sarah and Casey yelling at him to stay in the car (which he would NEVER do), then they inevitably had to rescue him. Now that he’s taking part in the action, we’re finally seeing him as their equal (ok, kind of).

This season has also brought less Buy More storylines, which I like. I can’t help it. I know they’re necessary to show how Chuck is leading a double life but there’s only so much I can take of Jeffster, Big Mike, and the rest of the crew. I probably would have added Morgan to that list until the most recent episode. I can’t believe I’m typing this but I’m starting to like him. When Chuck revealed his secret, I honestly thought Morgan was going to freak out, get upset and make it all about him. But he didn’t! He was supportive and happy for Chuck. And I’m so proud of him!

I’ve also been enjoying the new characters/guest stars, ESPECIALLY Shaw (played by Brandon Routh).



OMG. He’s so dreamy. 🙂

Besides that, though, he’s livened up the team and their interactions with each other. It was getting a little stale to watch Chuck, Sarah and Casey interact with General Beckman via video conference. And as much as I love Chuck and Sarah’s complicated relationship, I can see why she would be attracted to Shaw — someone who’s completely different from Chuck; someone whose motivations she understands.

I can’t forget to mention Hannah (played by Kristin Kreuk). She was introduced solely as a romantic partner for Chuck and I really ended up liking her. Kudos to Kristin. I have to mention that I was so impressed with her acting here. While I loved her on Smallville, I always thought her acting was bland. A little stilted. Sometimes awkward. She’s improved so much! It’s too bad that her arc was so short — she had amazing chemistry with Zachary Levi. Look how cute they are…



I’m sad that she’s gone. And I’m mad at Chuck for breaking up with her during dinner with her parents. That’s cold.

The only thing that would make this show better is MORE CASEY! Otherwise, I think season 3’s been amazing. Please renew Chuck, NBC!

Thanks to Daydreaming and ChuckTV for the pics.

news!

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I have BIG NEWS. Yes, the kind that requires capital letters.

ROB AND I BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! Ok fine. It’s actually a detached condo. But still…



*happy dance*

It’s been a total whirlwind of a week…

– On Wednesday, we turned in our deposit (biggest check we’ve ever written) and signed 2.5 hours worth of disclosure agreements and contracts.

– Yesterday we went to the design studio and were greeted with this :)…



We spent 4 hours choosing all our options from door hardware, cabinetry, countertops, electrical/security, lighting, appliances, flooring, etc. The biggest thing we splurged on was hardwood floors for the entire first floor. I was not prepared for the cost. I went into serious sticker shock. !!! But we had decided prior to our appointment that upgrading the flooring was our main priority (the standard is a combination of carpet and tile) so we took the plunge. Overall, sitting down and going over all the options for every single area of the house was good for us first-time homebuyers — I mean, who knew that we would have to consider the location of our hose bibs and data/cable/phone jacks? Or that we’d have to make decisions about the edging of our chosen countertops? I DID NOT.

– Then today, we met with the in-house lender to finalize our loan application. This part is not so fun. But we have a great rep who’s taken so much time to go over tons of scenarios for us. It’s definitely been an eye-opening and educational experience.

SO. Would you like to see our house?
Continue reading →

family portrait

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Back on Valentine’s Day, my apartment community was offering a free portrait session and an 8×10 print for all residents. Because I’m a sucker for anything free, I dragged Rob AND Diesel and we took a family portrait. Thought I’d share but I’m much too lazy to clean up the scan…



🙂

dream podium

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OMG. My dream women’s figure skating Olympic podium came true. Yu-Na winning gold, Mao silver, and Joannie bronze.

This NEVER happens.

AND my favorite US skater Mirai Nagasu had a terrific free skate and bumped herself up to 4th!

The skating gods must be trying to make it up to me for the results of the 1998 and 2002 Olympics. This doesn’t *quite* make up for either Tara Lipinski or Sarah Hughes (UGH) but it’s a start.

