Slice of Pink

Grown-Up Grilled Cheese Party

April is Grilled Cheese month. I know this because my trusty sources, Hi Monkey! and LAist, told me. If you live in the Los Angeles area you can participate in Melt the Vote at Clementine, otherwise you should definitely host your own grilled cheese party.

If you want to get real fancy, send out invites like these from Real Simple, editing to note that it's a grown-up grilled cheese party. Or just call your friends up and tell them to come on over.

Choose four or five recipes and create a ballot for voting.

Add some gourmet potato chips and some good beer.

Voila! Grilled cheese party!

The Recipes:

+ The classic grilled cheese.

+ The classic grilled cheese made with an iron, by Hi Monkey!

+ A fancy grilled cheese sandwich with fig jam, basil, and goat cheese at Family Style Food.

+ Martha's favorite grilled cheese sandwich which is packed with chorizo, roasted red peppers, and saffron.

+ Simply Recipes has a grilled cheese with bacon and pear.

+ A sautéed jalapeño and aged jack grilled cheese at Chow.

+ This recipe at Food & Wine combines three of the world’s most popular sandwiches—bacon, lettuce and tomato; fried egg; and grilled cheese.

+ Mario Batali's grilled mozzarella sandwich calls for fresh thyme and nutmeg.

+ Whole Foods Market claims the ultimate grilled cheese.

+ The "Gossip Girl" $50 grilled cheese sandwich recipe.

+ A white cheddar and roasted pepper grilled cheese can be found at The Food Channel.

+ Honey-Basil Grilled Cheese from YumSugar.

There are plenty more fancy grilled cheese recipes available with a simple Google search and you can certainly make your own creations--or allow your guests to make their own fancy grilled cheese sandwiches by offering a variety of breads, cheeses, and fillings. I think Hi Monkey would approve.

Happy Grilled Cheese Month!

March Love

Maybe it was Spring Break or the warmer weather, but March really flew by. Here are a few of my favorite things this month:

Longer days, cheap spring dresses, having house guests, Unruly Things, Peeps, hotels that give free coffee and cookies in the afternoon, San Luis Obispo, watching old episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, these cute bento lunch boxes, watching a A Year with Frog and Toad at the community college theater, warmer days for bike riding, drinking a pitcher of pear cider with my best friend forever.

Things I Now Know

1. What a Shoofly Pie is {via PomJob}.

2. What a $16,500 per month apartment in the Plaza looks like.

3. That beer is healthy.

Wednesday was highly informative, no?

Five Questions That Need Immediate Answers

1. Are True Religion jeans as fashionable if you can purchase a pair at Costco?

2. If I go to BlogHer, will I be sitting alone at the back of the room or will I be drinking champagne with friends?

3. What is your favorite cheese?

4. If your significant other had spent $85000 on high end prostitutes, wouldn't you be just a little bit too busy packing up his crap to put on a strand of pearls and attend a press conference with him?

5. Did you refresh your browser to see the new Slice of Pink banner?

February Love

My favorite things this month include:

Ruth Green Design, new highlighters (nerd alert!), 3191, watching the 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove with Will, fresh flowers on the dining room table, studying outside in the sunshine, the gleaned-from-Girl-Scouts Banana Boat recipe, David Ichioka's Sleep Pix.

Peas Be Mine

Last year, my students and I put together a great big list of Valentine Puns. With this list, you can turn practically anything into a silly and sweet Valentine treat, including tons of things that you can pick up at the grocery store for under five bucks.

If you are stuck trying to find the perfect Valentine gift for your sweetie pie, download the list and turn cans of peas (peas be mine!), jars of honey (bee mine!), and lemons (pucker up!) into lighthearted Valentine surprises.

{the cute images above are from rock scissor paper}

January Love

Things I am currently loving: rain boots, doing the crossword puzzle, Lisa Congdon's collections, clementines, having a husband who cooks, laptop cozies, raspberry tea, afternoon naps, Shutter Sisters, carrot ginger soup, Soop rings, biscuits, cinnamon on my coffee, Jamie Wieck.

What are you loving?

Goodbye 2007, Goodbye

January
We rang in the New Year with sangria and champagne. A state of emergency was declared in California after an inch of snow fell. I applied to law school. We started another robotics season.

February
I turned 27 and got a crazy polka dotted cake and a pink unicorn piñata that I kept in the living room for six months. My students and I made a 4-page list of Valentine puns. We volunteered at The Painted Turtle camp.

