One snack at a time

Today's weigh in:

147.5

I hit a huge milestone in my diet today, I weighed in this morning at 147.5! It's the first time I've been under 150 since freshman year of college! I am beyond happy.

I'm telling you guys, The Daily Plate really works...13 pounds down, just 12 pounds to go! 2.5 pounds until my next goal.

Au Revoir Stephanie!

So last Friday Boyan and I made the trek all the way to Venice Beach to say goodbye to our dear friend Stephanie, who is moving cross country for bigger and better things in the big apple. Please note that makes 2 friends moving to NYC in one month. No, I'm not bitter. I'm happy for you guys. Really, I am...

We grabbed a drink at James Beach first (I had a Whiskey Highball with Bushmills yum...) and watched UCLA dominate USC in March Madness. Afterwards we headed over to C & O's for some dinner and light political debate (as is always the case with me and Steph). The night ended amicably enough, but Stephanie will be missed.

Now, I know you guys hate my candid photos, but screw you all I think they turned out well.

And Britta, I apologize in advance for the last pic. Love you guys!



Ugg. I take back my previous statement. Britta, could you photoshop my face so that it doesn't look like a pork chop? And maybe paint on a cuter outfit for me?

That's the last time I dress casually to a "dinner-drink" thing for friends. I look like a turd.

I Am Baking Goddess (And you can too!)

Inspired by Nanette, the Cupcake Queen I made cupcakes for our St. Patrick's day potluck. They turned out uber-delicious (although obviously not as delicious as Nanette's) and I thought I'd share them with you!

Some I decorated with Shamrocks, some I added cream filling, some I put extra baileys (yum!) and some I dyed green! Enjoy! I know I did (I ate three, but you know what they say, never trust a skinny chef!)

St. Patrick's Day, Pistachio/Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes

You will need:

24 Paper Cupcake Liners, 2 1/2" size

1 Package 18.25 oz Plain white cake mix
1 Package 3.4 oz Pistachio Instant Pudding Mix
1 Cup Ginger ale
1 Cup Veggie Oil
1/2 Cup (or more, depending on how much you like the taste of baileys) of Bailey's Irish Cream
3 Large Eggs
5 drops green food coloring

Directions:

1. Place rack in the center of the oven, pre-heat to 350 degrees

2. Prepare cupcake batter:

-Add together cake mix, pudding mix, ginger ale, veggie oil, bailey's irish cream, eggs and food coloring in large mixing bowl

-Blend mix on LOW for 30 seconds

-After 30 seconds scrape bowl with rubber spatula

-Increase mixer speed to MEDIUM, beat 2 minutes more (Pistachio pudding mix has nuts in it, so the mix will have some bumps)

-Spoon batter into each lined cupcake cup, fill 3/4 full

3. Bake 18-22 minutes, until lightly golden and until they spring back quickly when lightly pressed, Remove and cool

(They will fluff up then fall when they cool--also, when you test them they will be very moist, almost wet looking, this is normal)

4. Cool 15 minutes before frosting

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting

You will need:

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream (liquid form in a carton)
Confectioners Sugar
3 Tablespoons (or more...again depending) of Bailey's Irish Cream

Directions:

1. Wash and dry mixing bowl and mixers, place in freezer for 3 minutes or so until chilled

2. Pour cream into chilled bowl and beat with electric mixer on HIGH until cream thickens, 1 1/2 minutes

3. Stop, add confectioners (powdered) sugar (The recipe called for 2 tablespoons but it was not nearly enough. Start with 2 tablespoons and keep adding and beating until the cream thickens to your preference).

4. Fold in Bailey's Irish Cream, at this time you can also put green food coloring if you want green frosting.

You can also choose to put cream filling inside the cupcake
To do this get a small spoon and press halfway into the cupcake making an incomplete square, lift up the cake put cream inside and press cake back down into hole. Do not remove any of the cake.

Good Luck!

Coffee Snobbery Strikes Again!

Work coffee looks and tastes like poo (you eat pieces of shit for breakfast?), there is no getting around it. So, being the coffee snobs that we are, Boyan and I sprung for this DeLonghi Espresso maker so we can have our Segafredo espresso at work.

Everybody say, "Ooooohhh, Aaaahhh."

We may be imbibing more espresso than is good for us, but who can say no to a nice fresh cup of Italian Espresso?

