Just so you dont think i'm totally slacking

let me remind you that I have a second blog here where I have been updating as well. As Leslie pointed out today, my crafts blog has somewhat become a cooking blog these days. Oh well, that's a craft too!

Leslie filled weekend

This weekend Leslie briefly came to town to go to her old friend's wedding. She made the wise choice to pick me as her date. It was a bit amusing though when she introduced me as her date people would go "oh...her date?". The fact that I was wearing an engagement ring didnt sway them either since its DC and all.

The other funny thing was that the place cards all had 2 numbers on it. A dinner number, and a dance number. I incorrectly guessed that we would be dancing in shifts, and that Leslie and I would have to wait till Dance #8 to get up. Instead there were 2 different rooms and sets of tables for dinner and dancing.

Mine and leslie's big plan was to come home and watch G-Force, unfortunately that didnt happen :( oh well.

www.chinagoodgoods.com lies

Ok so I know what you are thinking just by that sketchy website name at all, but I decided to go ahead and make a purchase. I wanted floating LED lights for a pool and they had an amazing deal of under 3 dollars for 20 of them, so i bought 2 sets thinking i'd get 40 and be set. I paid and got a confirmation saying they would be here in 15 days. Well 15 days came and went so I emailed them to find out where it was, and they changed their story that it takes a minimum of 20 days to arrive and to be patient.

They FINALLY arrived and I was shocked how small the box was. I opened it up and there it was, 2 floating LED lights...not the 40 I had ordered!

This is the page from which I ordered: http://www.chinagoodgoods.com/floating-flower-rose-led-lights-ceg212_p69153.html

Below is the description cut and pasted directly from the website. Read it for yourself, wouldnt you think you'd get 20 per order???


Description:
Features

* Complete your home decor with a set of floating LED lights
* Waterproof decorative accessories are great centerpieces for all occasions
* Each LED candle light has three different settings so you can set each light to blink, flash randomly or change between colors
* Life Time for LED 100,000 Hours
* Put one in a bowl of water for the perfect centerpiece for a wedding, shower or party
* Place all twenty into a hot tub or bath for a romantic getaway
* Lights are the perfect addition to a small pond or pool
* Each rose measures 7CM in diameter
* Set includes twenty roses
* Batteries included

I emailed the company to ask about this and basically they were like "ooops we forgot to change that". They offered to refund me which is good except I still dont have the lights that I need and have no wasted a month waiting for the mail to arrive and just have to order them again from elsewhere. UGH stupid chinagoodgoods

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Last night I watched the new charlie and the chocolate factory and boy was I disappointed! In the initial movie Willy Wonka was weird and you just didn't question the whys of it, or if you wanted you could think of your own reasons he got so weird, but in this movie they blatantly tell you he is weird b/c he has daddy issues. They also cut out charlie and his grandfather sneaking fizzy juice and floating off. The rest of the story stayed fairly true to the book I guess. OH and the oompa loompas were weird, like they hired a shorter guy but then just digitally made him tiny...so why not hire anyone for that? Also the songs SUCKED. We watched the end of the original movie before watching the new one and peter even commented how good the music in that movie was (not just the songs) and it was all destroyed for the new movie. Ugh and to pour salt in the wound the ending sucked. All around I was very unhappy with the new movie :( I feel very annoyed about this since the original was so good, and Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are better than this. I had high hopes that were smashed.

Remember when

Whoopi Goldberg was a cast member on Star Trek? Thats crazy to think about right? How does that even make sense. I saw a commercial of her on tv the other night for like adult diapers and it made me really question how she was on star trek.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

I was mildly interested in seeing this movie when it was in the theater thinking it would be entertaining but a bad movie. We never made it and peter ended up watching it without me. He decided I'd like it and bought it so I could watch it sometime. That sometime was this weekend. Its actually a really good movie. Pretty unique, a little weird, and overall enjoyable. I really like that michael cera wasnt his normal awkward guy, i mean he still sorta was b/c its hard to not be awkward for some people, but it felt like a different character for him which was good.