March
My students wrote out over 7000 chalk digits of Pi to celebrate Pi Day. Topanga, our beta fish, died. I was accepted into some law schools. We visited sunny San Diego and then spent a week each in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

April
I forgot to renew Slice of Pink and we almost had to go yellow. We checked out Arizona State University, but decided on UC Davis for law school. The robotics team went to the championship in Atlanta. I decided to exercise by hula hooping which lasted all of five minutes--just long enough to buy a hula hoop. My students gave you relationship advice and Barquan did a popular guest post.

May
Kiley, Kevin, Will and I got a fancy award from the school district for our work with the robots. My brother-in-law got engaged to Amanda. My advanced students and I won the high school talent show with a choreographed routine to I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred.

June
Barquan made a tribute video for Will and I. We visited Davis and Will got a new job. Will and I took headshots of our friends Zanon and Kelly with our new Nikon D200. We ate at Pinkberry, Pink, and Sprinkles in a one million-calorie day. I documented a Saturday and posted a UV photo of my skin.

July
I reviewed my life as a teacher. I made the first of many Banana Caramel Spice Pies. We went to the Magic Castle and the Harry Potter release party, where we were the magician's assistant and Harry & Hermione, respectively.

August
Will and I celebrated our 4th anniversary in Santa Barbara and then moved to Davis where I started law school. More importantly, I learned to line dance.

September
We lived in a hotel for 26 days until we finally moved into our new apartment. I almost dropped out of law school but decided, what the hell? Maybe I'd give it another go. I was in a wedding. I learned to work the oven, and it wasn't easy.

October
We met up with Anthony and Amanda in San Francisco and then they came to visit us in Davis. I carved a kitty pumpkin and rode my bike home in the rain for the first time.

November
I posted every single day. Michelle and I hosted a wine and cheese extravaganza. We had a sexier or smarter debate. I ate a lot of peppermint. I expressed my disdain for Christmas consumerism, causing some people to heartily agree and pissing off some others. I organized my books by color.

December
I lived through law school finals and shopped for Christmas gifts. I ate more peppermint, drank some champagne, and said goodbye to 2007.

Goodbye 2007. It was a real pleasure.

December Love

Browsing through 30,000 Years of Art, running into old students all over town, Peppermint Joe-Joe's (box #5), playing Mancala with anyone I can convince to play with me, tartx, my 2007 snowglobe, mom doing all the laundry, lunch with the Book Louvahs, going out for sushi when dad is paying, catching up on Netflix, guiltless sleeping in, New Year's Eve surprises, Juno.

November Love

Things I am currently loving: cranberry sauce, visiting with family and friends, gramma's stuffing, two Thanksgiving dinners, putting on warm clothes straight out of the dryer, Amy Winehouse (thanks, Kathryn), the big pile of firewood my dad sent home with us, using my sister's five bazillion hair products when we are visiting (I don't even pack my own), Moselland Ars Vitis Riesling (recommended by Michelle), Kaas Glassworks.

The Most Magical Holiday Ever

The holiday issue of Martha Stewart Living arrived today. Here is the list of things that I will NOT be doing this year, thus failing to create The Most Magical Holiday Ever.

Scent my home with homemade potpourri.

Serve spicy tuna tartare on waffle chips.

Create a centerpiece with crimson pomegranates, tiny Seckel pears, and assorted grapes.

Adjust my indoor lighting so that it is flattering to guests in the evening.

Hire an extra set of hands to help with serving and clean up.

Make Marcona Almond and Fleur de Sel Pralines.

Create a wreath from lemon butter fern and two types of maidenhair fern.

Make Roast Goose with Pomegranate Glaze.

Design rhinestone-studded snap-on necklaces for dogs.

Transform beads into dinner plate sized snowflake ornaments.

Start a collection of often-overlooked collectible reindeer by searching yard sales, flea markets, online auctions, and holiday antique fairs.

Anybody taking Martha up on these Most Magical Holiday Ever good things? Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?

Six on Sunday

Nicole tagged me with the six random things post, whereby I tell you six random things about me. This is not unlike the eight random things post that I did in July, only this is better because six things are easier to come up with than eight things. 75 percent easier, actually.

Here we go:

1. I have had some wine. This may affect the content of this post but likely will not affect the spelling.

2. I have a $200 bottle of champagne sitting in my fridge right now. We will be drinking it from 50 cent Ikea champagne flutes. Classy.

