The whole triangle (IMHO) rocks… so much to do, yet not overwhelming. (I’d much rather be a biggish fish in a medium-sized pond than a wee guppy in the ocean, if you know what I mean. Especially if the pond’s got good Thai restaurants and sushi. But then that might make me a cannibalistic fish, which would be gross….)
Vegas Update
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Yes, I bought a tiara. I’ve wanted one for eons. And where better to get (and wear for the rest of the day) one than the Vegas strip? (I have *always* wanted a tiara. It seems a crime that I’ve not had one before now.)
The shows were (in order): interesting, but not mind-numbingly wonderful (Zumanity); wonderful in a typically Cirque style (Mystere); and FABULOUS (‘O’). I was just stunned by O… the magic of the water that sometimes wasn’t water, the incredibly moodiness of the whole thing, the almost-impossible acrobatics. Wowsers. I’d go back to Vegas to see that alone.
We did not see any mauling. This is a Very Good Thing, as if we had, I’d probably be rwacked with guilt, wondering what I did to cause that (was my jewelry too sparkly? Did I make an angry face by accident?). Yes, that’s rediculously Gina-centric, but I guarantee you I’d feel guilty nonetheless.
We did see the Smog Hut. (“Hello? Yes, I’d like some smog, please? ooh. Do you have any that’s stinkier than that?”)
I felt compelled to crush the Grand Canyon. (We took a helicopter ride from Vegas down into the canyon, where we had a lovely picnic lunch. Way cool., particularly as I was a Canyon Virgin.)
Unsurprsingly, I was mesmerized by the many many pretty lights. Buzzy, my traveling companion, was not:
Brushes with Greatness
(Via Mimi Smartypants via Wulad)
My Brushes with Greatness:
- the obvious Mike Mills one
- I met Oscar from The Bionic Man when I was 8 or 9 (I don’t even remember where… I just remember going)
- I met Cletus from the Dukes of Hazzard (at a car show. My little brother was big into car shows). At the time I had a broken ankle (skateboarding incident), and he signed my cast. I regret that I no longer have said cast.
- I met David Hasselhoff. And K.I.T.T. (but I’m not sure he was the real K.I.T.T. I am pretty sure it was the real David Hasselhoff.) This was another auto show thing. There was, at one point, even a picture of an incredibly geeky 14-year-old me with said Hasselhoff. No, I don’t know where the picture is now. I think I gave it to an ex-BF who appreciated the pop-culture humor that Hasselhoff embodies.
- I just saw Andre Agassi in Vegas last week (he was sitting 30 ft. away waiting for a media op WRT his charity concert)
- I’ve met Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) … yes I was wearing my R2D2 costume at the time
- Peter Buck (also of R.E.M.) signed a Guitar Pick for me
- Penn & Teller. I have an MP3 of one of them (probably the one that does talk, eh?) talking to me
.
- More music folks that I’ve spoken with:
- Iris DeMent
- Tift Merritt
- Lloyd Cole
- Livingston Taylor
Oh golly, I know there are tons more than this, if for no other reason than I’m a completely brazen hussy when it comes to talking to people.
Stuck
So today as I was scrambling to get my luggage out the door (have I mentioned I’m heading to Vegas for a few days with my friend Buzzy to see three (3!) Cirque du Soleil shows?), I somehow apparently pushed the tiny lever under the handle on the glass door lock, thereby locking it. When I headed back to house to grab the last bits and lock the main door I discovered the problem.
Oops.
But, clever me: I applied “boy logic” (if it doesn’t seem to fit, push harder) and yanked really hard. Door open. Morning rescued. Plane will be met. Vegas fun to be had.
Band Meme (not like a Band Aid)
(via upsoclose)
Meme from smurf chick
Your meme, should you choose to accept it, is to rank the following bands in order, from couldn’t live without to couldn’t care less. To add value to this process,
you must also add one band to the list, and remove one band from the list, before passing the meme on (including these instructions).
The Beatles
R.E.M.
adding: Barenaked Ladies
U2
Queen
Paul Simon
The Who
Tori Amos
The Psychedelic Furs
The Kinks
Devo
removing: Aerosmith
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David is non-plussed but Jacintha is ready to shoot folks.
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Meghan and Allan getting ready to kick some rear in laser tag.
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Caroline and Gina ham it up in front of *huge* cake.
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Jacintha is stylin’
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Yes, kids, this is my boss.
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Jeff & Gina enjoying pizza.
And much fun was had by all
Best Birthday Ever, parts 3 & 4
So, I’ve been wanting (badly) a cast iron bundt pan. You see, my Granny’s pound cakes were just about famous. Everyone from Hugh Morton (who owns Grandfather Mountain to Dean Smith (former coach of the UNC Basketball team) got one every Christmas. I have the recipe, and I’m not a half-bad baker, but the cakes have never turned out like Granny’s. The crust, which is supposed to be light brown and crumbly, was instead always dark brown & shiny. The curse of a thin, non-stick pan.
So I looked on eBay (they’re few and far between and very expensive) and looked at the Lodge website (where they had some, but I wanted to see if I could find an older, pre-seasoned one), but I’d not gotten around to doing anything about it.
Imagine my surprise last night when Jeff presented me with a beautiful cast iron bundt pan! More impressive yet is the fact that in between when I looked (3-4 mos. ago) and now, Lodge stopped making the pans! So now they’re quite sought-after and difficult to find. In discussion groups where bundt pans are a topic, there are, according to Jeff, lots of comments from folks along the lines of “this pan’s ok, and that’s one’s pretty good, but you’ll have to pry my cast iron bundt pan from my cold, dead fingers.” Jeff was dilligent, though, calling lodge and just about every antiques vendor with a website on the planet it seems. He finally found an antique dealer in VA who had one (and apparently didn’t know what she had), and spent the entire weekend while I was in Charlotte with my Grumps cleaning it up and re-seasoning it.
Awwwwwwwwwwww!
Further prolonging the birthday ecstasy were flowers from Dad that arrived this morning — they’re truly beautiful (pics to come).
I do declare that this is my bestest birthday ever!
Healthy cereal = Impossible to Open bags
I do not know why this is the case, but it seems that all of our favorite “healthy” cereals (Puffins, Granola, all varieties of Bran flakes) have interior plastic bags that are *impossible* to open. I tug and struggle and grunt and pull and and and … eventually resort to kitchen scissors.
All varieties of Sugar Bombs, though, (which, for the record, I no longer eat :( )have bags that you so much as look at them and they pour forth their sugary goodness.
This confuses me. I’m already eating the healthy cereal. I don’t need the concommitant workout.
Promised cake pics
Isn’t it the *swellest* cake ever? I confess, I might’ve eaten a wee bit too much fondant, tho. Cake by Queen Anne’s Cakes. :)
Happy Birthday to Meeeeeee! :)
I have a birthday cake (from team at work — pics to come, it’s fabulous), a dozen roses (from Jeff) and a beautiful arrangement (from Mom) in my office — I *AM* the birthday girl
Realm of the Lint Queen 