Not I, my friends. Not I.

Hello, 2008!

Please excuse the blogging hiatus. My mother-in-law Mariana has been staying with Boyan and I for the past month, and we have been spending every waking hour with her--playing cards, visiting various locations in Southern California, and overall having a swell time. The good news is I have tons to write about.

Mariana flew in from Bulgaria through London on Virgin Air. We picked her up at LAX December 14th.

We spent our first weekend in Pasadena at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, one of our favorite places to visit in Los Angeles. I'll spare you pictures from the trip seeing as we have to many as it is.

The weekend after that we went to San Diego to the San Diego Zoo. We got to see all kinds of animals. I particularly enjoyed the Puma's and the MeerKats.

"Is Jodi with you?"

After the Zoo we met up with Britta and Peter in Old Town, San Diego
for what was supposed to be scrumptious Mexican food. That was hardly
the case. You can read my review of the restaurant on Yelp.

So after Old Town was Christmas and New Years. We had tons of fun with friends and family. We had a few people over for New Years Eve and enjoyed drinks, Karaoke Revolution and Banista.

Most of the group stayed until around 4 a.m. I was completely zonked and passed out. The next day we had planned to head to Newport Beach to visit the parents when walking out to my car, I noticed this.

Sometime very early in the morning someone broke my window and stole my ancient pink iPod. They also took my FM transmitter/charger. It wasn't the greatest way to start the new year, but there wasn't much I could do besides calling the police and filing a report.

It was quite a shock. I was more pissed that they had broken into my car and ONLY stole my old broken iPod that doesn't even work unless it's connected to a power source. I hope they enjoyed listening to the 1:00 min of Broadway it would be able to play. Fuckers.

The year got better from there. I mean, how can it be bad when you visit the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!

It was Boyan's first time at Disneyland and he really, really loved it!

Mariana had a great time as well. She went on every ride with us and had a blast.

Mariana left on January 14th, Boyan and I were very sad to see her go. Although the last month was hectic and crazy we had so much fun. We'd stay up playing cards, watching Michael Palin and made several trips to Friscos for $2 beers and fries with feta. I can't wait for her to come back again.

So sorry for the long awaited update and to all friends and family I haven't seen in the past month. We've been busy! I hope you all had a Happy Happy Christmas and a fun New Y ears Eve!

I'm excited for 2008, so many things are going to happen this year I just know its going to be loads better than 2007. Look for more updates to come!

What I did today

1. Set up stuff for my big meeting on Thursday.

2. Ate too many Cheez-Its, but found out I'm not the only one.

3. Tried a new flavor of Orbit gum (Mint Mojito, yum!). Kinda makes me want to have a cocktail.

4. Reorganized my desk. And put pictures up by using binder clips hung on push pins. Pretty ingenious I'd say.


(Whaddya think?)

5. Ate a Shin cup for lunch before realizing it had MSG in it. And now I'm freaking out even more since finding this: "Nong Shim Shin Cup Noodles (along with other Nong Shim Pot Noodle products including Beef, Chicken, Seafood and Kimchi flavours) were withdrawn from sale in the UK by their importer G. Costa & Company Ltd in 2005 due to the undeclared presence of irradiated ingredients."

Shit. I love these spicy korean ramen bowls....WHAT AM I GONNA DO!??!

It's Saturday, Like Whoa.

It's only Saturday and so much has already happened this weekend. So much has happened in fact, that I'm too exhausted to write about it until tomorrow. But here is what you have to look forward to:

1. Newegg happy hour with employees. Newegg employees get together, hilarity ensues.

2. Jezebel happy hour and free porn. Krisserin endorses trannie porn. Embarrassment ensues.

3. Visit to Philips in downtown, Olivera street and the Griffith Observatory. Hunger overcomes boredom which overcomes originality and confusion ensues.

Ponder that until tomorrow.

im gonna be sick...

I just ate poptarts....

and yesterday I ate mini powdered donuts

ew. what is my problem.

