Halfy79's Xanga

It's Our Anniversary

Fri, 09 May 2008 09:25:02 GMT

I know this is uber cheesy, but I can't help myself. Today marks 1 year of being engaged to Mike. WOW, time flies when you're planning a wedding!!!

The day he proposed:
http://www.xanga.com/Halfy79/589780146/guess-what.html

The full story:
http://www.xanga.com/Halfy79/590003146/engaged.html

I think I'm going to try to convince him to head into NYC for a dinner at our favorite Spanish restaurant tomorrow. I just wish I would get my damn "stimulus check" already!!! Not that I need a stimulus to spend, ya know?

Enjoy your weekend...

To all you mothers out there... Happy Mother's Day!!!

Torta Deliciosa

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:50:19 GMT

On Cinco de Mayo, I made Tom's Tres Leches Cake, but didn't get to eat it until the next day because I finished it at 10pm and it needed to set a bit. Enjoy these yummy pictures that don't really do it justice:

This is what came out of the oven. I almost freaked because the next step was to pour almost 2 cups of liquid on to this and put whipped cream on top. Um, hello... where's the room????

Luckily, it started to shrink when it was cooling. Luckily, I had a Grand Marnier margarita handy to keep me company while the cake cooled off.

This is the finished product. Notice how I was able to pour the liquid on and top it with the whipped cream with plenty of room in the pan. I'm sure the whipped cream is supposed to be more fluffy and better looking... but I whipped that stuff by hand!!

And this is what I got the next day. One lovely scoop with the extra 'tres leches' drizzled on the plate.

I threw this in to show the texture of the cake part since it didn't show on the plated picture. And yes, I ate most of that... Mike had a smaller portion than the one above.

If I had to describe it, it was very close to the density of bread pudding. A very heavy, moist cake with lots of cream. But better. When I read Tom's recipe I had the feeling that it might be more like a mushy blend between flan and bread pudding. But, luckily, I was completely wrong. It really is a heavenly dessert.

Warning, if you eat that portion size on the plate above, you WILL feel very full!

Now if I gain 10 pounds, I get to blame it all on Tom. Thank, Tom!!!

PS - I'm working from home today and it's calling my name. I don't know why I'm admitting this here, but I had some for breakfast. Ack, I've got problems.

My Implant Story

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:55:11 GMT

A DENTAL implant, that is. (not for the faint)

This morning, I had a screw drilled into my upper jawbone. Sounds like fun, right? It actually wasn't all that bad.

So I knew that an implant was my only option since a bridge would result in ruining 2 perfectly good molars and my dentist thought that I shouldn't do that at such a young age. I agreed. So I had a consult with a surgeon and he assured me that it was no big deal and I could handle it under local anesthesia. I thought he fell off the rocker, for sure. You mean, drilling a whole into my jawbone and placing a screw in there is okay with local? Pshaw. But because I was worried about the cost of having general anesthesia, I went along with his suggestion. He assured me that almost all of his patients do it under local.

The most painful part of the process was the novacaine. And that was only a slight pinching and he was extremely gentle and took his time. Then I think he drilled the hole 3 times... each time getting bigger and more intense. But still, so much more simple than I imagined. My head was NOT feeling the vibration. Thank goodness!! He showed me the actual implant before he went to place it in and I had the immediate thought that it was a little thicker than I thought. It really was just a small chubby little screw. Freakin' weird.

When he started to screw it in, I felt the pressure get more intense the further it went it. I almost started to freak out because I imagined my jawbone cracking under the pressure. At the end he used a hand wrench to tighten it and he said, "yes, in case you're wondering, I AM using a torque wrench." I had to start laughing because there he was using a wrench on my mouth! Click-click-click. I swear I could feel my entire face bone moving. Imagine the most intense sinus pressure ever... and that's what it was.

Overall, it wasn't too bad.

But after? That's completely different. PAIN. I had my prescriptions called in and had to take a pain pill the minute they were ready. It feels like... well, like there's a screw in my jaw. Or like the most intense toothache ever. Then, I slept for 4 hours! My instructions say that day 2 may be worse. Grrreat, I can't wait.

And the worst part is not being able to eat solids. I'm on a SlimFast, pudding, apple sauce, and ice cream diet right now. It totally sucks because I just want to chew on something!! I can transition to mushy foods in 3 days but that still sucks. There's something about chewing that satisfies me. And that may be why I have weight issues, but whatever. I'm a freaking carnivore and I need to use my teeth!!!