My one problem is that I knew most of the actors and actresses from different movies, and had a hard time believing the ages they were given in this movie. Michael Cera was 22 (which is pretty much his actual age, but i'm use to seeing him as a high schooler), his sister was 18 but I had seen her last in Up in the Air as a working professional and i KNOW she is older than michael cera. Kieran Culkin is my age, and i think they are trying to make him 22 like michael cera. Lastly i had thought that Jason Schwartzman was MUCH older than he actually is, I just looked him up and he is only 2 years older than I am. Weird.

also my favorite part was the name of the band: Sex Bob-omb. I'd drop the sex from the name and just go by Bob-omb. I like it. Although i'm not sure if it violates copyright laws to just steal the name like that...maybe it needs the sex at the beginning

WTF Taxi Cabs

Ok we all know that taxi cab drivers for the most part are slimy business people who are trying to cheat you out of as much money as they can. Remember back in the day with zones when they'd blatantly just make up fares? And whats with the million dollar surcharge they plug into the meter anytime I get in? Well it turns out I live in the least taxi friendly spot possible. As i've experienced over the years when I get in a taxi in DC to go home they either try and trick me into a flat rate fee of 20 bucks (always decline this or get out of the cab) or make me feel bad for having them drive so far and not be able to pick up another fare in VA (due to law) in the hopes i'll give them a bigger tip (this never works on me).

Yesterday I experienced a new Taxi cab annoyance. I landed at DCA and got in line for a taxi. The driver told me "15 dollar flat rate, and I dont take credit cards". Great, I just flew for 5 hours and have no cash, and now this jerkbag is trying to overcharge me for a 10 minute ride? no thanks. I got out and got in the next cab. The problem is that this guy, although he used a meter and agreed to take a credit card, did the thing where he adds all sorts of additional fees to the meter when i got in so in the end this ride ended up being more than 15 bucks. WTF. Not only was this an expensive ride but the driver grumbled the whole way about how it was too short of a ride and I was making him miss bigger fares back at the airport. I couldn't have disliked this taxi driver more. I'd like to say I didn't give him a tip or at least gave him a bad tip, but that's far too mean for me.

So evidently my apt is either too far or too close for any taxi. The one thing i'll say is that when given the choice of taxi drivers, Red Top has much better drivers, a better meter, and an automated credit card reader. Hess Cab on the other hand along with other no name brands suck.

Things are Turning Around

As you all saw I had a sucky end to last week, which actually got worse because I woke up sat to pick Peter up from the hospital (his surgery went well to all that are curious), and found a sticker on my car from a private towing company who had come into our garage and noticed that my registration was expired and said if i did not move my car in 24 hours they were going to tow it. Luckily I had printed my recipt that proved that i was square with the DMV and just waiting for the stickers to arrive in the mail, and the towing company agreed not to tow my car if I left the print out in the window.

Monday morning in the pouring rain I left my apartment to begin the trek to colorado. With the unlucky streak i had, i wasnt looking forward to the inevitable delays etc. To my surprise, not only did we take off on time, but the travel agent had booked me "classic plus" tickets (which on frontier is the closest to 1st class you can get) this meant i could pre-board, and got free food, free tv, and if it hadnt been 8 am free alcoholic beverages (i'm already planning what to get on the return trip!). The man infront of me ordered scotch and the flight attendant laughed at him but brought it anyway.

I landed in denver, and my luggage came pretty quickly and I went outside just in time to catch the AVIS bus before it pulled away. Once at Avis I found out that they had upgraded me to a bigger and nicer car! Which is great since its an hour to Boulder.

Lastly I got to the hotel where I had stayed before (in the crappy side wing with a parking lot view and creepy hallways), and found out i had been upgraded to a supreme king room in the main part of the building with a beautiful view of the mountains!

Lets hope my luck continues and we complete all the work i'm here for today so that I dont have to re-book my flight for tomorrow :) Now the only question remains what to do with my morning tomorrow before my flight if i dont end up having work!

so basically everything went wrong today that could have

1. I woke up in the morning and went to make my bubbly water for the day, but the CO2 cartridge was empty. 2. I drove in to work and things were going fine till I decided to check my bank statement to find out my work travel for next week charged me THREE times for the same plane ticket ( still trying to sort that crap out). 3. Finally made it to the vibe test at the designated start time to find out we were still about 2 hours away from starting 4. started the test and got ridiculous results 5. ended test mid test b/c noone could stay 6. even though i drove home AFTER rush hour got stuck in more traffic than usual. 7. Came home to find out that verizon fucked up AGAIN and now we dont have TV again for an unknown amt of time. it wasnt in their system that they completed the setup of our tv last month and decided to turn it off today, when we called they admitted to their mistake and said it would be back on in an hour (like 2 hours ago) but its still out. FUCK YOU VERIZON. I think i just need to go to bed and have today be over.