3. Our new apartment has a nice walk-in closet with several built-in shelves and hanging bars. Will immediately put all of his stuff in the smaller guest room closet and, although I originally felt kind of bad and objected to this separation of our clothing, I really, really like having all that room for just my stuff. Sometimes I take off clothes and put them on the floor, instead of hanging them back up, just because it's my closet and I can do what I want.

4. It's my mother-in-law's birthday! Happy, happy day!

5. There are two beers left in the fridge from a six-pack that Michelle and I found sitting in an abandoned cart in the Trader Joe's parking lot. Somebody had forgotten to transfer them to their car and, after ascertaining that they did not belong to anyone in sight and discussing that we were not, in fact, committing larceny, we put them in Michelle's trunk and brought them home.

6. I neglected my studies today for a trip to Ikea, a walk to the ice cream shop, and some Seinfeld. Wouldn't you?

Tag, you're it.

Not on my Christmas List

Things that seem cool in theory, but which will probably turn out to be a huge pain in the ass after about one week:

1. The Exploding Piggy Bank, a battery powered bank that lights up, makes noise, shakes violently, and scatters coins if it is not topped off for a long time.

2. Clocky, an alarm clock that can jump down from up to 3 feet and run away and hide if one does not get out of bed on time.

3. A president that's just "one of the guys."

4. Windows products.

5. A pop art toaster, with interchangeable toast stencils to brand images on your breakfast.

October Love

Things I'm currently into: fall leaves crunching under my bicycle tires, pumpkin dip time (as usual), lunchtime lectures about wine policy and farmer's markets, washing clothes in our very own washer (who knew laundry could be so easy?), ballpark promotions gone wrong, cinnamon raisin bagels, the LOLcat Bible Transcript, watching old Seinfeld episodes on DVD, grinding fresh coffee beans in the Magic Bullet, and DNA 11 modern masterpieces.

Eight is Great

I have been tagged with the Eight Random Facts About You meme. So, here we go, eight random things, which was not easy. Maybe I tell y'all too much.

1. Even though we go to Vegas a couple times a year, I absolutely hate to gamble, and only pretend to do so for the free drinks.

2. Since I have been married, I haven't ever paid the electric bill, the car insurance, the rent, the phone bill, a student loan. I haven't filed a tax return. I have only a vague idea how much money is in the bank. This is so embarrassingly 1950s, but I rationalize that it's okay because I could totally figure it out if I wanted to, which I don't because, hello, boring. I was an AP student, but in high school I did not know the worth of any significant amount of money. Like, could $1,000 buy a car? $10,000?

3. I have a collection of itty bitty frogs that are hidden all over the house--on the window sill, in the medicine cabinet, hanging in a tree. They are little surprises in unexpected places.

4. I have not seen most movies. Name your favorite movie, I probably have not seen it. Some noteworthy movies that I have not seen: Karate Kid, It's a Wonderful Life, Pirates of the Caribbean, Back to the Future.

5. We will be homeless for the month of August. Seriously. Our lease in Lancaster ends on July 31, but our lease in Davis does not start until September 5.

6. Many of my good friends are not in my age group. My favorite friends span from 18 to 80.

7. A local coffee shop and local restaurant use my handwriting and little illustrations on their chalk menu boards. It is not a fun job to update the boards.

8. I am so much loving Katie Holmes' new haircut that I am going shorter at my Tuesday hair appointment. Maybe not that short. But shorter. Or maybe I'll grow it out. Crap.

(Tom Cruise in lilac. Oh God, whatever.)

So there it is. I'm tagging Kathryn, Nicole, and Sara, as well as anyone else who hasn't done it yet.

Hot Fun in the Summer

Last night was the big high school graduation ceremony. I wore my pink hood again and was elected to shake hands with all the graduates as they came off the stage. The photos are here.

To celebrate summer, Will and I have made a list of 40 things we want to do this summer. I originally wanted to list 60, one thing for each day until we move, but we figured that we will need to spend a lot of time packing our things, and I will need to spend a lot of time sleeping in preparation for the not sleeping that will make up my first semester, and Will will need to spend a lot of time training if he is going to be a super member of the Mad Cow Racing Team in Davis.

Here is our summer celebration list. We start tomorrow.