Okay, that's my story. I'm going to have some ice cream and then go to bed.

Busy Weekend Update

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:21:32 GMT

This is going to be one big-ass update:

Right after work on Friday, Mike and I had to pack up Pace and head to my sister's house to babysit. She had a wedding to go to so we were on duty. Now, I LOVE my nephews and all... but 7 hours of them can get to a person. Luckily, they were both really well behaved. There's just only so much of "tag" you can play before you get bored with it. Same goes for hide-and-seek. And while I want my sister to be able to fully enjoy a night out with her husband and friends, I was a bit miffed when she didn't get in until almost 1am. I mean, did she HAVE to stay until the very end of the reception?? Keep in mind that we had a 45 minute drive home.

It's all good though because I'm going to do the same thing to her when we have kids. Payback, baby.

--------------------------

On Saturday I had to get myself out the door by 10:30am so that I could meet up with some classmates to do some work for a final. That was rough but definitely worth it. Mike had a soccer game at the same time so right after we grabbed some lunch and headed home. Then we were right out the door again to drive 1 hour south to meet a friend of mind whom I haven't seen since Sophomore year of college. She was a really close friend that just drifted away and I've always missed her. It was so ridiculously nice to catch up with her and meet her husband and 4-month-old daughter. I just wished she lived closer so I could drop by more often (I volunteered to drive to her since she's breast feedin' the little one). And this is where Saturday got really shitty...

Mike and I went to our favorite restaurant near my old college. The waitress was crappy. I mean really crappy. I ordered ribs and ordered regular mashed potatoes in place of roasted sweet potatoes. The plate came out with sweet potatoes that stunk to high heaven. I can't stand those things!! So I told the server and she said she'd get me a plate of mashed potatoes. (SLIGHT TANGENT: This is my biggest pet peeve with restaurants lately... I want my waitress/waiter to deliver my food so THEY know that there was a mistake!!!!!!!) My waitress didn't know about my potato situation until she came at the end of the meal to ask how everything was. I told her and she went to get the potatoes. Um, I was done with the ribs, thankyouverymuch. AND, I somehow managed to eat the ribs with my butter knife since she never brought a steak knife. And yes, you shouldn't need a knife at all with good ribs... but these were NOT good ribs. They were fatty with barely any meat on them and the meat was not leaving the bones easily. When the potatoes finally came out... I tried a bit and they tasted like plastic. No joke. When the waitress came back later I told her they were horrible and she just said she was sorry. Oh yeah, and Mike didn't get ketchup until after he was done with his sandwich... even though he asked for it when he got his food.

Mike left a 10% tip, but I wanted to leave $1. I even noticed that another one of her tables was complaining to the manager. GAH. Keep in mind that I was a waitress, so I understand the idea of tipping!!

Okay... so we had the brilliant idea to get some ice cream at the local Maggie Moo's to make up for that crapfest. Got in there and the ice cream choices were crappy. Then I noticed they didn't have 'crunchies' as a mix-in. GRRRRR. So I settle for crushed Oreos (NOT the same) and almonds (since they're on display). The guy says he doesn't have almonds. WTF? So I got a lame ass cup of chocolate ice cream with crushed Oreos... one scoop... for $4. Seriously, people. What. The. Fudge.

So let's just go home. Due to a bunch of retards in the parking garage, it took us forever to get out.

--------------------------

Sunday was much better because Mike and I slept in late and then he made me a belgian waffle for breakfast. Mmmm. After that, I managed to (1) hem one more pair of pants, (2) complete my final exam and submit it, (3) shrink-wrap a basket of gifts, (4) shower & change, (5) throw on some makeup and brush out my hair, (6) and head out the door at 3:30pm for a baby shower.

The baby shower was great, but the gifts took almost 3 hours to get through. Even with 4 ladies helping to move them along and unwrap them. That baby is damn spoiled!! She got every item on 2 registries!

Lots of Italian food and desserts were consumed. Mmmmmmm.

Then Mike and I watched "Atonement" and went to bed.

--------------------------

I need a break!

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On Wednesday, I'm scheduled to get the post ~~put~~ drilled in for my dental implant. YIKES!!! The surgeon assures me that I can drive myself afterward, so let's cross our fingers that everything goes as planned. I'm also hoping that I can maybe start a SlimFast diet since I'll be limited to liquids. Because, you know, when I heard about my options I immediately thought "ice-cream diet"... either that or "chocolate-pudding diet". Yeaaaaah.