😉

figure skating gold

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Totally behind but YAY for Evan Lysacek winning men’s figure skating Olympic gold!



Before the men even did their free skates, I honestly thought Plushenko was going to win. But once I saw Plushenko’s program, I knew that Evan had done it. Even despite Plushenko’s quad. There seems to be so much emphasis on landing a quad but figure skating is so much more than that to me. Otherwise, why do footwork sequences, transitions, spins, spirals, etc. also earn points? Unfortunately for Plushenko, there’s been some minor changes to the Code of Points since he won gold at the last Olympics and with his absence of 3 years, I just think he and his coaches didn’t “play the game” so well this time around. His free skate was completely front-loaded — if he had just rearranged his elements to earn some extra bonus points in the second half of the program, that might have made the difference. On the other hand, Evan knew he couldn’t land the quad (he fell on it at Nationals) so he capitalized on his strengths, made sure that every single piece of choreography would earn him points, and found himself on top of the podium.

So happy Daisuke won the bronze medal too! His free skate was amazing and so technically difficult, even with the fall.

Jeremy Abbott didn’t have the Olympic experience I wanted him to have so here’s hoping he sticks around until Worlds next month.

Ahhhh!!! Ice dancing was so great this year! It wasn’t the splatfest that Torino was! I am so, so happy that Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir and Meryl Davis & Charlie White captured gold and silver respectively. They were fantastic in all 3 of their programs. And is it weird that I totally ‘ship Tessa and Scott? They are so freaking cute (yes, I know she’s dating someone else)…


This free dance was FAN.FREAKING.TASTIC.


As was this free dance. Even despite the cliched Phantom of the Opera music selection.

But it wouldn’t be ice dancing if there wasn’t questionable judging and I really believe that Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto were sacrificed in order for Oksana Domnina & Max Shabalin to win the bronze. I have to admit that I don’t care for Belbin & Agosto’s free dance but it was the best they’ve performed it all season. Domnina & Shabalin had the edge in the compulsory dance but I think they should have been ranked below B & A in both the original and free dances. Oh, well. I’m really going to miss Belbin & Agosto if they retire. They really paved the way for US ice dancing.


*sniff*

Oh figure skating, don’t ever change. Off to watch the Ladies short program now…

Thanks NBC Olympics for the pics.

valentine’s day

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I’m officially giving up on the 30 Day Meme. The rest of the prompts require way too much thinking… also, L-A-Z-Y.

So what have I been doing? Mmm… watching WAY too much Olympics coverage. I’m an Olympics junkie. I’ll watch anything that NBC “packages” up in primetime — speed skating, alpine skiing, luge, etc. And of course, I’m following figure skating! I follow individual men’s and women’s skating more closely than I do the other disciplines but I’m really happy that Shen/Zhao won pairs despite the almost-spill on their lift in the free skate. They’re the total package — they have the tricks and the artistry. Which brings me to the men. I can’t believe Plushenko is the leader going into the free skate. He is ALL jumps and no artistry. There’s no real choreography or footwork between jumps — he’s just skating around doing as little as possible until the next jump. I much prefer Evan Lysacek (despite the questionable arm-flailing he does in his programs), Daisuke Takahashi, Stephane Lambiel (his spins!), and Jeffrey Abbott (too bad he imploded in the short program). I hope they all have amazing free skates on Thursday and overtake Plushenko. A girl can dream.

This past weekend was Valentine’s Day and Rob and I celebrated by…

1. Going to Starbucks. LOVE their Valentine’s Day cups. 😀



2. Taking Diesel to the park. He’s in desperate need of a haircut, LOL.



3. Watching the NBA All-Star festivities (the slam dunk contest, which I normally enjoy, was laaaame) and the Olympics (again, figure skating!).

4. Renewing our Disneyland annual passes. We decided that this would be our annual Valentine’s Day present to each other. YAY!

5. Looking at model homes and going back and forth (and back and forth) about the pros and cons of buying a townhouse versus single family, new versus resale, now versus later, etc. It’s kinda stressing me out. Seriously, the home buying process is not fun.