lots going on little written down

I promised I'd be better at blogging, but clearly I'm still slacking. Check out this stir fry i made! I saw one of Sarah's blog posts with a photo of purple potatoes. This inspired me to try cooking with purple potatoes myself. Turns out they basically taste the same, but are really pretty! Peter's appendix is being taken out Friday so this is looking like it will be a really low key weekend playing nurse, but Monday I'm flying out to Colorado again for more vibe testing!

Good Timing I guess

Last night Peter Alan and I were walking home from dinner and I looked up to see a bright light steadily moving across the sky. I pointed it out to everyone thinking it was a satellite maybe. Alan quickly remembered that we should look later b/c there was something to be seen at 7:30, but he couldn't remember what. I pointed out that it was 7:30 right now and whatever he thought we should be looking for was probably that. Turns out it was likely the space shuttle flying overhead!!! Very exciting!

New Blog Name?

I was watching happy guilmore (then mr deeds then billy madison) this weekend, and I was thinking that I should re-name this blog. The current title is inspired by happy guilmore when he goes "looks like someone learned to putt...uh oh" to shooter mcgavin just before he kicks his butt. Anyway, its been maybe 4 years or so since I initially started this blog, and i'm well past having learned how to blog hence the need for a new title. Any Ideas? I'm thinking by the end of march hopefully I'll change this title.

Oscars etc

I had my annual skype date with Chris (now that he is in Chicago) to watch the Academy Awards. Unfortunately he had to leave for a chunk of time in the middle so its unclear who won this year, but as for the categories we were both there for, it was a tie. I think I would have won this year though since I watched a lot of the movies, and saw the golden globes. I'll have to start training for next year so I can really beat him.

Also I got glasses for use at the computer. Evidently its barely a prescription, but wearing it is so weird and feels so strong. I cant tell if its actually helping though :( I'll give it a week to test it out.

stop being so creepy williams sonoma

So I've now created a few registries, so I'd say I'm a good person to compare what different companies do. Bloomingdales is great, although it spams me multiple times a day about products i may have overlooked while registering. Crate and Barrel I have no issues with (besides the fact they change the inventory so fast that half the things i registered for no longer exist). This brings us to the creepy williams-sonoma. First off they too spam me at least once a day with "overlooked" products. But the second issue is the one i have a problem with. Sometimes I just search the internet to see what items are out there. For example the other day I was looking for a new spice rack and did a google search. The one at williams sonoma came up and I clicked on it. I had no intention of buying this, and just wanted to see a comparison of products. I guess williams sonoma recognizes my ip address maybe since I have an account. I KNOW i hadnt signed into my registry that day (or in a while for that matter). Anyway, this morning I woke up to an email from Williams sonoma thanking me for my interest in the spice rack and had a "buy me now" button urging me to follow up on this initial google search. Actually Williams Sonoma, I am LESS likely to buy your product now that I know you are so creepy and pushy.

Shouldnt president's day weekend be 4 days?

I mean TODAY is george's bday, and without him we have no presidency to be celebrating. I really appreciated the furniture sales though. We bought an entire new living room set and I cant wait for it to arrive.

I dont get how it was so nice on friday and so crappy today :( We had a great weekend without leaving virginia! We havent done that in a while. Harry's taproom with emily and a T-shirt wearing aaron b/c it was that warm, then sat night we went with Robo and Mary to Fireworks, which if you haven't been I recommend going...just not when i'm trying to go b/c generally its too crowded.

The nice surprise when I woke up this morning was that my work was closed till 11. so I got to sleep in a little which was nice :) Ok time to start being productive!

