Oh, Nina...

Christmas Eve Musings

2008-12-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

Even as an adult I find it difficult to sleep on Christmas Eve. Yuletide excitement is a potent caffeine, no matter your age. ~Carrie Latet

I don't know who Carrie Latet is, but I totally identify with her quote above! Christmas snuck up on me this year, but when it did it hit me with a BANG! I never realize how much I love this time of year until it happens. Understand me, though - I'm not the kind of sucker who goes trolling through the malls looking for gifts and sales with the rest of the masses. That ain't my bag, baby. I guess too many years working retail will do that to you. No, I love just about everything else about the holiday - friends coming in from out of town, really great things to eat, Christmas music (Mariah Carey and Charlie Brown are faves!), and how nice people can be. There are parts of me that wish yuletide cheer could last all year...

How cute are all these Christmas cards? I think one of the best things about Christmastime is going to your mailbox and seeing who thinks of you enough to send you some holiday cheer. The picture cards are my fave and get affixed to my fridge right away.

The first thing we did this year to welcome Christmas was to bring in a tree. Now, our apartment doesn't have enough room for a standard sized one, and our pets would most likely destroy it, so we opted for the table-top variety. Behold what we lovingly refer to as our Charlie Brown tree!

We weren't going to get a tree at first... we thought it wasn't practical/necessary... but my jealousy of everyone else having a tree won out. We found this potted beauty in front of Trader Joe's and had to bring it home. It rests on our kitchen table and looks totally cute! So cute, in fact, that Mario the cat knocked over an ornament which Holly quickly destroyed... said ornament was then put into my bed and shredded my toe. Butterfly stitches and tetanus shot later, I'm remembering why we didn't want a tree in the first place. If it wasn't so cute I'd probably get rid of it sooner. After the holidays I'm planning on getting a large terra cotta pot and putting it out on our patio. That way we can have our little tree all year long :)

Another Christmas tradition I felt compelled to attempt this year was baking my grandmother's baklava for the first time by myself. Actually, it's Yiayia Nina's grandmother's recipe, so I was the 5th generation to make it. It's not difficult to make by any means, but it has a lot of steps and ingredients that make it more time consuming than your average dessert. I dedicated last Sunday to the project. First, I gathered my ingredients - a nut mixture of pecans, walnuts, sugar and spices, phyllo dough, melted butter, and homemade syrup.

I layered and buttered the phyllo, spread the nut mixture on top until they made gorgeous little pinwheels like this:

Baked them in the oven til they got golden, and poured syrup over them so they looked like this:

Put them in cute little paper cups and arranged them so they looked like this:

Oh man! Did they ever turn out good! Now, some of them came out a little too dry, and others a little too soggy, but it's a learning experience and I know next year's will only be better. I'm so proud of my experiment that I think I'll make another batch today to share at my aunt's house.

The final thing I did for more holiday spirit was try to get Holly in the mood. I got her groomed, bought her a Christmas sweater, and she repays me by falling into a depression for two days.

You can feel her sadness through this failed attempt at a photo shoot. I thought she looked adorable, she thought she was in trouble because she was wearing a sweater and had bows on her ears. She spent most of that day and the day after hiding in our closet... maybe there's something she's trying to tell me... haha!

Anyway, it's probably best that I end this crazy long blog by saying "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night." If I don't do it now, I think I could go on forever... ciao!

One Year Ago Today

2008-12-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

On this day last year I picked up our Holly girl from LAX. She was a ten week old cross country traveler all the way from Montana. I was so excited to meet our new little girl who I had been waiting for since before her litter was born. She handled the trip well and came out of her crate licking and wagging her tail, which we would soon learn is her trademark. Here she is sitting shotgun in my car on the ride home from the airport.
This whole year has been a wonderful learning experience for us all. She is probably the sweetest dog I have ever owned, but along with that she might also be the dumbest... and I mean that in the nicest possible way! She finally mastered the trick "sit" at 6 months old, and she hasn't quite learned many others since. She's affectionately known in our circles as our "little dumb blonde." She might not be the brightest baby, but she makes up for it with her sweetness!

Our sweet girl showing us her belly about a month ago. Such a personality!

Another thing we've had to learn about her is her penchant for chewing everything in site. Nothing is safe from her jaws of destruction. We've put safeguards in place, like baby gates in front of our closet, put my shoes in my car, moved certain items to higher groud, and spoiled her with happy chew toys. Hopefully these will help keep my new Lambie slippers safe!
Despite all that, Matt and I are so happy to have Holly in our lives. Along with Mario the cat, they give us such joy to come home to. There's nothing better than a night on the couch with both pets cuddling on our laps. Thanks for making our lives just that much happier babies!

