Taking a Break

Life is funny sometimes. I'm taking little break from blogging while I figure some things out. My life just turned into a Spanish soap opera and half of me never wants the story line to end while the other half just wants a damn commercial break. Sorry to be so vague. Don't email me cuz I wont tell you what's going on. I say that with love.

Ahh. Life

This is me stopping, thinking, and doing what is right. Falling slowly.

A Weekend of Bliss

Dave is flying out Thursday to see his parents in NorCal (northern Cali). They plan on having a close friends and family get together on Saturday and to be honest I could not justify in my heart and head the need for 2 roundtrip airplane tickets as well as missed days from work just for a random get together. Birthday, yes. Anniversary, yes. Holiday, yes. Backyard bbq and get together, no. Dave isn't quite pleased with my decision but oh well. It is what it is. It's not like he can exactly argue with my rationale nor am I stopping him from seeing his family.

To celebrate my 4 day mini vacation of doing whatever the want, when I want. I will be spending the upcoming few days doing the following:
* Eating sushi until I can no longer look at another Philadelphia roll. Dave doesn't like sushi but he'll often come with me to eat a bento box or teriyaki. While I do appreciate his effort, I'd rather eat sushi by myself in front of the tv with a glass of red wine by my side.
* Read the rest of the Wideacre trilogy. I must admit that Wideacre deeply disturbed me. To be honest I felt rather filthy after reading it but nonetheless it was a page turner. Now that I know what to expect I am looking forward to spending the weekend in bed and alternately swooning and then going ewww.
* Watching all 4 discs of The Last Emperor on DVD. Dave has no interests in movies (especially lengthy historical epics). After watching the Olympics on tv, I am looking forward to immersing myself in Chinese history. I may not agree with it's politics but I can't help but respect a Country with true history.
* Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! I love to get in some raggy clothes, turn the rhapsody or sirius up loud and clean until everything is spick and span.
* Option: Working out at the gym and then ruining it all by going to Sunday brunch immediately after.

I (heart) Robert Dudley

Besides spending the past week criss-crossing the country and imbibing way too many cocktails, I have been reading books. I read the fourth Twilight installment four times in a week's period. I would have read it four more times but unfortunately it is a 750 page book and lugging that across several plane flights was really not worth the effort. Instead I read two more books over the last week that have left me wanting to read 17 more books. I might have to quit my day job so that I have enough time and energy to turn on the AC, wrap myself in a big blanket, and read all day. Sometimes I think that Dave must get tired of my book wormish ways but then I remember that when I have my nose in a book I turn into the quiet and lenient wife who orders pizza for dinner, does not care what is watched on tv, and wants only for sex at night.

First I read Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. While it is an easy chick lit read it also delved into the life and times of Jane Austen and what that meant to women. I enjoyed the book but moreover it made me really want to reread all six Jane Austen books.

Next I read The Queen's Fool by Philipa Gregory. I had watched and loved the movie rendition of The Other Boleyn Girl and was recommended to read Gregory's other works. I did and now I think I'm addicted. I desperately want to read her 11 other books that bring the life and times of 16th century England to life. The only thing that is stopping me from spending the whole weekend at the library is that I can't decide which set of books I want to read first. I've read all the Jane Austen novels before but there is only 6 of them. On the other hand I loved the Gregory novel but there are 11 of them and once I start I wont be able to stop. Decisions, decisions ...

Phelps Phan

I've just come back from a week in Washington DC. I had a wonderful time staying at this gorgeous hotel, lunching with work friends, and riding the metro. Which if I haven't mentioned it before, I am in LOVE with public transportation. I would be gloriously happy if every city I lived in allowed me to ride high speed rail from home to my place of work all while listening to my iPod. I even find the walks from the metro station to the doorstep of my work/home to be exhilarating and mind cleaning.

Truth be told I also liked being on east coast time. (Please don't tell my Cali comrades). Watching the Olympics on tv was actually live. Being on the left coast we often feel like bastard step children when watching the nightly national news and seeing the little emblem in the top left of the screen which says "pre-recorded". I also enjoy east coast time because it has royally fucked with my eating schedule leaving me not really hungry at the appropriate times thus not really eating regular meals. I've eaten like a bird over the past 8 days and I'm hoping that when I jump on the scale tomorrow morning I find that I've dropped a few pounds.