Updates

I know, I know I've been absent--but I'm very excited to be back and excited that people responded to my Lurkers post! Here is what has been happening since last I wrote:

The Decemberists and LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl
Overall I think they did a really good job. The LA Phil was a little overpowering--it was hard to hear the rest of the band with such a loud accompaniment but they played "The Tain," and "Los Angeles, I'm Yours," so I was happy. I got video of the latter but the quality is really poor (because our seats were so far away)











Dress Fitting
Yay! I finally had my first fitting for my wedding dress--which turned out magnificently. I am so excited and I have my second fitting next Saturday. I took a few pictures but obviously I can't share them here because A. That would ruin the element of surprise and B. Boyan might stumble upon it and we all know that's bad luck! I will tell you that it turned out exactly how I wanted and even better. Now I just have to buy the gloves and shoes and other fun stuffs. Oh! and I'm thinking of renting some jewelry, any suggestions of where to start?

Biggest Loser Almost Over

Our final weigh-in is on Friday and although I could have done a better job during the past eight weeks of going to the gym and eating healthy I don't think i'll fare that bad. I already have plans of going to Meltdown on friday to celebrate with a big grilled cheese sandwich. Mmm....cheese.




Mom's horseback riding adventure
I took my Mom horseback riding for her birthday at the Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center and had a grand old time. Apparently the Equestrian center is open to the public--so if you are a horse lover you can walk around and visit the different horses in the stable whenever you want. Afterwards we went to Alice's Breakfast in the Park--a very small very quaint little restaurant on the lake in Huntington. I didn't even know they HAD a central park but they do and it's very large. They have tons of land for people to walk their dogs, go fishing etc. The restaurant itself was cluttered with fun ornaments, dolls, and unique wall hangings--just my kind of eccentric atmosphere. To top it all off the pancakes were absolutely delicious (this coming from someone who doesn't like pancakes).

























Bulgaria or Bust!
It's almost about time for me to hop across the pond for my big fat Bulgarian wedding and I am so excited! It looks as if I'm going to have a few friends there as well as Joan, Britta, Ruth and Louis are all planning on heading over to celebrate with me. My goals before I go to Bulgaria are as follows: 1. Save money for shopping 2. Buy presents for Boyan's family 3. Learn more Bulgarian or Oshte Bulgarski!

Reading, So much Reading

This has been a summer full of books! Since my last posting on what I was reading I've read the entire Philip Pullman's Dark Materials series, the newest Jane Green book (which I am planning on writing a review of, not a very good review) The Great Gatsby and now I am reading Jane Eyre. I didn't have to read it for school--and after watching the PBS Masterpiece theatre version of the story I decided I wanted to read it. The movie is very well done and has been nominated for several emmys, I definitely suggest you watch it if you can. The book has been very enjoyable, not at all as hard to read or boring as I had imagined it would be when I was in high school. After that I am planning on re-reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy, finish the Ender's game series, and reading King Lear in preparation for the arrival of the RSC and Sir Ian McKellan in October!

That is all for now, I have some reviews I want to write up--I'll try my best to get those up as soon as possible!

Ad:Tech San Francisco

My trip to San Francisco was an interesting one made memorable by late nights out followed by early mornings, the Seattle Mariners with their love of Cristal and Booth babes giving away lots and lots of SchWAG! Which as Michael Scott so eloquently put it, stands for "Stuff We All Get."

When my colleagues and I stepped off the Bart we arrived in the middle of downtown San Fran bustling with business men and cable cars.

Our hotel the Palace is located just around the corner from the Moscone Center where Ad:tech was being held which made it very convienant to travel to and from in between sessions.

After drinks and dinner and drinks with the iMedia team at Two --whose only redeeming feature was the nice gay bartender (the food was tiny and unoriginal)--we went back to the hotel for an early night before a crazy Ad:tech filled morning.

We arrived at the Moscone center at 8am which gave me an entire 8 hours until the first session I had to cover, so I decided to have lunch off site on Maiden Lane near Union Square. I had to meet with some gentlemen from Kiptronics at 2pm, so I had to eat somewhat locally. I called my friend Nikki who recommended a place called "Mocca."

It was a quiet little street, blocked off from traffic. The weather was ideal and I was surrounded by couture shops filled with beautiful things.

A juicy tri-tip sandwich, bean salad and big latte served well for my lunch and spent the rest of my time moseying around union square back towards Moscone.

After the last session, the iMedia team met up for drinks at the Big SF party which was overcrowded, stuffy and felt like a frat mixer gone terribly wrong.

We managed to escape and had dinner at the Tadich Grill--which happens to be the oldest business in California. I had a 14oz steak just to get some more cow into my system then met up with my friends Nikki and Ausra, and Aus's friend Jimena.