"I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it."
~ Abraham Lincoln

Merry Christmas to me!

2008-12-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

So the other night I met my friend Michelle at the Spectrum for dinner. She joined me at Nordstrom where I was scavenging the purse department, which is a typical place to find me. The past few months I have been searching for a nice leather "every day" purse and a cute black evening clutch. Nothing had really struck me until that night when my eyes zeroed in on a fantastic tan leather Michael Kors satchel. I about died! Michelle thought it was pretty great too, but then we saw the price tag.... it was definitely way more for me spend on myself during these trying economic times, especially now that it's the holidays.

I didn't buy the purse that night. I filed it in the back of my mind as something I couldn't afford right now. But I kept obsessing over it... That night in bed... All day at work the next day... It's true, I was bitten by the love bug for the Harrison satchel! Being the resourceful person that I am, I thought I'd scrape around the internet for deals. Surely, eBay had to have millions of these up for grabs! I checked, and they didn't, they had one... in the right color and everything! Its auction was ending in 7 hours, no one had bid on it, and it's price was waaaaaaaay less that half of the retail price. And to make things even nicer, its condition was "New With Tags!" Seriously, it was meant to be. I placed my bid and left for my parents house to help them with their Christmas tree.

I woke up this morning to see a happy little email in my inbox congratulating me on my win. Victory is definitely mine! My holiday present to myself should arrive soon and I can't wait to really check it out. Based on the pictures it looks great (see below), but I have never bought a desginer purse on eBay and I know it can be tricky with scammers and all. I'm just hoping this seller was legit and my purse isn't just a really good knock-off and it's in as great condition as they made it out to be... I'm so excited!

Now, all I need to find is a sexy black clutch for evening and my purse needs will be satisfied for a long time. I think after that I'll have to shift my interests to a new pair of sunglasses... mine are starting to get scratched, it's kind of annoying.

Viva eBay!

I better watch out for Mario...

2008-12-09T14:46:00.000-08:00

After a long weekend, this will get me through my day today

2008-11-30T11:28:00.000-08:00

Starbucks Grande Coffee, grant me the strength to keep my eyes open today and be an active participant in the day's activities. Amen.

Now, if only coffee could reduce the puffiness under my eyes I'd be set.

Exciting Friday Night

2008-11-21T21:15:00.001-08:00

Matt's watching Gangland, and I just polished off a hot batch of these tasty little suckers:

I'm so proud of our Friday night schtick. Fried zucchini really is living on the edge, especially when you eat it while watching gang members in New Orleans telling it like it is. We're so hood.

Trendsetter (yeah right!)

2008-11-21T15:47:00.000-08:00

I'm going to take a moment just to toot my own horn, if you don't mind! Apparently, my "lazy" hairstyle of a low ponytail with a scunci black headband is all the rage among my coworkers. How do I know this? THEY'VE ALL TOLD ME! From marketing executives to other office drones like me, different women have complimented me when I wear my hair like this:

What cracks me up is I do this WHEN I'M TOO LAZY TO DO MY HAIR! HA HA! I'm actually embarrassed when I come in more than once a week with the stretchy handband/low ponytail thing going on. At first I thought they were just being nice, saying it was cute but they didn't really mean it, until they started doing it too! It's become like a "thing" I guess. It's flattering and bewildering all at the same time for me, because it's not like I look like this when I come into work:

No, not even on my best days do my headbands look as well thought out as Eva's here. The most thought that goes into them is if they will keep my frizzies down. I guess I'll just own the "look" for what it is and be flattered that others appreciate my laid-back (rather - "lazy") sense of style. I just wish I had more patience to make myself look like this every day:

Hooray for lower gas prices!

2008-11-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

This morning I went to fill my car up with gas, and I was very pleased at the price I saw... $2.29/gallon for regular unleaded! Today was the first time in a looooooong time where I filled my tank for under $40. Both the Highlander and I were very pleased :)

Now, there was a time back in the day when I used to fill up the Mustang for under $20. Back then (10 years ago!) I remember being able to fill up that 15 gallon tank for around $17... but those days are long gone! Now I'm stoked to fill up the Highlander's 17 gallon tank for $38, a price that would have made me choke at the pump in 1998!

Oh how things have changed...

It's finally chilly enough to wear these!

