I just crunched the numbers (although it feels like the numbers are crunching me) and we've got everything we need for the wedding and it's under budget! Hooray! Well, everything except our wedding bands which we aren't including in the budget because our rings are a gift to one another. But all the vendors and rentals all that are taken care of. Just a few more deposits to come up with, and all that's left to do is mail the invitations and wait to get married!

I made caramel apples today and they were amazing and I ate 2 and now I feel positively ill. Blergh.

I have a big, fat quiz on Monday. It would behoove me to study.

Yesterday I drove to Berkeley and met up with some wedding vendors that I'm thrilled to be working with. One was a wedding cake maker, La Farine in Oakland---FINALLY found someone with amazing-tasting cake, competitive prices, and is available. It's going to be a combination of coffee/kahlua cake and a dark-chocolate ganache cake. I'm so excited! I brought home some cake from the tasting yesterday and I'm waiting for the right moment to devour it.

Yesterday Neko and I were leaving the Lincoln Center and there was this huge column of smoke coming from a building behind the old honey-baked hams, and there were like a million firetrucks and traffic was all backed up like crazy. And there's not one mention of it in the paper. So I have no idea what caught on fire. Neko thinks it was the Cameo cards (old naughty nick's) place. Oh well.

Don't really have any plans for Halloween. Maybe I'll make caramel apples.

Trader Joe's is funny. Like, if I wanted chocolate pudding mix at any time, all I'd have to do is go to S-Mart and buy some Jello pudding mix. But I never have. I never stop at the pudding and jello section. I don't know, buying pudding mix at the regular grocery store is just not something I'd do.
But then I'm checking out Trader Joe's "new products" display, and I see they now carry pudding mix. And I'm all "PUDDING!!!!!!111" Like I've never been able to buy it before. And I got some, and I made it, and it was delicious.
Now I'm going to bed.

...plus 4 years, no chance of parole, for killing a man that raped and trafficked her when she was a teenager.

Didn't like the wedding cupcakes. They were so unbearably sweet that just 2 little mini-cupcakes gave me a stomachache. So, the search continues!

Saturday was my dad's 60th birthday and we had a special dinner for him at Quince in San Francisco. It was a really special evening. The food and service at this restaurant were impeccable. The tops of our menus had "Happy Birthday, William!" printed on the top of them. It was an 8-course tasting meal, and everything was beautifully prepared. There was a server for each person at the table. We had a complete change of silverware for each course.
I've never eaten anything that fancy before. Usually vegetarians kinda get left out in the cold when it comes to fine dining in the California/Mediterranean/American foodie scene. Sure there are vegetarian restaurants that sort of mimic it, but the food is usually less-than-memorable and errs on the healthy side. I was sort of concerned about eating there because I looked at their menu online and there was not a single vegetarian item. However, the chef took care of us without missing a beat. At our party of 9, there was 1 real vegetarian (Neko), one vegetarian who eats fish (me), one person who is fatally allergic to seafood (stepmom) and another person who didn't eat red meat. And they brought out beautifully prepared dishes to accommodate each one of these people. No one had to pick any meat out of anything or ask for a regular dish "without the meat".
I did take pictures of each course, but I just had the crappy little pocket camera, so the pictures aren't good.

And beyond the amazing service and food, it was also great that my dad had such a splendid evening. He deserves it.

How I know it's Monday: 1. Walk out to car. Realize it got egged 2.Spend the next hour and a half cleaning up poop (literally) 3. Have someone hock a loogie on your car because you didn't slam on your breaks when they ran into traffic. 4. Huge exam in 2.5 hours.

Also: apartment smells like a nasty hamster cage!

I can't go to Target without having someone ask me for money. Some of you may be familiar with the infamous "deaf basketball camp" incident. Anyway, today, someone in the parking lot, probably younger than me, told me he just got out of jail and would I give him a ride. I guess that story was supposed to elicit sympathy?---because he was just incredulous that I would turn him down. He just stared at me like, "what do you mean 'no'"? He said "thanks for nothing" as he left.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. My parents and a couple of my siblings from out of state will be visiting. My sister and I are going to do wedding-related things. Saturday is my dad's 60th birthday. We're having a dinner for him at a swanky restaurant.
And Ireland's 2nd birthday party is Sunday.

Finally got some good news on the wedding cake front: I found a well-recommended cupcake maker based out of San Rafael that is available on my date and is doing a tasting for us on Saturday. Hooray!