The only disjointed part of my east coast adventure was when I kept hearing them talk on the news of the lower then average temperatures and how that meant that fall was coming. Ummmm ... did they not know that summer is only half way over? We still have 6 more months of summer and then spring is here! I admit that I forget other parts of the country experience weather that doesn't involve sun, 80 degree days, and occasional wind. You might think I kid but the weather in SoCal is insanely devoid of most inclement weather. This might derail my thoughts of moving to the east coast and riding the metro until my little iPod runs out of battery. Earthquakes aren't fun but snow seriously freaks me out.

Being lewd with two dudes with food

I kinda have been watching this you tube clip over and over again. I can't help it. I may hate gorey stuff and Paris Hilton, yet as soon as you combine the two in a musical I am hooked. This song (Zydrate Anatomy) actually has me excited to see the film.


And on a similar confessional tone (but lacking Paris and gore), I have a minor crush on Jermaine from Flight of the Conchords. Something about his deep voice combined with the dark hair and tall height (which we all know I am a sucker for) have me drooling. Yum ;-)

Confessional

The 4th book in the Twilight series is being released tonight at midnight and like pre-teen girls all over the country, I plan on being at one of these midnight release parties. And I must confess that I'm not even embarrassed to be waiting amongst all the teenage flesh. In fact I am EXCITED. Beyond excited might be a better descriptor. These books have sucked me in much like the Harry Potter books sucked in others. My only concern is that I wont be able to hang until midnight.

Unsettling

It maybe wasn't a wise idea to park in an underground parking garage AFTER a 5.8 earthquake had rattled the SoCal area. Unfortunately, Dave and I went to a Padres baseball game last night and we parked where we always parked. We both didn't realize our unwise mistake until we found a parking spot three floors below the ground. As we were walking up the stairs I kept thinking of the bridge that collapsed after the Oakland earthquake and all the people that were stuck for days between the layers.


I saw the damage that was done after the Northridge earthquake (which wasn't that much larger then yesterday's quake) and I can't help but be a bit unsettled. Will there be any after shocks? Was this a pre-quake? Will this anger the mighty San Andreas fault?


In more happy news, Dave's work purchased a sky box at Petco Park. Free food and booze. Bad game but the relaxing atmosphere made up for it all.

I'm Wearing Red Glittery Shoes and Tapping Them

A co-worker and I drove 2 hours to a meeting the other day. While driving we began talking about all the places that we wanted to travel to in the future. I realized that there are quite a few places out there that I haven't seen and would like to visit in the near future. It also made me realize that maybe Dave and I need to stop repeat vacationing in Mexico and Las Vegas. While I love both places dearly there are other places that I could be spending money to visit.

Below are the locations I would like to travel to in the next 5 - 10 years. There are a few other places I'd like to visit such as Catalina Island and Borrego Springs but those are cheap and easy weekend trips so I didn't include them in the list below.

10. Florida Keys - Two years ago I spent a month in Florida for work. If California fell off the face of the Earth, I could easily move to Florida or Texas and be a very happy camper. Before this trip I had never really heard of the Florida Keys but now I would love to take a road trip through them. Making sure to stop at all the really quiet islands.

9. Almost Anywhere in Canada - In 2002 a group of girls and I flew to Vancouver for my best friend's 20th birthday and I feel in love with Canada. Now I would love to go almost anywhere in Canada: Banff, Quebec (so I can practice my french), Nova Scotia. It's cold, green, unpopulated and everything that Cali is not. Sometimes you need a little yin to make you appreciate the yang.

8. Santa Barbara Wine Country - I've wine tasted in Napa, Sonoma, Temecula, and the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Now I'd like to explore Santa Barbara wines and have the opportunity to sleep at one of these awesome cabins on the beach.

7. Yosemite High Sierra Camp - I love Yosemite (I got married there!) and I love the idea of hiking someplace really remote but not having to deal with heavy back packs.

6. Palm Springs Girls Get Away - This is more of a weekend trip (Palm Springs is about 2 hours from where I live) but I'd like to do a girl's getaway weekend. Laying by the pool, going to the spa, talking with friends, and enjoying a mojito is my idea of a great time.

5. Point Arena - For our second date, Dave invited me to go camping with him and it was at that point that I think I fell in love. For our 5 year dating anniversary (next August!) I'd love to go back to Point Arena and stay at this Inn.