01. Bake a pie
02. Fly a kite
03. Go to Disneyland
04. Have a picnic and feed the ducks
05. Make ice cream
06. Make cherry pie martinis
07. Visit the Getty Villa
08. Run a 5k
09. Tour the quarry
10. Go to a Dodger game (when they play someone good)
11. Make Sangria on a Stick
12. Eat a big breakfast for dinner
13. Miniature golf
14. Have a yard sale
15. Go to a food festival
16. Make crème brûlée
17. Throw a family BBQ
18. Make homemade bread
19. Go to a Thursday Night on the Square
20. Pick cherries
21. Paint an Expressionistic picture
22. Build a tent and watch movies all night
23. Go to the Harry Potter release party
24. Put books on half.com
25. Go to the library and learn something new
26. Make photograms
27. Take a scuba class
28. Make citron pressé
29. Go camping
30. Go through the photos on the Mac
31. Make a marshmallow dessert
32. Go to Pink's and Pinkberry and Sprinkles
33. Go see Paris J'Taime
34. Get a new MacBook and a cellphone!
35. Make BLATs
36. Get corn on the cob from the Catholic Church
37. Go to Comedy Sportz
38. Get drunk and walk home
39. Stay at the Cheshire Cat for our anniversary
40. Make an A-Z photo montage

Any additions? We will try to accomplish any reasonable summer fun activities you add in the comments, so long as they don't interfere with my sleeping.

Five Good Things

1. The delicious and delightful movie Waitress with Keri Russell.

2. The sweet and zesty Orange Mocha drink line at Starbucks.

3. My bendable, wrappable, grippable, portable Gorilla Pod.

4. The Martha Stewart craft line at Michael's and Blueprint's blog.

5. The last week of school.

Taking a Hike

During my final quarter at UCSB, the quarter when I was completing my undergraduate honors thesis, I commuted two hours each way to Santa Barbara twice a week to meet with my professor. I had been offered a job in my hometown and it required starting in January, before the completion of my degree, so I worked three days a week and made the long commute to college the other two. Every week I would check out books on tape from the meager selection at my local library to make the commute time worthwhile.

One night--I remember this clearly--I was driving back home, down Highway 101, listening to Dr. Phil on tape. He was discussing living by design--that is, taking accountability for your life, deciding what you want, and then making it happen. Dr. Phil was taped while talking to a live audience and he asked the audience this question: "How many of you live in the town you grew up in?" By the sound of his voice I could tell that a majority of the audience had raised their hands. "What if," he asked then, "your town really sucks?"

Something about that line really stuck with me. I had just moved back home after living in two amazing cities--Santa Barbara and Washington, DC--and compared to those two place, my hometown did really suck. For me. I receive a lot of flak for wanting to move out of my hometown in the Antelope Valley--even more so now that I am actually starting to pack up my crap--and even though I definitely don't feel obligated to explain my reasons for moving, I am going to do it anyway. This is mainly for the people who can't understand why we would move, the people who think we are snobby and vainglorious, and the people who think we are AV haters. Which we are, but only because we have different values. Not better, just different.

After the jump, some of the reasons we are moving away and some of the reasons we probably won't move back.

Not Found in Your Dr. Phil Book

Tips on Making a Relationship Last.
Brought to you by one of my classes of high school seniors.
They dictated this list to me and then approved the finished product.

You have to be able to lie. If you can't lie well, you won't last.

Know how to cope with jealousy.

Never be friends with Rob Norman. (Apparently this has something to do with the jealousy issue.)

Your girlfriend must be Mommy Approved.

When you have one finger pointing at the other person, remember that you have three fingers pointing at yourself.

Holidays are a touchy subject.

Try to get classes together.

Let the relationship evolve. When it evolves past you, it's over.

Don't say "I Love You" after three days.

Share everything.

Be able to talk. But don't force it. Don't make somebody talk if they don't feel like it.

Don't stop fights. Finish the fight until everything has been said.

Have big, epic fights that last for a few days rather than fighting about small, petty things all the time.

It's the little things that count.

Use coupons on the first date so you can find out if the girl is stuck up. If she is, dump her.

Get the Bottomless Fries at Red Robin because then you can share a burger and fill up on the fries.

But don't try to go to the dollar movies because it is dangerous there. Pay the $8.

Only one person can have an ego.

Stick up for your other half.

Don't be afraid to act like an idiot. Have fun.

You can't try to force your dude into being mature.