Annndd so far it's not looking good for me for getting into the class. The empty spots were filled up by people on the wait list above me. In order for me to get into the class at this point, 2 already enrolled people will have to drop by Thursday. The teacher said he'd let me hang around class until Tuesday to find out if I gain a spot though.

Meh. Poor Neko had a 7:00 AM class today after 2 nights in a row with no sleep. And poor me because I'm having a bad stomach/bathroom morning.
I still won't know if I'm getting into my Microbiology class until after lab this afternoon. Yesterday the teacher said he couldn't admit anyone on the wait list based on the capacity of the lecture. When he called roll yesterday, there were three people on the wait list and only 2 people on the regular enrolled list that didn't show up. So I've got my fingers crossed.
Beyond the hoping I get into the class for obvious reasons---need to keep this getting-into-nursing-school ball rolling and I've already unwrapped my books making them nonreturnable, I have to say I feel like I'm really going to enjoy this class. I know the first few days are always easy, but I really enjoyed the lecture, and later on at home I was so enjoying studying that I decided to keep studying instead of watching Gilmore Girls. And those that know me at all know that's a big deal!

Ugghhhh my belleh :(

niftybitch, the health/fiber bars you had at your house last weekend were really tasty! We both liked them. I couldn't find a recipe that sounded at all similar...so I invented my own.

The results were quite satisfactory!

Dry ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup oatmeal
3 TB ground flax seed
2 TB hemp seed
1 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts nutmeg
1/2 baking soda

Wet ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 TB peanut butter
2 TB molasses
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 TB olive oil
6-7 pitted prunes, chopped

Other:

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat to 350

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl, set aside

In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients until fully combined

Add half of the dry ingredients, mix to combine, then add the other half. When it's completely mixed together, fold in the chocolate chips.

Place batter in the greased baking dish of your choice. I highly recommend a nonstick brownie pan.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until toothpick/knife/whatever comes out clean

Today we drove to Stripmallmore to meet the officiant for the wedding. He seems like a really cool guy. He's a retired Catholic priest who specializes in the "interfaith" world. I think he's a great match for what we're looking for.
Annnnddddd....I went and tried on a wedding dress at Maxine's bridal that I had tried on a few weeks ago and really liked. I still really like it. I know I spoke a month ago about a JCrew dress that I said I was going to keep but I actually already returned it. Long story. Anyway, the lady at Maxine's said she'd include a free hem for the dress if I bought it by Monday. So! The high-pressure sale is on!

I made a really good toffee ice cream last night.


1 half-pint of heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 8-oz package of Heath toffee baking bits
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Step 1: Combine the brown sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat to a near-boil, stirring to make sure sugar is completely melted. Transfer syrup to a bowl and let cool in the fridge.

Step 2: When the syrup is cooled, combine the cream, milk, vanilla, almond extract, and syrup pour in your ice cream maker. Use according to manufacturer's instructions (mine runs for 30 minutes).

Step 3: Add the package of heath bits when the mixture begins to thicken. For mine, this is about half way through the cycle.


So um, nothing noteworthy going on around here. I take my certification exam on August 8th, and will hopefully pass and get my CNA certificate and can be eligible to apply for jobs. I also either need to get Red Cross CPR certified or American Heart Association BLS certified, since either of those is usually required to work in a hospital. All of the Red Cross's CPR for the Professional Rescuer were filled for July though.
Ho hum. I now have a stomachache from that toffee ice cream I was raving about earlier.

This is the eastern side of the marriage-happening place.

I realize that cause and effect are random and meaningless, but I just can't help but feel miffed that the world lost this terrific man, when so many worthless ones get to go on living. He was the father of a friend of mine from high school.