4. Month on the Oregon Coast - I'd love to take a month long holiday, rent a cabin on the coast and just enjoy each day. Renting a cabin on Cali's coast is economically not feasible but to me Oregon's Coast is just as beautiful.

3. Europe! - I think I've said this a million times but lately I'm feeling the itch to explore Europe. I'd want to go backpacking through Scotland, England, and the French countryside.

2. Alaska - I'd love to take a cruise with Dave's family to Alaska. I think it would be scenic as well as a bonding experience for Dave's family and myself.

1. Trip with Friends - Anywhere. I could care less where we went but I would love to take a vacation with a group of married friends. Sorry Tam, unfortunately this anywhere doesn't include Iowa to visit you and Ryan! ;-)

AND we just felt a 5.8 earthquake. Ok. NOW I'm ready to go anywhere but Cali.

Dispatch from the Goddess

Last night Dave and I braved the Comic Con crowds and went downtown to see a theatre production of Phantom of the Opera. Comic Com always seems to bring the crazies to San Diego. Last year it was a giant raspberry which turned out to be a cartoon character named Meatwad. This year it was eating at Yard House seated next to a group of people who were dressed in business suits but covered in fake blood. I didn't have the heart to ask them what characters they were supposed to be. Then after the play was over we walked to our car and were greeted in the parking garage's elevator by 3 people who were dressed like characters from the video game Zelda. They had a movie camera and were filming us and kept calling me Goddess. Luckily I grew up near LA and having a stranger's film camera stuck in my face doesn't bother me as much as it might bother others. Plus the Goddess part didn't hurt either. Unfortunately, Dave and I didn't ask them what the filming was for and we will probably be credited as "Random Parking Garage Patron and his Goddess". I wonder if that's enough to have an imdb profile created for me?

The play was quite pleasant except Dave and I didn't get the memo that people in San Diego wear all black to the theatre. I've been to the theatre in LA (when I was young) and people wore formal dresses but they were in all sorts of colors. And in San Francisco people tend to be very laid back and come to the theatre in khakis and sun dresses. I was quite surprised by the sea of people in black waiting to enter the theatre. I was wearing a turquoise/brown skirt and Dave was wearing khakis and a polo shirt. I felt under dressed this time but am excited to go again and break out a few of my black dresses.

iDont Love the iPhone

Yesterday, Dave and I went to the local Apple store (one of three in our area) to buy the iPhone 3G for myself. Dave has had an iPhone for several months and loves it and the many neat gadgets associated with the phone. I've always been a blackberry sort of girl but after using Dave's phone to view websites and watch you tube videos I was kinda leaning toward buying one for myself. We went to the Apple store 15 minutes after opening and were greeted at the door with a line of 50 customers before us already waiting to get their own phones. I about threw my body on the floor and began pounding the cement with my fists in frustration. iPhones were so last week and here we are 9 days later and people are still waiting several hours in line just to get their hands on one. Plus we live in a town where there are THREE Apple stores within a 30 minute drive of where we live. I feel sorry for the suckers who live in towns where there is only one Apple store for several hours. So after waiting in line for an hour we are told that we are in luck. It will take us several more hours to reach the front on the line but! a phone will be available for us. So we wait, and wait, and wait. I get my phone, pay $400, and viola it is activated. I've been playing with the phone since yesterday afternoon and have so far been very disappointed with the iPhone. I think I may be the very 1st person on the planet who didn't have a previous grudge against Apple that actually is disappointed. The reasons I don't like the iPhone:

1. It's not easy to personalize the thing. There are many cool apps available on the phone but once you download the app then you are stuck with it's stock appearance. I want to make my calendar pink, my backdrop purple, and my alarm clock snooze on a 5 minute schedule versus the stock 10 which allow me to go right back to sleep.

2. It's screen rests against my cheek and gets all make-upey and oily. Yuck.

3. I cannot for the life of me get my work email to download onto the damn thing. It says that email download wasn't successful but wont give me an error code or tell me why the download wasn't successful. Is my server not available? Did I enter the password wrong? Is my work firewalling the download???

4. Hubby and I can't share CDs on the iPod portion. We have to buy a physical CD and then download it to each of our iPhones. We can't buy songs in iTunes and then share. That sucks.

5. I'm sure I'll think of others. I still haven't imported my contacts from my palm software to the Outlook software that iPhone mandates you use. I don't expect this to be easy.