The thing about sex is: you need to either have none whatsoever or lots. If you try to meet in the middle, it won't work.

So Punny

I love a good pun, especially when attached to a cute, punny gift. You know, like a coffee mug with a message that says "I like you a latte!" or a delicious apple with "You are the apple of my eye!" attached on a cute little tag.

My students are all trying to find great Valentine gifts for their sweethearts and, although my initial reaction is to tell them not to bother (you would not believe the vast amount of tears related to high school relationship drama, not worth it in most cases), I am trying to help them out.

I couldn't find a good list of Valentine puns on the ol' www, so I created my own list with the help of some bright girls and one very creative boy. There are six pages of puns and we're not done. I figured I should post the list-in-progress in case any of y'all are trying to think of something clever for your honey (bee mine) this weekend.

Download Zee Slice of Pink Definitive (in progress) Valentine Pun List

26 in 26

26 lessons learned in 26 years:

1. If the jeans fit perfectly in the store, they won't fit after you wash them twice.
2. The taste of wine and beer will grow on you.
3. Write thank you notes.
4. Don't curate other people's tastes.
5. Be unrelenting in your desires.
6. Most of the ideas in Martha Stewart Living are too difficult or too expensive to be worthwhile.
7. Sometimes you have to eat nails for breakfast.
8. Don't talk about politics at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
9. When on vacation, don't eat at chain restaurants that are located in your hometown.
10. Ironing is not a high priority.
11. People who talk non-stop about their million great ideas rarely implement any of them.
12. Don't take your best serving platter to a potluck. Or your best pillows to a hotel.
13. Friends don't have to be only in your age group. My favorite friends range from 18 to 80.
14. People just want to be heard. Listen. Or pretend to listen anyway.
15. You can survive without a television or a cell phone. Seriously.
16. It can all get worse. It can all get better.
17. Sometimes the minority is right.
18. There is no catching up on the laundry. Ever.
19. School loans are totally worth it.
20. Buy your expensive items at Costco. They will take anything back.
21. Embrace worthy traditions.
22. Eat dinner at the table with your family.
23. Wear your seatbelt.
24. Feed your cat.
25. Marry someone who can edit your posts.
26. All you need is love. And some Coldstone ice cream on occasion.

31 Flavors

I didn't make any resolutions this year because I can barely make and complete daily goals, let alone goals that I will have to stick to for an entire year. Fifteen days into my resolutions I would quit the whole thing and then feel guilty for not sticking to my plan and it's not nice to make ourselves feel that way.

I noticed that Zandria made up a list of 101 Things in 1001 Days and it looked so cool that I was on the verge on putting 101 things together myself until I did the math and realized that 1001 days was, like, almost three years away and the only thing I will be interested in at that time will be sleeping and graduating from law school.

Instead, I am going to make one month's worth of small goals, 31 things that I will complete this month. At the end of the month I will revisit and we can see just how many things I completed. Or maybe I will totally forget about the whole project and this post will get buried in the archives (which? new archive page!) and we'll all pretend that it never happened. Real Simple has a 31 Ideas for 31 Days article from which I am stealing a few ideas.

The list is after the jump, because it is really boring.

Hollywood, I'm Coming

Last night I stayed up until 2 in the morning drinking a bottle of wine with Lauren and Stephanie. Lauren was relating a story about her previous job; a story so funny that I knew it was perfect blog material. Lauren and Stephanie both have blogs but neither of them has updated since the summer so I consider it my duty to share Lauren's story. I'll probably leave out some parts, but the main thing, the funny list that ends the story will be there.

Lauren used to be a nanny. She lived at the house with the family she was a nanny for and took care of four kids ranging in age from, like, one to fourteen. After some time with the family she ended up quitting because it was pretty difficult to be a pseudo-mother to four kids while also trying to finish up her degree at Sacramento State.

On the particular day I am about to write about, Lauren was actually no longer employed by the family, but was at the house tying up a few last ends and finishing up with her packing. It was on this day that the fourteen year old decided to go missing. Or actually she ran away, but nobody knew that when the police found her backpack in an alley. Lauren and the kid's mom went on a crazy tour of the city trying to track down the girl.

(There are some details here that I do not remember. Something about friends and a police search and hair dye in a gas station bathroom.)