On Sunday June 21, 2009 James (Jim) Anton DeBortoli passed from this world into a fuller life with Jesus Christ our Lord. Jim was a devoted husband, father and brother. He is survived by his beloved wife, Patricia (Patty) Simpkins DeBortoli, and his treasured children: James (Jim) William DeBortoli, John Anthony DeBortoli and his wife Heather, Joseph (Jed) Edward DeBortoli, Laura Jean DeBortoli, and Kathryn (Katie) Ellen Simpkins DeBortoli. He was a devoted grandfather to his three beautiful granddaughters: Sophia Grace, Isabella Vittoria, and Lilianna Noelle. He is survived by his sister Josephine Marick and her husband Nick and many cousins. In addition to his beloved family, Jim is survived by scores of friends, including his co-workers at the Country Club Rite Aid Pharmacy, where he served members of his neighborhood for over thirty years. The funeral mass will be Thursday, June 25th at 10 a.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church at 235 Adams. Visitation will be at Leak Memory on Wednesday from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. , followed by a Rosary. Pallbearers include best friend Charlie Colvin, Bob Weir, West Marcus, Tony Egbuna, Jack Park and Mahdi Al Hallaq. Honorary pallbearers are: George Poulas, Guin A. Nance, and Daphne Simpkins. In lieu of flowers, please make honorary donations to the Alabama Kidney Foundation or the Montgomery chapter of the American Diabetes Foundation. Leak-Memory Chapel Directing

So, I was all excited about being able to sleep in today and get some rest, but staying up until 1:30 AM (because we had a friend over until after midnight and then I stayed up to watch an episode of "Intervention") then getting woken up at 7:00 to move the car = getting less sleep than on the days I wake up at 5:00. I tried going back to sleep but I'm not really good at that. I feel groggy.

The episode of intervention annoyed the crap out of me. It was about a guy who was addicted to heroin. He was born in India, and abandoned on the streets of Calcutta when he was very little, and adopted by this Christian white family in the United States when he was three. They showed this home video of the parents going to pick him up and they were all "God told us we would be receiving a little boy from India in about 5 years and now we're going to get him!". In addition to their adopted son they also had five, perfect blonde biological children. And they made a naive mistake that I've seen happen with other families with adoption and particularly international adoption. They just assumed that if you rescue this child from the streets, and give them everything they need, they'll grow up to be happy and well adjusted and grateful. Also, they'll love Jesus since Jesus told the parents to adopt from India. You could tell from the blank looks on their faces during the interviews that they had absolutely no concept of their son/brother experiencing a lot of emotional pain over being abandoned by his birth family, of never knowing who his parents or siblings are. They had no concept of what it felt like to be the only brown face in a family of white faces.
The overwhelming feeling was that, "We gave him everything he needed and we loved him for who he is so what on earth is wrong with him?". The dad was the worst. He refused to see his problems as an illness and just thought he was being sinful and had no respect for authority.
And it's not that the guy hated his family. He loved them very much but undertandably felt distanced from them because of the "But we gave you Jesus and TV!" attitude. My heart just broke for that guy. It just amazed me that in all those years, it never occurred to that family to seek outside professional help (not the church) or pick up a book on adopted children and try to learn something about identity and abandonment issues.

Anyway...end rant about The Television and People I Do Not Know.

My birthday present: Seeing two bums/methheads fight over a bag of trash.

Yes, I'm evil.

There was a blog post on the New York Times, featuring a 22-year old woman who is unexpectedly pregnant and recently admitted to a prestigious and extremely demanding graduate program that only offers classes once every two years. The program does not allow deferrals or absentees. The program would entail 20 hours of classes a week, along with 20 hours of studying, paper-writing, and field research. She has no nearby support of family and is in a new town with no close friends. The father is emotionally supportive, but cannot financially support. She makes "too much" money to qualify to social services, grants, or scholarships, but not enough to buy infant supplies. And let's not get into "Well she shouldn't have gotten pregnant, then!", because it's stupid and pointless to say you shouldn't have done something after the fact.

So, they introduced the situation. And the comments were very warm, supportive, and thoughtful. Surprising for the NY times, whose cranky, I-know-better-than-you commenters are never in short supply.

Today they updated to let the woman inform everyone of her decision. She had decided to terminate the pregnancy.

And those warm supportive comments turned into nasty, judgmental stone-throwing about how she was the most selfish person alive.
Someone even said she would be better off keeping the child and working at Wal-Mart the rest of her life.
There was a lot of "so many couples would give anything to raise that child". Not that I don't have any sympathy for infertile couples, but I do not believe it is the responsibility of anyone to provide babies for people who cannot have them. If you choose adoption, great, but don't go around telling everyone that others should do the same.

Anyway. Was just kinda perturbed how those people who were helpful and kind a couple days ago morphed into these ugly name-calling, holier-than-thou idealists. Hope I never have to be at their mercy.

At last, The Time Traveler's Wife will be released August 14!!!! It looks positively craptastic.