We spent some time there until four guys decided they wanted to buy us drinks--which turned out to be Cristal. Imagine my surprise later when I found out they were members of the Seattle Mariners...I probably shouldn't have said I had no respect for Baseball because it wasn't an Olympic sport. Let's continue.



They invited Jimena and Ausra to the game which they attended and I went back to my room to prepare for the next day of Ad:tech.

Ad:tech on wednesday was filled with excitement with the opening of the exhibition hall. Glories of bags and balls and water bottles abound as I cautiously approached booths to steal pieces of schwag, narrowly escaping and feeling guilty after taking what was obviously up for grabs.

That night was the Ad:Tech awards. A total mess of people congregating around the open bar waiting for food to come out and Cirque du Soleil performers to take the stage. It was there I bumped into my friend Stephanie completely by coincidence and we made plans to go out later.

Friends Nikki and Natalie met me at the Palace hotel and we headed up to Union Square to have some drinks at a bar called Sugar. It had a very fun ambience, complete with fireplace and blue tinted bar. Above the window you see behind Nikki, they projected the movie Legend with Tom Cruise--which of course scores bonus points with me. They also projected it outside on the facade of the building facing the street. We probably should have stayed here and enjoyed ourselves, instead we got into Milo's cab and headed over to the Marina to meet up with Ausra and some of her friends at a bar named Matrix. Milo was quite interesting. He was from Slovakia, and his wife was half korean half white. He said she looked like a chinese refugee.


After that we went to yet another club near Union Square. It was as if a Discotheque circa 1990 had gotten lost in the space time continuum and was transported into the future 17 years. The music was so loud I thought I was going to get radiation poisoning.

We left there as soon as we could and I went to go get some chinese food in Chinatown before making it back to my hotel at 3am. It's a good thing I didn't have to get up until 8:30 the next day for more sessions and to check out of my hotel. I headed back to Moscone for the last time and after lunch with Nikki and Michael at Chipotle we headed to the airport and came back to Los Angeles.

As I got into my car to head home I thought about my exhausting trip, all the people I met. It was a time filled with lots of excitement, chance meetings and lots and lots of alcohol. So thank you Palace Hotel, Moscone Center, Ad:tech, iMedia team, Nikki, Ausra, Jimena, Dave, Seattle Mariners, Milo the Taxi Driver, Stephanie and Mocca Cafe for a great trip. Thank you Boyan for bringing me flowers at the airport and thank you Jurgen for picking me up. I had a great time in SF, but gosh it's good to be home.

UPdates

You know it's bad when your boss tells you that you've been neglecting your blog...so here I am with updates.

I haven't been doing much, but this is what is new.

In music, I have been listening to:
Kate Walsh
Postal Service
Emily Haines

In books I just finished reading:
Speaker for the Dead
A Crazy Little Thing Called Death

I made this shirt for boyan


...for his birthday. If you get its meaning then points for you.

The boy got TWO cakes! He doesn't even like cake. The first was red velvet (the frosting had glitter on it, I've never heard of such a thing) the second was a chocolate cookie monster from Joan.


"COOKIE COOKIE COOKIE COOKIE COOKIE COOKIE COOKIE COOKIE!"

Both the BBQ my parents threw and the party we had last night were so much fun. Here are some fun pics from last night.


left: Joan spilled something in Boyan's eye. right: She's 5ft, He's 6'7"


Joan was about to beat up Efka. She's small but she's scrappy.


Boyan and me at the end of the evening...we were tired.

Beyond that next week I travel to San Francisco for the Ad:tech conference which promises to offer lots of excitement. Plus San Francisco is one of my top five favorite cities. After Newark.

It's almost Easter!

Which means my meats and sweets abstinence is almost over!

I remember when Lent first started it was girl scout season and I was so sad that I wouldn't be able to indulge in my Samoa obsession, thankfully my mother bought me a box which is now hiding, in a plastic bag in my cupboard until April 8th when they will be inevitably devoured in one sitting.

If you share my love for Girl Scout cookies you have to listen to this clip from NPR, "Finding Binge Absolution in a Do-Si-Do" about a fellow Girl Scout cookie fanatic and his shameful binging on the beloved treats. It's truly funny and you'll find yourself shouting, "That's me!" while listening to it.