My Name is Cori and I Endorse this Post

It's summer and I've been in the movie watching mood lately. There is nothing good on the tv, the beaches are crowded, and really there isn't much else to do after work. A few weeks ago I watched the movie Atonement starring Keira Knigtley and James McAvoy. Wait. Let's take a moment to bow our heads and be thankful for the holy hotness that is James McAvoy. Mmmmmm ..... I have a thing for Scottish boys. Mmmmm...... Anyways. I loved the movie but was left with quite a few questions so I decided to check the book out from the local library. I'm so glad I did. The movie follows the book very closely but the book gives so many details that make you appreciate the movie 10 times more. I kinda even want to re-watch the movie again because the book was so good. Two thumbs up.

Not Related: James McAvoy is HOT

In-laws were in town this weekend. Dave and I survived with our marriage and sanity intact. No really it wasn't that bad. MIL was decently pleasant and non-demanding during the visit. While I went to work on Friday they helped Dave around the house with a few home improvement projects (we have drapes now!) and then that night I made them an awesome dinner. Saturday we woke up late, were lazy for part of the morning, and then headed out to the coast to brave the horse racing crowds and eat at my favorite café on the beach. After strolling around and watching a few Hawaiian dancers as well as the surfers we came home and then later that night dropped them off at the airport.

Relatively painless. My only problem is that I know my in laws (and hubby too) tend to be rather passive aggressive which I HATE. When we are all together everyone is pleasant and pretends to be happy. Then the minute doors (or eyes) are closed the true feelings come out. I'm a really straight forward and simple person and the whole acting one way but feeling another way charade just really gets to me. If you have a problem then say what bothers you, fix it, and/or get over it. The whole weekend MIL was nice to me but after the whole wedding debacle I know that’s not how she really feels. I'd honestly rather never see her again until she apologizes to me but I know from talking to hubby that will never happen. Oh well. Half the time I'm grateful that she at least acts nice to me. And the other half of the time I wish she would just tell me what she really thinks (no matter how unpleasant) so that I know where I stand. I'm a trusting person and I would just rather be able to be nice to someone and trust them rather then be nice to them but hold them at arms length. Hubby is big on the concept of family but I don't really see the point of being nice to people just because you share the same blood as them. I'd rather be nice and loving to someone because I like them and respect them as a friend.

In more pleasant news, I've been in a pie making mood lately so I used the in-laws visit as an excuse to bake the worlds best peach-a-berry pie this weekend. The recipe below can be switched up to whatever fruits you have on hand: peaches/raspberries, peaches/blueberries (this is what I put in my pie), nectarines/cherries (the next pie I make), etc.

INGREDIENTS
4 cups fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced
2 cups fresh raspberries
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 (9 inch) pie crusts
2 tablespoons butter, softened and cut into pieces
1 tablespoon coarse granulated sugar
1 egg (for washing the top of the pie)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Place peaches and berries in a colander for about 15 minutes to drain any excess fluid , then transfer to a large bowl. Gently toss with sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Transfer to a pie crust. Dot with butter, and top with remaining crust. Brush with egg. Cut vents in top crust, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
3. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until crust is golden brown. (Don't forget to place a pan under the pie to catch all the pie oozy stuff!!!)

Oh My

Just when I needed to laugh. Seriously this is hilarious. Trust me.

Click here and laugh (safe for work, kinda)

Blue

I've been insanely bored lately.

I've always been surrounded by friends, or wedding planning, or buried in work and any days where my schedule was clear were greatly appreciated. Lately my schedule has been clear almost every day. My few friends who live in the area are busy with their newborn babies, I haven't traveled for work due to a bad budget, Dave hasn't had any work functions, I'm not taking classes at the local college, I finally have a full staff so work isn't so hectic, etc. All I'm left with are days where I wake up at 7am, go to work, come home at 4pm, cook dinner, then watch tv or a movie. Lather, rinse, repeat. I read an occasional book but the bottom line is that my day is too open and it leaves me feeling bored, sad, and lonely.

Sometimes I get mad at the Hubby but really we've always been two sorts of different people. I like hiking, cooking, reading, wine tasting and watching movies. He does not. He likes playing video games, watching sports, and relaxing in front of the television. I do not. There really isn't much that we like to do together but that's always been okay because we both appreciate our differences. Except now when I'm bored and wishing I had a partner to entertain me.

