The Reason Why Soccer Isnt Big in America

So our cocktail party on Saturday night was fun. I did not make Panty Dropper Punch as promised, and instead made the slightly tamer Pomegranate Champagne Punch. It worked.

An interesting argument made by one of the attendees: we were talking about the Euro 2008 finals on Sunday and how Americans dont recognize the full majesty of this historic occasion blah blah blah...i.e. why do Americans not like soccer? I tried to make some watery bullshit argument that loads of kids play soccer in the US so it must be gaining traction. To which he responded, loads of GIRLS play soccer in the US. "Women DO NOT PLAY football". He argues Americans are inherently sexist, so any sport that women are good at will inevitably fail in the US. Hmmm.

Incidentally, the game was awesome. I am currently shopping for my new Fernando Torres jersey.

A Curse on all Bees

I was stung by a belligerent bee, and now I'm pissed. My arm is red and swelling. I am, happy to report, still breathing and not anaphlyactic. But still, I'm pissed. Honey is just sugar for pussies. And pollination is overrated.

Annnnyway, Iain has decided we are having people over on Saturday for drinks in an attempt to drain the ocean of leftover alcohol moldering in our basement. I am going to attempt a cocktail called Panty Dropper Punch which involves tequila and Red Bull. KIDDING. I'll probably make some grilled marinated chicken thighs, grilled sweet potatoes with lime, and watermelon feta salad. I'm harassing Joanna again for her old-fashioned potato salad recipe. Hers is the best I've had. I will also make my show-stopping, knock your socks off, peach and blueberry amaretti crisp.

Or maybe I'll just drink an entire bottle of white wine before people show up and order pizza.

Have a good weekend!

Hotter than the surface of the sun

Great quote about LA from 1939 John Fante novel "Ask the Dust"

"You'll eat hamburgers year after year and live in dusty vermin-infested apartments and hotels, but every morning you'll see the mighty sun, the eternal blue of the sky, and the streets frull of sleek women you never will possess, and the hot semi-tropical nights will reek of romance you'll never have, but you'll still be in paradise, boys, in the land of sunshine."

Storm's Pictures

The funniest part is those pictures of Sonia, Meanboy, and me were taken early in the night because it is still bright out!

I Am An Extraordinary Machine

Iain and I went car shopping this weekend. We are not really in the position to buy one yet, but wanted to scope out the options. One thing is very clear: I am not really a car person. Honestly, I dont really care that much about the pure chrome spinning rims or whatever. I get anxious driving or parking a nice car, and I get nervous paying a lot for gas or loan payments. That said, I like my conveniences and I find random cars kind of soulless. That narrows our options.

Assuming gas prices stay constant, Iain will probably continue to drive the Prius since he has to commute the furthest. I walk to work now, although that is going to get very difficult in a few weeks due to the heat, so I will probably be the primary driver. I just want something kind of cheap but cute and great mileage.

Yesterday we looked at Smart Cars and Minis. Love love them both. The Minis are obviously a lot more stylish and zippier, but I'm sold on the Smart Car. Seriously: it is very comfortable, very cheap, and super cute. It drives like a tonka toy, but I dont really care. It would be the perfect second car. Unfortunately, I'm not the only person who thinks so. There is a 1 to 1 1/2 year wait list - isnt that nuts? We dont need one now anyway since Iain will be in New Mexico for most of the rest of the year (btw: 120F at White Sands yday!) but sounds like my supercute little Smart Car will need to wait.

BTW2: I'm loving all things Ting Ting these days. "That's Not My Name" reminds me of "Hey Yeah" for some reason. I've never really been a massive Fiona Apple fan - never bought that whole "damaged scary girl" schtick she's selling - but heard "I Am An Extraordinary Machine" on the radio this weekend and it might just unseat "That's Not My Name" as my new favorite song.