Something suddenly occurred to Lauren: earlier in the week, the kid had asked Lauren all kinds of information about trips to Los Angeles. Supposedly this was an assignment for a business class in which the kids had to plan a fake business trip and the kid supposedly had to come up with all kinds of information which Lauren had gladly supplied: how to get there, where to stay, maps, and so on. Lauren put two and two together and figured that the assignment was fake and was really a ploy to get information that would provide useful should the kid and her friends decided to run away to become actresses or something in Hollywood.

Sure enough, the kid and two of her friends were headed to LA with a grand total of $35. Over the course of an entire day they had made it exactly twenty minutes out of town to a nearby suburb where they grew tired, cold, and hungry and eventually called their parents to come pick them up.

Of course, running away is nothing to laugh about, but the list of necessities that the girls had in their Trip to Los Angeles folder was a real hoot.

WHAT WE NEED TO SURVIVE IN LA
1. iPod
2. Makeup
3. Hair straightener
4. Curling iron
5. Pajamas

If only life were so easy, girls. If only life were so easy.

Holiday Edition

I have so much more for you, but I am very, very behind in the gift wrapping.

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Hot cocoa with peppermint

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Sets them under the tree

3. Colored lights on tree or white? White

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Always

5. When do you put your decorations up? Early December

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Gramma's Tea Ring

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Open house at Gramma's

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Um, what truth?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Red and gold with butterflies and birds and retro ornaments and other goodies

11. Snow! Love it or leave it? Leave it

12. Can you ice skate? I can, although not well

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? An engagement ring

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Love

15. Do your pets get gifts? Absolutely!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Opening a snowglobe

17. What tops your tree? A big fancy bow and a gold butterfly

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving. Seriously.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? So This is Christmas, John Lennon

20. Candy canes! Yuck or yum? Yummy

Three Day Weekends

Things I am currently loving: the Lemon Leaf Cafe, French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes and Pleasure, footless tights, Tse & Tse, pumpkin dip with apples and gingersnaps*, Dark Chocolate Peppermint ice cream at Coldstone Creamery, democracy, Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste, Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, , Screw Kappa Napa.

*Combine 4 cups powdered sugar with 2 (8 ounce) packages of softened cream cheese until well blended. Beat in 1 (30 ounce) can pumpkin pie filling, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon ginger. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve with gingersnaps and apples.

Spinach Lentil Soup

One week ago I signed up for some healthy eating plan thingy online. I got a list of healthy choice menus (mozzarella and tomato sandwich) and high calcium snacks (1 cup skim milk) and even some 125 calorie daily indulgences (pear, 1 large). I could stand to lose a pound or two, but more importantly I need to stop eating like a teenage boy.

The truth is, for being an official grown-up, I have few grown-up tendencies. Despite the fact that I am married and have a "real job" and have things like car insurance and rent and a retirement plan, I really do not have any sense of adult responsibility.

1. My job is at a high school. Teaching photography. I played Scattergories during C Block today.

2. The retirement plan? I know we have one, but what it is exactly I am not sure.

3. I complain about cleaning.

4. I sometimes try on 15 outfits before I go out. All the things I decide not to wear, I throw on the floor instead of hanging back up.

5. I stay up way past my bedtime, just because.

6. I sleep in until 11 on the weekends.

7. I play on the Internet excessively.

8. I ignore the alarm clock. Every day.

9. I am pretty sure I have car insurance.

10. I am deeply fascinated by Jessica Simpson's hair.

Anyway, I printed my meal plan and it told me to make things like "trout amandine, baked potato, with sauteed spinach" and "ginger chicken with edamame salad." These things sound nice in theory, but what exactly is "amandine" and isn't spinach making people sick lately? The menus are a little fancy considering I had Easy Mac for lunch and a BLT for dinner. I certainly need to move into a more adult meal plan, but there needs to be a transition period. Like maybe I can move from doughnuts to toaster waffles before I have to make the switch to the Egg Beaters Chive Scramble.

Somebody point be in the direction of a transition meal plan. One that doesn't completely rule out Doritos and M&Ms.