Dancing with the Stars

The Rachel and Peter edition. After a super romantic dinner, peter surprised me with the information that we are now signed up for 5 private dance lessons for ballroom dancing! So sweet and considerate. Now we are sure to look great for our first dance...which according to peter is going to be Psycho Killer (b/c i nixed I feel like making love)....but thats ok b/c leslie has offered to sing the song while we dance after a min of 6 drinks. Should be a great night :)

I've been MIA

I'm just trying to be more like Leslie...but she's been showing me up lately. In reality I've been traveling around the country from negative degree Colorado to 80 degree Florida I've been a girl on the go leaving little time for my blog. Sorry friends. The good news is that I now have the internet at home, and am in the DC area for the near future (although trying to get back to florida)

The highlight of my trip to Colorado was definitely the Celestial Seasons Tea Factory. Sounds lame I know, but I got to try any tea i wanted AND all the machines were running which was pretty cool to watch. Also the Mint room cleared my sinuses momentarily which felt pretty nice (nasty right?). I'd be up for going back in the spring when the temps are up a bit. The hairnet count for a 3 night trip to colorado? 3! 2 clean room visits and 1 on the tea tour. Maybe next time I go I can find a way to beat that record!

The coolest part about florida? The infestation of purple snails and blue Man-O-War Jelly fish washed up on the beaches. Makes for a very pretty and colorful beach walk...just watch where you step so you don't get stung!

Bull Durham

Since we STILL do not have cable (fuck you verizon) we watched a dvd last night. Peter picked Bull Durham since I hadnt seen it, but I like baseball and was likely to enjoy this movie. I thought it was an ok movie, but I think something was lost in that I waited so long to see it and saw all the other copycat movies first, and had heard all the famous quotations from that movie already. Also i did NOT like susan sarandon's character. I did like tim robbins in that movie, I dont think i've seen him in a role like that before so that was cool. Kevin Costner always plays the same but thats alright. I completely see the appeal, but I dont think i'll be watching it again.

Dinner For Schmucks

We finally watched this movie. It was the only movie my whole family could agree on to get ondemand in cape cod....and boy was it a weird movie. There were a few (very few) actually funny parts that had us all laughing. When the movie ended there was silence, then someone said "well that was weird" and we all went off to bed. Later peter made a comment that I thought was pretty true, that at no point in the creation of the movie did anyone say "is this too weird, should we really be doing this" instead they green lighted every idea that anyone had.

I'm very annoyed with Verizon and Regan National Airport right now

which to rant about first....

I'll start with verizon b/c i already explained the first part of the problem. Today was the day they had rescheduled to....and to noones surprise they called yesterday to reschedule us to the 31st. If anyone thinks thats remotely reasonable let me know. Dont forget the initial instillation date was supposed to be the 8th...which means we started dealing with them in december...in 2010. The issue is there are no more FIOS ports in the building, which as we've been told is an easy fix to just open up a new box....why its taking them almost a month to do so I have no idea. Fuck you verizon.

On to regan national. Last night i had an 8:30 flight from boston to dc. When we got there it was delayed due to "light snow" in dc, and after a while the plane still hadnt left dc. We had a total delay of about 3 hours before we finally took off. Once we landed at 12:30 there were no available gates...so we sat on the tarmac for over an hour. a gate finally opened up and the jetway was frozen and they couldnt move it to us. They finally moved it as close as they could and there was still a 4 ft gap b/c the plane parked in the wrong spot, so they towed us to the right spot. When we got to the taxi line they were loading as many groups into the same taxi as possible, so we were the 3rd stop along the way...each group paying 20 bucks. we finally made it home at 2:30 am. Fuck you Regan National Airport.

Verizon is the worst

So we moved over the course of the past 11 days. Inorder to keep the bills straight we decided that I would no longer be incharge of the Verizon bill, so at this good transition time I canceled my account at the old place, and peter started an account at the new place. We were all set for a January 8th install. Joe even came over to protect me from the strange guys (thanks Joe!) and I took a day off work. We got the confirmation email two days before, and were all set for our 8-12 window.....the window came and went.

I called verizon to see if there was any way we could reschedule for that same day so I didnt have to lose a second day of work. When she pulled up our account, she found that they had canceled our appointment WITHOUT NOTIFYING US. The reason for the cancellation?? They claim there is no FIOS in our building, which we know from experience is NOT TRUE. After an hour and a half on the phone we were able to verify that we did infact have FIOS in the building, but could not send over someone in the near future since the dispatchers still have the note that there is no FIOS in our building and we'd have to wait 24-48 hours to resolve that. The soonest they could re-schedule was the 18th!!!

Clearly we called back over the weekend, and as of sunday they still think we have no fios in our building, and we still have to wait till the 18th. JERKS>