I could watch a movie by myself but I've already done that about a zillion times. I could go hiking but its a bit hot this summer and its really not safe to hike alone with rattlesnakes and mountain lions. I could take a cooking class but that's just one night of entertainment. I could take another class at the local college but there really isn't a subject that I'm interested in learning. The beach is always fun but right now is prime tourist season and I don't need a tan. I can't really go wine tasting by myself. Craigslist is always an option but one that leaves me uneasy.

Ho hum. I wish there was an easy answer. At this point I'm tempted to clean the house again, just to give myself something to do.

And Then I Kicked Him in His Mouth

Overheard: Hubby complaining about today and how it was going to be soooooo hot and why do we live in the desert???

We live 17 miles from the coast.

Today's high is supposed to be 81 degrees.

I think I need to send him to Pheonix or better yet to Atlanta where the high is 87 but it feels like 92 because of the humidity.

Better yet I should just kick him in the mouth.

3 Weeks Late

If there ever was a way to ensure that a married couple would not want to divorce then all you have to do is remodel their kitchen. My new kitchen is so beautiful that all I want to do is spend hours sitting at the bar and staring at how well everything came together. There is no way that I would ever think of leaving David because if I did then I could not afford the mortgage on my own and there is no way in hell that I would ever move out.

To See Before Pics, Click Here

The entire remodel took 6 weeks and turned out 10x more polished then I could have ever hoped. All of the cabinets are custom and include self closing hinges. The appliances are bosch and GE, floor and back splash are tumbled travertine, and counters are granite.












To see more pics (including many of the process), go to my webshots

Oh Dear

I've been having decidedly anti-baby feelings lately. I never thought I would be so flip flopity on a situation. One month I want kids and then next I'm like "oh, hells noe".

Do Kids Make You Happy? Answer: Not so Much

Also, ummmm ... No thank you

My honest theory is that marriage is like having babies. Before you get married people tell you that marriage is work but they never tell you exactly how much work it requires. I love my husband and all but marriage is hard, tedious, and often boring. I think people don't tell you this because then no one would ever get married. I don't think parents tell you how hard it is either because then no one would ever have kids and sometimes admitting that it sucks isn't always the most PC thing to do. Just my theories for this month. Next month look forward to me singing love songs about my husband and how wonderful he is as well as baby names I've recently picked out.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Fresno State did it!!!! From being a non-seeded team to NCAA Champions. Congratulations Bulldogs. Never before has a college team made such a Cinderella style climb to the top. I watched the Championship games and never before have I wanted to return to Fresno just so I could be surrounded by my fellow Bulldog fans and cheer for our team. Gooooo! Bulldogs!

Ignorance is Bliss

Throughout the past few years, on and off, I've tried to cyber stalk my exes. No real reason other then a general nosiness and desire to know what has happened to them over the years. I'm not in contact with ANY of my exes (which I think says something about me and the way I break up with boys). For me this sucks since I really would like to know how they are doing and what has become of them. I've tried using google, myspace, and facebook to search for my various exes (some more then others) yet have been unable to find a single ex. Wait, take that back, I have found one but I really don't care to know what he is up too and then one other I refuse to look up because he is pure evil. But that leaves like 20 other exes (I dated A LOT in college) and the fact that I can't find them on-line frustrates me to no end. So many stories left unfinished. I was a science major in college so I know that I have the ability to conduct a search effectively. I think that the guys I date just aren't on-line or have names that are way too common to easily google.

That is until tonight.

I found the Matt that I talked about briefly here. I realize now that maybe ignorance is bliss. I know that he and I would have never worked out. He was a really great guy but he was a pilot in the air force and I am a big weenie that would have never been able to deal with a boyfriend in the military who was putting his life at risk on a regular basis. Matt is getting married and while this doesn't bother me (he really was an A+++ type guy) what I read in the news article I found does. We dated in November/December 2001. He met his fiancee in Summer 2002 which means that while my heart was being broken (not by him) and I was spending the darkest most depressing summer alone, he was falling in love with his future wife. The darkest part of my life was his happiest. The juxtaposition strikes me much closer to the core then it really should (esp 6 years later).

edited: I originally posted the text of the article but then I realized that Matt or his fiancee could easily google their own names and find my blog. Ummm ... maybe not a good idea. Too bad because the article really was sickeningly sweet and gave a great idea of the type of guy Matt is. Stupid google.