2008-11-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

I know, this may not excite most of you, but I am a dyed-in-the-wool (no pun intended) Ugg fan. During the warmer months I wear my flip-flops everywhere, but now it's time to retire my worn-in Rainbows for a new pair of slipper-like boots! I'm not a fan of the ones that rise high up the leg, so I went for the ankle-biter option. Cute, non? They'll go great with my jeans and lounge pants this winter.... I think I'll wear them to Thanksgiving! :)

Fire Update

2008-11-16T16:45:00.001-08:00

Thanks so much to those of you who have called, texted, emailed, facebooked, whatever to see how my family and I are doing. As many of you know, we had to evacuate our homes yesterday afternoon because of the wild fires in the area. We packed our belongings as fast as we could and fled to Downey to stay with my grandmother until we found out it was safe to return. Boy, was she ever glad to have all of us PLUS our dogs and cats at her place! She was a trooper :) This morning I called our complex and found out that Matt and I were safe to return home, so we came back along with my parents to move back in and wait for their place to get the all clear. Everyone is safe, our homes are ok, and we're all happy it wasn't worse for us. Homes in my parents' neighborhood didn't make it, and there was no rhyme or reason to which homes burned and which ones didn't. We are so thankful we were so lucky. My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes, I found out through friends that some people we grew up with lost theirs. It's a sad time here, and I just hope that it gets better soon.

Thanks

2008-11-11T19:12:00.000-08:00

On this Veteran's Day I would like to give thanks to all the brave men and women who selflessly put their lives on the line for us every day. There are two soldiers who I would like to honor in particular: my Papou Gus and my brother-in-law Nick.

Papou Gus in a formal soldier portrait before he fought in WWII. I learned after he died this past May that he fought in Normandy, London, Germany, Sicily, and North Africa during his tour of duty. A true hero.

Nicholas, the Marine. Finished his service in 2005 and is now pursuing his degree in social psychology from UCLA. We couldn't be more proud of our brave, strong brother.

Oh, how I love thee...

2008-11-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

I'm proud of you, America...

2008-11-04T22:28:00.000-08:00

Congratulations, America! You turned out in droves to the voting booths in record numbers and made your voices heard. In Los Angeles County alone more than 82% of registered voters made it to the polls today. That's incredible! For whatever reason people really took this election seriously. Conservative, Liberal, Moderate, whatever, America woke up and tried to make a difference. And they did.

I will never forget tonight as long as I live. Not only was tonight the first night where a candidate I voted for won the election, but the first time ever an African American man became president. We just watched history in the making, folks! Cliche, I know, but it's true. I'm looking forward to this new administration, and the possibilities that open up because of it. President-Elect Barack Obama, you've got the entire world on your shoulders now, and I trust you will do as best you can to make it a better place.

Now to be honest, I can't say the same for the propositions I felt strongly about. Unfortunately for me they didn't quite pan out like I had hoped, but that's the beauty of the democratic process when it works. It's up to us as citizens to choose how we want our country to be, and we did that today, no matter the outcome. Thank you for your passion, America!

Brick House!!!

2008-10-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

Me as a student, class of 1978

Ugh... Typos!

2008-10-28T17:33:00.001-07:00

So I ruined my holiday cards already. Yes, it's true, when I was home recovering last week I got bored and ordered my holiday cards and set up the mailing list. I was soooooooo excited I know I did them in a rush. To ensure that they were perfect I had Matt look over the proof before I submitted the order. Well... the order came today... and right there... at the bottom... staring right at me... was a big... fat... TYPO!

Warmest Holidays Wishes

Now to me any sort of typo on a formal mailing is inexcusable, especially if it comes from me. I was an English major, for Pete's sake! And an elementary school teacher to boot. I am so peeved that I spent that money and all I got back were 160 grammatically incorrect cards! The question is - do I throw out these cards and reorder them, or do I suck it up and hope no one notices my faux pas?

Update: KodakGallery.com has an AMAZING return policy! I can return my cards and they will give me a credit to use toward a new purchase! Oh, happy day! Now I can order the "correct" version of my super cute cards without wasting money. Crisis averted :)

Trophy wife...

2008-10-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

My husband just called me his trophy wife, and I have to say I liked it :)

Here I am... 11:30pm... pajamas on... hair in a messy ponytail... no makeup... and he called me beautiful. Felt nice.

Call it sexist. Call it backward. Call it lame. Whatever, I think he's sweet and I love the guy! Thanks for making me feel better baby... it's been a rough few weeks, and despite it all we're still making each other smile.

Sorry for making y'all gag...