Kevin Garnett should be my friend

I think if he met me, we would be best friends. I would tease him about his crazy goatee, and he would ask me about the latest Obama-McCain poll numbers. When he's in LA, he'd come over on Friday night and watch Battlestar Galactica with us (he HATES Gaius) and sometimes we'd get takeout Sushi from Shintaro. I'd go visit him in Boston and he will take me to all of his favorite bars to meet his Boston friends. Sigh.

The Awesomest Picture Ever

Gratuitously cute picture of Quinn

Taken by Claire Bowden, Iain's brother Jamie's girlfriend.

Haikus with Peg

Peg's tshirt:
My haiku for Peg upon learning said tshirt is for sale on the web:

Thank you for message
I am going to buy t shirt
Snort snort snort snort snort

Her haiku response:

awesometown my friend
but now i must bounce already
bounce, BOUNCE, i say girl!

Where the buffalo play...

Above are the flowers Iain sent me yesterday. It was our first anniversary, which may come as a mild surprise to everyone who came to our "wedding" 2 weeks ago. He has a cold and we are a little celebrated-out, but I made a nice special dinner that he enjoyed. We had a lovely bottle Elias Pinot Noir given to us by my Uncle Mike for the real wedding, the one last year (keep up, people). I made Bison Stroganoff - if you have never had bison, jump in! It is extremely lean and has a nice meaty taste that is not gamey at all but you have to be careful to not overcook it because it is so lean. It really worked the lovely mushroom and sour cream sauce. The dish was, not unlike our relationship, a bit odd but very enjoyable nonetheless.

Top Cheftastic

Only 2 short days until the Top Chef finale! This season of TC might be my favorite - most of them actually seem like they can cook and the challenges have been slightly less ridiculous than usual (I still havent really forgiven the producers for the veggie loaf with Squirt soda sauce last season). For those of you that havent been watching, a quick update:

2 Front runners: Stephanie: totally unflappable sweet woman from Chicago who cooks steady American food. Richard: good-natured chef from Atlanta with a ridiculous fauxhawk. He started out the season using flashy gastrotech crap like handheld mini-smokers and now just seems to do normal American food.

Other: Lisa: boo! hiss! villainous hideous evil woman seen above! and a bad cook! always accusing the other chefs of sabotaging her! how is she still in and not Antonia??? gag me with a handheld mini-smoker!

Dont call me on Wednesday. I'll be busy.

Thank you

So. I'm back.

Back, but I'm still recovering. Actually that's not entirely fair: "recovering" makes it sound like I have some exotic phlegm-causing virus. I am doing what every other person does when they take a week off: not showering very often and watching endless "Law & Order" reruns on TNT. Iain tried to salvage what was left of The Surge and brought the extra cupcakes to work. I'm sure that made him more popular at work, but it didnt make him more popular around here.

Meanboy asked me to try and be sincere, so here goes: WOW. That was fun. I had such an amazing time. I think that everything went off almost completely without a hitch (Maroon 5-gate and The Doorless Shuttle notwithstanding). I am so lucky to have a wonderful man like Iain and wonderful family and friends to share my wondeful life with. I loved having everybody from the different parts of my life in one place at one time in such a beautiful place. There are so many really funny moments coming back to me: Linda and the Red Bull on her back, Joanna's tales of her flying circus, and Storm's "MOVE!". Anyway, enough gushing. But thank you thank you thank you.

One piece of housecleaning: send me your pictures. I never quite got around to getting those wedding-themed disposable cameras on each tables and I want to see your best shots. John The Hot Photographer will send me his pix, and I will post some of them here, but send me your cool ones in the meantime. I'm not sure my beleaguered work email server can handle massive emails, so it might be better if you upload them to Picasa or the Costco website and send me the link so I can link them. If you are feeling industrious you can send me the pix on a CD. As if you havent done enough work already.

Ok I have to get back to L&O now. Its the one with Joe Piscopo as the evil radio talk show host.

But snark-free
No bullshit

Thanks.