Favorite Foods

As reported by high school seniors on a personal inventory form filled out in my classroom:

1. Chilly Fries
2. Lazonia, etc.
3. Hot Pockets (pizza)
4. Cheesecake!
5. Baclava
6. Fettechini Alfraedo
7. pasta! salad!
8. Donuts/tacos/ice cream/macaroni/anything
9. Santa Fe Burrito (for now)
10. Any eatable
11. chese Biscuts
12. Alot!
13. flavorful kind
14. Rice and stew
15. Italian in general

Also, Television

Ten Hobbies and Interests as reported by high school seniors on a Personal Inventory Form in my classroom:

1. Stereo systems
2. Non-lethal guns
3. Jet Skei
4. Making beats
5. Civil War reenacting
6. Conspirisy theories
7. Draw
8. Hello Kitty
9. Texting
10. I can't name any specific hobbies/interests

With Apologies

The top 5 reasons I cannot write a good post from the university computer lab:

1. I am using a PC and everything looks ugly.

2. I am supposed to be looking at websites related to the conference I am attending, which requires much minimizing as the professor walks by to see what I am "working on" and what I might "like to share" with the rest of the group.

3. The sooner we finish, the sooner I can leave for dinner.

4. Constant interruptions that require note taking in a gigantic binder.

5. I have to pee.

10 Things that Shock Me

1. The actual size of the Mona Lisa

2. Mary Matalin and James Carville

3. The amount of calories in a Peenya Kowlada from Jamba Juice

4. The gas mileage of Hummers

5. The fact that Hummers are exempt from revealing their gas mileage to consumers

6. The amazing popularity of reality television

7. How worked up people can get over a fictional story

8. Kids who like advanced Calculus

9. Tom Cruise

10. The price we are willing to pay for a Starbucks coffee--a coffee that could be brewed at home in under five minutes, for less than 25 cents

Further Proof that We Have Not Progressed from Collegehood to Adulthood

The contents of our fridge:

beer
whipped cream
milk (expired)
margarine
one egg (expired)
sour cream (expired)
hot fudge
three bottles of sparkling cider
jam
pinot grigio

The photographic evidence:

Four Things

Four jobs I’ve had: Office Manager, Docent, White House Intern, Photo Teacher

Four films I can watch over and over again: Amelie, Office Space, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Big Daddy

Four places I've lived: Washington, DC; Santa Barbara, CA; Sylmar, CA; Lancaster, CA

Four TV programs I love: Sex and the City, Friends, Desperate Housewives, Sopranos

Four places I've been on holiday: Paris, New York, New Orleans, Boston

Four of my favorite dishes: Jello salads, cajun jambalaya, sweet crepes, macaroni and cheese

Four websites I visit daily: Amalah, Gmail, McSweeney's, a million blogs

Four places I’d rather be right now: MoMA , Italy, San Francisco, Freebirds

5 (Totally Unrelated) Things

1. Umbrellas at the Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

2. Mr. Honeydew sent me an email today telling me about a special delivery of pink spatulas from Williams-Sonoma. After he gave Shea a set for Christmas, I expressed my need for the spatulas. Do you understand what this means? I am going to make cakes! and frosting! and other things requiring spatulas! And, all thanks to the wonderful and sweet Mr. Honeydew.

3. Our little strawberry plant, a gift from Jose's mom, is surprisingly still alive after an entire month! This is the first plant, of at least ten plants, that has survived. Of course, we were gone for three of the last four weeks, so it shouldn't be long before it wilts and dies.

4. Will is doing Tae-bo. In boxers and sneakers. No socks. No pants. The fun here never ends.

5. It is really hard to watch the movie Monster without thinking the entire time: Is that really Charlize Theron? Are those her teeth? But she is so pretty. Is that her voice? Is that Charlize Theron's voice? Is that really her?

More is More

Today I bought some toothpaste and I just want to take a moment and share with you the Crest mint flavor variations:

Regular
Mild Mint
Cool Mint
Fresh Mint
Clean Mint
Vanilla Mint
Herbal Mint
Peppermint
Strong Mint
Moonlight Mint
Energizing Mint
Refreshing Mint
Invigorating Mint
Minty Fresh Striped

(I wrote these all down on the back of my shopping list and verified at the Crest webpage. I am NOT, I repeat, NOT making this up.)

What?

So, if you want Dual Action Whitening, you can get it in Fresh Mint or Cool Mint. Multicare Whitening comes only in Fresh Mint, although Tarter Protection Whitening comes in Cool Mint, Fresh Mint, or Fresh Mint with baking soda. If you want the Herbal Mint, you must go with Whitening Expessions although you can choose the paste or the gel. And on and on. And on.

I repeat, What?

For the Love of Pink

My friends, they are fabulous. I got this bottle of Pink champagne from Lauren. I don't think I should drink anything else. Well, except maybe Dom Perignon, but obviously only if Pink is unavailable.