Politik

2008-10-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

At the risk of alienating some of my friends who do not lean as liberally as I do (politically speaking, of course), I thought this site was worth sharing. This is mainly for people who are undecided on who they will vote for on November 4th, but I found it inspiring nonetheless. People in the Middle for Obama is exactly that - people who do not necessarily identify themselves as democrats or liberals, but will vote for Obama in this election. Their reasons are varied, well thought out, and intriguing. Have a look and see for yourselves :)

http://www.peopleinthemiddleforobama.org/

Greeks for Obama

2008-10-14T17:42:00.001-07:00

Pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Pregnant... Not pregnant

2008-10-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that Matt and I decided to try to have a baby this summer. The first couple months of trying were uneventful, but I wasn't expecting much to happen seeing as I was on the pill for ten years straight. Imagine my surprise when on the end of my third month, the day of our second wedding anniversary, I took a pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE!

That's right, I was pregnant, and I couldn't wait to share the news with my husband at dinner that night. On my lunch break I got some gift wrap and put the test inside as a surprise for Matt. I knew he wasn't expecting a present for our anniversary, but I thought this would be a cute way to surprise him. I wrote in the card he was going to be a daddy, and was on edge all day long wondering what his reaction was going to be.

Matt reading that he's going to be a daddy... he had an idea of what was coming when I told him to read every single word I wrote!

Matt realizing what he thought was going to happen came true... so excited! And so happy!

He finally unwrapped the "gift" and I was sitting too close to him in the booth so this is the best shot I got of his reaction... I gotta get better at this!
Anyway, we toasted each other with the last glass of champagne I thought I was going to have for nine months. We laughed and wondered what our little one was going to be like. The birth date was projected to be June 10, 2009 - a Gemini. How lucky we were that we didn't have to wait too long to get pregnant! We slowly told a few key people over the next 10 days - my parents and brother, Matt's parents and siblings, our grandmothers, and very few close friends. I didn't want to broadcast anything until I had it all confirmed by the doctor. The first appointment was to be next Friday, October 17th. Baby couldn't wait.

Thursday afternoon I started spotting. I knew spotting was normal in early pregnancies like mine, so I didn't want to worry too much. Friday morning it was much worse. I wasn't in any pain, but I knew something was wrong. I left work early and went to the emergency room. Matt met me there as nervous as could be. I was much more calm, I think because I already knew it was done. After blood tests, ultrasounds, and an examination, the doctor confirmed that I had miscarried. He assured me that this was very typical in women's first pregnancies, and he was optimistic that I would have no trouble conceiving again. I took solace in that, and was just glad to know that I'm definitely not the only one who has ever gone through a miscarriage.

Here are some things I'm taking from this experience:

I'm healthy. My body is definitely able to get pregnant, so I know it will happen for us again.
Nothing I did caused the miscarriage. It was spontaneous - pregnant Thursday, not pregnant Friday. Sometimes things just aren't right, so nature takes it upon itself to correct mistakes. Not to say the baby was a mistake, but it wasn't developing the way it should have been.
It happened so early. I didn't have a real chance to grow attached, and neither did Matt. My body hadn't had a chance to change yet, I didn't feel anything inside me, it was all so new. I feel really lucky that this didn't happen later on when the baby was more developed and I developed a real bond. I know then it would be a really difficult experience.
I have an amazing husband, and we have a wonderful family surrounding us. He was at the hospital mere minutes after I was and was there for every step of the way. He's been so caring and so doting, it just cements everything I already thought I knew about him. He really is going to be a great father someday. On top of that, our parents all gave us such love and encouragement last night. We really are blessed.

So, when Matt and I get the "all-clear" we're going to try for a baby again. We are in no way discouraged or feeling sorry for ourselves. We know this is a fact of life, and we're disappointed this one didn't take, but we're optimistic for the future. Besides, I don't think Mario and Holly are quite ready to give up their status of most spoiled in the household! They still need to be babied for a while yet!

I am thankful for Britney

2008-10-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks for turning this frown upside down :)

Another warm fuzzy animal moment :)

2008-10-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

http://zecster.lbbhost.com/Pics/Kiss.html?41

What a wonderful world :)

2008-10-01T19:09:00.001-07:00

So I realize I haven't been posting as frequently as I used to... it's not that I'm not into inundating the Internets (haha!) with my comings and goings, it's just that I really have been too busy lately. That, and I was recently chastised for my Internet use at work :P Not good! But definitely nothing serious. Luckily, I was told to lay off on the browsing just as things got suuuuuuuuper busy. I honestly haven't had the time to check on all my regular sites that I usually do at work anyway, which is a very good thing. We've got three major events this month, so everything is really coming to a head, so to speak. I just hope they think I'm doing a good job :) I honestly like what I'm doing (event coordination) and I can see this becoming my ultimate career. I'll know more in December on whether or not I'll become a permanent hire here, but in the meantime I'm enjoying the office and my duties. Still keeping my fingers crossed :)

Yesterday, as many of you know, was our second anniversary. Being that it was on a Tuesday night, and the fact that we took a rather large vacation this summer, we decided to be low-key about it and go to a nice dinner. We found a place near Matt's office called Savannah Supper Club and it looked PERFECT! It was literally haute American cuisine (my favorite!) and we loved it!