Off to watch more Olympics. Speed skating tonight! 🙂

30 Day Meme: Days 19 & 20 – A Talent & Hobby of Yours

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I failed at the 30 day meme yesterday because it was a crappy work day. People take things SO. DAMN. SERIOUSLY. Sometimes I just want to say that it’s not the end of the world. Geesh.

Anyway… let’s continue on…

Day 19 — A Talent of Yours

Oh hell, I don’t know. I’m 30… my talented days are behind me. 😛 I guess ballet *used* to be a talent of mine. I started dancing when I was 3 and trained until I was 14. I even considered becoming a professional ballerina despite the lack of job stability. I only stopped because my mom passed away and ballet was “our” thing. It wasn’t the same without her. Anyway, it’s been 3+ years since I took any classes so due to non-practice, I’m positive my skill and technique are definitely lacking.

Otherwise, I’ve got nothing. No other talents.

Day 20 — A Hobby of Yours

My biggest hobby is obviously my blog. I started it back in 2002 and attempted to design and code it myself. I look back at some of my old layouts and cringe. LOL. In my old age, I have become laaaazy and now rely on WordPress themes so I can concentrate on just writing entries.

I guess you can also count watching TV, scrapbooking, reading, and collecting Starbucks mugs as other hobbies. 😀

new TV for 2010

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A lot of my shows are on hiatus so I’ve been checking out some of the new ones. I think I’ve picked up 2 more shows. YAY?

My thoughts…

Caprica
The premiere was a little slow to get going (did it really have to be 2 hours?) but by the end, I was really intrigued. I watched Battlestar Galactica occasionally (Rob was more of a fan than I was) so I’m familiar with the world (cylons, 12 colonies, etc) but knowing the future story definitely isn’t necessary for this show. It’s more of a drama than a traditional sci-fi action show so maybe that’s why it interests me more. I like the idea of learning more about the cylon backstory — that they started in a virtual/alternate world and have always been aware; they didn’t all of a sudden wake up with it. At least that’s how I’m understanding it. I also think the way they’ve gotten around showing Zoe as a robot is a good way to really emphasize her human beginnings. Thumbs up so far.

Life Unexpected
Ahhhh, I looove this show!!! It totally brings me back to the old school WB days. So actually, I’m not sure if I love it because I’m nostalgic for shows like Gilmore Girls, Everwood, etc or if it’s really good… oh, whatever. It’s such a heart-warming and feel-good type of show that I’ll still watch. It’s about a 16 year old girl named Lux (I alternately love and hate her every episode) who seeks out her birth parents in order to get emancipated. Obviously, she doesn’t get her wish and the judge puts her in their temporary joint custody. While I really enjoy the show, you have to suspend belief A LOT in the pilot episode. I mean, I don’t believe for a second that a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Lux wouldn’t get adopted even with the heart condition. Just… NO. Also, there’s been 3 episodes so far and each one has been a slightly different variation of the EXACT SAME story arc. ARGH. Please stop and get a new storyline. On a selfish note, Shiri Appleby playing a mom makes me feel old. She’s only a year older than me. I liked it MUCH better when actors my age were playing high school students… not when actors my age are actually playing their age. EEEK. Great casting all around though. I hope it gets picked up for next season.

Deep End
This was… not good. 🙁 I wanted it to be good because I really like Matt Long (what a cutie! I’ve missed him since Jack and Bobby got cancelled a few years back) and Tina Majorino. I only watched the pilot episode and don’t feel compelled to watch any others. Especially since it’s on Thursdays. I’ll only catch up if the show is on On Demand or if ABC marathons it one day. It’s just TOO unrealistic. I’m not even a lawyer! I mean, come on — would first year associates really be left unsupervised to handle pro-bono cases and allowed to talk to clients? PLEASE. Also, Addy getting arrested to file a motion? *That’s* the story they wanted to tell in the premiere? Meh.

2 good shows out of 3 isn’t bad. 😀

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