And from Kathryn, a pink box filled with lots of pink goodies like this:

and this:

And stacks of other wonderfully pink surprises. Fabulous, fabulous friends who value the joy of pink.

After the jump, I answer one of those questionnaires, courtesy of Mr. Honeydew. I give very lame and uncreative answers to the questions because, for some reason, whenever I am asked to do one of these surveys I cannot, for the life of me, think of a single answer. Give me a survey and I will not remember my favorite color, let alone my top three favorite songs. I racked my brain for these obvious answers...

5 Things

1. I wore a pair of fishnets to school. Black. (Gasp!) They were extremely tight knit, though, and pretty much just looked like black opaque tights. No big scandal.

2. I bought some pumpkin butter from Trader Joe’s. Pumpkin butter! Yum.

3. Yes, so maybe I am about five years late on this, but I bid on my first ever item at eBay! I made an account. I bid. I was outbid. That’s okay, y’all, because I am on eBay! eBay! eBay!

4. I need honey-colored fishnets. Neeeeed them.

5. My favorite pumpkin dip recipe (don’t you all have a favorite pumpkin dip recipe?):

4 cups powdered sugar
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese
1 can (30 oz.) pumpkin pie filling
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger

Combine sugar and softened cream cheese until well blended. Beat in remaining ingredients. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator. A great dip with gingersnaps and apples.

Freeze Tag

The super creative and artistic Joleen tagged me.

Five CDs in your player: I haven’t purchased a CD since, well, since I can’t even remember when. Hello, people. iTunes.

Five Movies You've Seen Recently: March of the Penguins, Wedding Crashers, A Very Long Engagement, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Million Dollar Baby.

Five Nice Things That Happened To You Lately: My husband bought me roses and a polka dotted apron, my mom took care of Millie while we were out of town, the wonderful people at Krispy Kreme gave us a dozen free doughnuts for our anniversary, Lauren sent me an awesome antique campaign pin, and my sister-in-law helped me with a tremendous audit I had to get done.

Five MP3s On Your Playlist: On my iPod I’ve got a very upbeat mix of music to workout to including: Ignition Remix, Pour Some Sugar on Me, More Bounce, You’re the Best, Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta.

Five Friends To Pass This On To: I am a little self-conscious about tagging people, so here’s the scoop: if you want to play, consider yourself tagged and rock on and let me know so I can come check out your answers. If you don’t want to play, that’s cool, too. See you on the monkey bars.

I'm It

The very cool Okgirl tagged me, so here goes nothin'.

List ten songs that you are currently digging … it doesn’t matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they’re no good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the ten songs in your blog. Then tag five other people to see what they’re listening to.

1. Middle Man, Jack Johnson
2. Constellations, Jack Johnson
3. (and everything else Jack, to get that out of the way)
4. Hot Child in the City, Nick Gilder
5. Eye of the Tiger, Survivor
6. Every time I Look at You, Il Divo
7. World’s Greatest, R. Kelly
8. Hump, Black Eyed Peas (Thank you, Kathryn)
9. The Honeymoon Song , Everclear
10. The whole Weezer Make Believe CD

I’m tagging Kathryn and Zandria, because I told them so last night when we were all getting drunk and taking pictures of ourselves.

Also, Rach, Nicole, and Stacey.

Tag. You're it.

Ribbit!

This teeny clay frog was a gift from my friend Cathy. An avid catalog shopper, Cathy always finds the most creative and fun little presents--and she always gives them without an occasion. For me, it's always frogs. I must have a ten tiny, adorable frogs around my house from Cathy.

Spring break is just one glorious day away! I may just stay in bed the entire week and eat nothing but french toast and fresh orange juice, which will be delivered daily to my bedside by darling husband.

Or, I may try to get these tasks completed:
+ Officially launch Slice of Pink
+ Spring Clean
+ Rent all the movies I've been wanting to see: The Motorcycle Diaries, Closer, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Garden State, and Maria Full of Grace
+ Have a blood test (because I think I am Anemic or something)
+ Use our Disneyland tickets!
+ Buy new sheets to fit our extra-deep, pillow-top, super-comfy new mattress (do you see why I want to stay in bed all week?)
+ Walk 5 miles
+ Sit in Barnes and Noble and read all the new magazines
+ Try new recipes
+ Make a Recycled Monster