A toast to two years of wedded bliss... and many more to come!

Matt reading my card... I wrote some amaaaaaaazing stuff in it, not gonna lie!

Lobster beignets, FTW!

Me high on beignets (and a glass of Schramsberg champagne :)

My beyond delicious short ribs, also FTW!

Matt's rib-eye, which was good, but we both loved my entree better :)

The service and food at the Savannah Supper Club were impeccable, it's true. They were even so kind as to bring us a celebratory creme brulee for dessert, seeing as we were there for our anniversary. It's definitely a place I would love to go to again.

After dinner we felt way overstuffed and super tired, so we did the most romantic thing ever when we got home... crashed in our pajamas! Lights out! A perfect end to a perfect night! Haha!

Old Lady Saturday

2008-09-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

So my grandmother, Yiayia Dena, finally returned to SoCal after being in Greece for 4 months. The first thing we did to welcome her back from her long trip was to take her out for a good old American cheeseburger! Her favorite joint is Good Stuff in Redondo Beach down the street from her house, and we were happy to oblige :)
My yiayia is "the best" at posing for pictures. It was her idea to hold up her glass of Diet Coke in this pic. I think it really adds to the sophistication of this particular photo opportunity...
Here we all are post-gorging ourselves on delicious grub like sweet potato fries and seafood quesadillas. My other grandmother, Yiayia Nina, came for the food, too! She was happy to have a day away from Downey and breathe in the salty sea air of Redondo. Also, she and Yiayia Dena missed each other very much while Dena was away!
Ended the evening with a walk to the beach, both of my grandmothers arm-in-arm. I'm so lucky to have such sweet, healthy, adorable grandmothers. Welcome home, Yiayia Dena!

Counting Crows and Maroon 5

2008-09-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

A few days late, but I thought I'd update with some pictures from the Counting Crows/Maroon 5 show Matt and I caught Friday night at Irvine Wireless. It was a fun show, we had decent seats, but I have to say that the venue is slowly becoming my least fave place to catch an act. It's big, intimacy gets lost, jerks have the opportunity to take over, and it's just not the House of Blues. I will say though, I am glad it's super close to the Spectrum, because we were able to grab happy-hour drinks before the show with my good friend Chele and her friends. It was fun to have a pre-concert get together to get pumped for the show!

Obligatory pre-show photo op! Matt and I got to our seats after Augustana's set, which I'm actually sad we missed. They came on during Counting Crows' set for an amazing rendition of "Rain King," and basically blew me away.
Counting Crows finally takes the stage! They came out and fired me up immediately with "Mr. Jones." I wasn't expecting to hear that, I figured they were the type of band that avoids playing the hits based on principle, but I was pleasantly surpised. I just wish that I had seen them play in a smaller, enclosed venue instead of at Irvine Wireless. The effect got kind of lost, and I just wish I was closer to actually "feel" Adam Duritz's emotion, you know?
Adam Duritz making me cry... you should've been there for "Round Here." I don't think I'll ever be the same...
In between acts, I went up to the grassy knoll to get a photo with my little Callas cousins :-) Kristin and Meredith are my great-aunt Bebe's granddaughters. It was so cute to see them at the rock show! And yes, it made me feel old :-/

Hellooooooo, nurse! How cute is Adam Levine? I do love me some Maroon 5, but I have to say I enjoyed their show more when I saw them 3 years ago at the Gibson Amphitheater with Phantom Planet. Good times though.The boys bringing it. Great show, but we still left before the encore. I felt bad doing it, but Matt and I were sooooooo tired from a long work week. I think this might've been the first concert where I actually left before the band came back on! Man, I am getting OLD!
All in all, it was a great show, but I'm glad concert season is over. It was hard keeping our energy up for this show, I think it was a combo of it getting dark sooner/grabbing beers before the show at the Yardhouse/and a long and gruesome work week! I'm now looking forward to seeing bands at the House of Blues when I can... hopefully Counting Crows will come through again! I'd love to see them wearing the t-shirt I bought at the show :-)

Carlton Banks wants us to breakdance

2008-09-14T08:23:00.001-07:00