And then I have another final exam on Thursday. Really poor planning on my part, but there's just only so much a woman can do with a tight schedule!!!!

School is Expensive!

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:13:04 GMT

As usual, I've hit the tuition reimbursement level for 2008 at my job (this happened in 2007 as well). It's not difficult since the limit barely covers 2 courses a year. Anyway, I asked my Senior Director if I could get more funds to cover more classes in 2008 (summer and fall). Our SVP (3 levels above her) has to approve anything above the corporate-wide limit. This was her response:

****************************
From: Big Boss Lady (BBL)
Sent: Monday
To: Halfy79
Cc: Manager
Subject: RE: Education Reimbursement

Let's go for it. You are the only one taking advantage of the funds and I SO appreciate and respect you for that (among other things of course).

BTW: I bought some Smithwicks (blech, I'm a Harp girl) - when are you next coming back to (other office location)?

Best regards,

BBL

****************************

She knows I like Smithwicks.

Um, do I have the best boss ever or what??

So now I just have to cross my fingers that she can convince our SVP to give me the money.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:55:26 GMT

WARNING - Wedding Plans Ahead!!

Update on one of my many "to-dos":

"I haven't done anything wedding-related. Well, I did pick up some stamps for the save-the-dates, but that's about it. I have to figure out the whole tux/suit dilemma for Mike and the guys and I need to find a hair/makeup place and I need to finalize my guest list so I can send the darn save-the-dates (I wanted to shorten that word, but it turns out to be STD)... and and and... so much more."

- Save-the-dates are mailed out. There are only a few stragglers where I'm trying to get mailing addresses (why don't people respond to emails???).

- Also, Mike and I have decided on the tux colors and combos and such. He's going to wear a white shirt with an ivory vest and tie. His best man (and my nephews) will be wearing a white shirt with a brown vest and tie. I was worried about how the brown would look on a black tux... but with the slight pattern on the vests, it looks great. And the tuxes will have a very slight, varied pinstripe to make them look a bit more casual. After my sister's dress comes in, I'll be able to pick a final vest color and they can get fitted. Yay!

- We also finally picked out a wedding band for Mike! He was being understandably picky because he's not used to wearing any jewelry. So we ended up picking out a comfort fit band with a wavy design. I think it fits his personality really well... and I convinced him that I needed a matching one. LOL. Only mine will be more narrow. After some discussion about me needing a plain band, he agreed that it made sense in the long run. I mean, once I have kids, I probably won't be wearing a diamond band around the house doing chores! Or doing any sports and being my normal tomboy self, for that matter. I just hope the smaller band doesn't still look too masculine on me. Ah well.

We also got a gift for my sister and earrings for me to wear to the wedding. LOTS of money spent, but I think we got a great deal by getting it all at once.

- Rehearsal dinner is booked!

- AND... the honeymoon is booked!!! I took some advice (thank you manilajones) and we booked a northern CA route. We'll be going to Carmel, then to Sonoma and finishing off in San Francisco. All with a convertible (dropping it off once we hit SF)!! Mike and I are VERY excited now that it's all set and we're even considering looking into a hot-air baloon ride while we're there. Heh!

Now we can take a small break to study for exams and complete final papers!

Training

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:06:02 GMT

In case you were wondering (doubtful), I've been in training all week. From 9-5 for 5 days, with a 1 hour commute each way.

Plus I still had evening classes on Wednesday and Thursday.

I'm so freaking drained. But at least I can say it was worth it. The course was a refresher for me since I have a freaking Computer Science degree and we were being taught SQL. But I definitely needed the refresher and the trainer was extremely knowledgeable and personable. GREAT class.

And I got a fancy looking "certificate of completion" to show for it. Saweeeet. Now I just need to update my resume, baby!

I'm also now in the midst of final exams and papers. Which totally sucks but at least I'm near the end of the semester. I'm trying really hard to not think about my summer class now... just have to focus on finishing these courses!!! ARGH.

I have to admit, it was really weird for me to not have access to the internet throughout the day. I feel like I've missed out on so much!

In other news, Mike's soccer season came to a screeching halt when it was determined that the field they play on has high levels of lead in the turf. Mannn, I hope our babies don't come out lookin' funny! Plus, we were planning on taking some engagement pictures on that field in a few weeks... guess that's not going to happen!

Okay... it's 75 degrees out (finally!!) and training is over. I'm heading home to go for a nice long run. Have a great weekend!!

Tteokbokki

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:05:06 GMT

Not having a "true" badge doesn't bother me one bit. What pisses me off is seeing random ass bloggers out there with it. What is even up with that badge? How does one get it? Is it like a membership to the "cool" club?

Psh.

But anyway...

This tteokbokki sauce (gochujang) rocks my world:

I've been making tteokbokki for a while now from scratch... but then I saw this in the store and just had to try it out. It's as easy as pouring ketchup on some fries! Granted, it's overprocessed and overpriced... but it's convenient and tasty, damnit!! I'm not a REAL corean anyway, so I figured I can get away with using this crap. But let me tell you... it's damn good and very spicy. I was really surprised because I went into it thinking it'd taste horrible.

Gotta love how corean foods are getting more and more processed and packaged for convenience. Hahaha.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:41:34 GMT

A margarita at lunch sounded like a good idea at the time. But now I just want to curl up and take a nap. Even after a Starbucks latte.

I love the outfit I'm wearing today. Very "What Not to Wear" worthy. But I doubt anyone in my office (all 4 of them) appreciates it.

NKOTB is making a comeback and for some reason, I want to win tickets to see them perform in my area. No idea why. Mike refuses to come with me if I win. Loser.

I've been following my 1165-calorie/day diet for a good long time now. With exercising 4-5 days a week. Still sitting at my plateau. DAMNIT! I'm on the verge of starting up on TrimSpa again... eventhough I know it makes me feel like a crackhead. I'm willing to see if running again will make a difference... but that has brought about joint pains and blisters. Must invest in new sneakers, a la Lenore_Happenstance.

Save-the-Dates are in the mail. AHHHHH!

To Do

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:36:45 GMT

I don't know what happened to me... but I've gotten really lazy about some things and have gotten really active about others. I don't know why or when this happened, but it's really driving me nuts.

I don't do work at work. I have no problem finding a million other things to do for 8 hours a day while I sit in my cubicle. I really need my ass kicked.
I haven't done anything wedding-related. Well, I did pick up some stamps for the save-the-dates, but that's about it. I have to figure out the whole tux/suit dilemma for Mike and the guys and I need to find a hair/makeup place and I need to finalize my guest list so I can send the darn save-the-dates (I wanted to shorten that word, but it turns out to be STD)... and and and... so much more.
School is boring and I do just enough to get by. This isn't so much a change, but it's getting worse and worse.
I started to clean the windows in our condo... inside and out. It was driving me crazy so I just went at it. And I have 3 more to go.
I bought tile caulk so that I can make our tub/shower look a little less grody. Mike is leaving this project entirely up to me. I've done it once before at my mom's... and I know it's going to take every ounce of my patience to not give up on this project.
I've hemmed 3 out of 7 pants. Over the year I've accumulated some nice work pants from sales and what-not... but never took them to a tailor. I've decided to save the change and do it myself. Pretty damn proud so far... now I just have to tackle the cuffed ones! argh
Replanted our tiny Christmas tree into a larger pot and brought it over to my mom's yard for some real sunlight and air... in hopes that we can use it again next December.
Lugged my 2 computer towers from my mom's house over to the condo to empty them out into the new 500GB external drive we purchased (on sale!!). Then they're going to charity. FINALLY. If anyone will still accept a TOWER... heh. One tower was mine from when I lived with my mom... the other was Mike's from his college days. Let's hope I don't find porn. Though, I think they networked the porn in college so his hard drive may be safe.

I've volunteered to make my youngest nephew's first birthday cake. Why? I have no freaking clue. It sounded like a great idea at the time. I love to bake and crap so I figured I'd finally give a decorated cake a whirl. And if it looks like total crap, he won't care because he's 1! Plus I think if it really sucks I'm going to just make a bunch of cupcakes and call it a day. Anyone have ideas for fillings for the cake?? Gotta stay away from chocolate though. I'm planning a "Baby Einstein" graphic of some sort on a plain old sheet cake. In hopes that it's the easiest thing to not screw up. Nowadays you can buy rolled fondant... which I think I'll be using to cut out colorful circles to make one of the characters. Woot woot!! If that doesn't work, I'll switch the circles out as balloons or something. I WILL be taking pictures so keep an eye out for those. OH YEAH, and he'll finally be on tv on Memorial Day. On the TLC channel... on a show called "A Baby Story". We don't have the time slot but you'll have to keep an eye out for me.... hopefully I'll be the only halfy on that day. LOL.

Also, let's hope the chunker will fit into the hanbok that his brother wore 3 years ago!!