oh how i love tater tots

I was real delighted by all the comments about my previous post, so I will address those now:

• Sure, let’s be friends. I am always up for hanging out, although it should be noted that I never have “slow time” and pretty much have to be booked 1-2 months in advance. This is not because I am hip or fun, but because of self-inflicted double-booking.
• My life is not always wacky and/or good times. You may notice that I only blog approximately 1-2 times per month, so a lot gets packed into those entries. Most of my life is spent reading things like “Reengineering the Corporation” or “Strategic Management” and/or waiting for the next episode of American Idol.
• I love my belated Christmas gift. I do indeed love gifts that combine science jokes and rock n’ roll. I will start calling Fro “Phreaux” in the future when he is being particularly Louisiana-ish.
• I mean I do like mayonnaise and think it has a place in ham sandwiches and various salads, but I think maybe it has too high of a fat content for me to fully embrace. Also in junior high I was obsessed with this infomercial about this hand blender that you could use to make your own mayo. The image of the eggs getting blended into a jar full of oil has been with me all these years and it makes it hard to eat liberal amounts of the stuff. I tried dipping fries into mayo (per your suggestion) a couple of weeks ago, but I just…didn’t get it. Sorry, sour cream is still A#1 in my book.
• But it’s a different story if you’re talking about jalapeno mayonnaise though. OMG it is delicious! We will got to Kerbey together and partake sometime soon.
• Not only was there karaoke at my party, but tons of fried lumpia as well. I am very filipino indeed.
• I talk to him all the time and date him and whatnot, but I still got nervous/excited when I saw that Aneil posted his first-ever comment on blog. I am pathetic.

Anywho, the past few weeks have been extremely busy. I started school, and I am taking 3 classes this semester as opposed to my usual 2 so that’s already sort of exhausting. One of my classes is online, which I think will be difficult for me, since I am a Procrastinator Supreme. I am also taking an independent study class in which my team is helping complete a valuation of and business plan for a biodiesel start-up. Biodiesel is a pretty cool technology although apparently we couldn’t grow enough crops to replace petroleum even if we covered the whole US with soybeans. If scientists can just figure out how to harvest oil-producing algae, we will be in business. Can you imagine being an algae farmer? Ew. If you’re interested in biodiesel and other alternative fuels check out this link: National Biodiesel Board.

I am getting kicked out of my beloved apartment so that the complex can renovate and add upgrades. This means I have to move to an identical apartment in the same complex, which is stressing me out. I tried to find a new place to live altogether but that proved to be exhausting and expensive, so I will stay put. I have also made a vow to be budget-minded in the meantime, so all the money I am saving by staying in my stupid apartment complex will go into my new money market savings account. I am very excited about it. My goal is to save $15,000 by next year. I think I can do it. I am going to glitter glue a chart similar to the ones used at tele-thons and put it up on my wall.

Also, this weekend is Neha and Julian’s wedding! It is totally surreal, but I am very happy for them. I get to wear Indian clothes, so I am sure to be adorable so I will post pics next week. The sari I am wearing is real cute although my lil Shelley tummy pokes out of it. I don’t mind. So it should be super-fun and I’m already real excited about it. Here is a rough approximation of what I will look like in the sari:
As you may or may not know I am addicted to the Canadian teen drama “Degrassi: The Next Generation”. Only recently have I discovered that the 1980’s original series, “Degrassi Junior High” comes on at like 4am on Saturdays (God bless Tivo!). It is super-dramatic and has pretty bad acting and lots of teenage issues. The current version is much more daring, but I suspect that the 80’s version (which plays like an after-school special in which kids say “a-boot” and “sawry”) was scandalous at the time. I currently have this Degrassi Junior High – Complete Series in my amazon wish list.
I am a dork. Thanks for loving me despite that fact.

What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?

Hi! So I guess I took a long enough hiatus, and am back in blog business. Hope you all had great holiday and got to hug lots of people you love.

Since last update, I got to have a festivus, which was real fun and of course my heart was nearly bursting with love and happiness. I think everyone had a good time although we didn't manage to have the gift exchange, and there was no dance party portion of the evening. Maybe next year I will ditch the karaoke in favor of dance party. Here is a link to my photos: Festivus 2006.
And here is a link to Bo's much better photos...as it turns out having a) a better camera, and b) well, talent, makes for far superior party pics. This has further humbled me, and my pathetic lack of photography skill: Bo Knows Photos. I hope everyone had a great time...Maria and I are tentatively planning another party in March sometime...maybe in Austin?

Dreamgirls??

Don't mess with us.

Best Frens (plus loads of Chardonnay)

I gaze adoringly at Chad and Reido.

Like cute Neapolitan Ice Cream.

Super cuteness. They are probably laughing at...

Me and Fro rocking out brother/sister style.

See? Bursting with Happiness!

I then went home for Christmas. Fro's cute new gf came along for Christmas eve too so she was fun to have around. We played board games and gorged on steaks and potatoes...it was glorious. My favorite gift was my new crock pot! I used it this past Friday to make pot roast...you put in raw food, go to work, and when you get home you have a hearty meal! Amazing.

Then New Years was in Austin this year. Mom's BFF threw a party so we went and ate delicious gumbo and filipino food. Afterward, Aneil and I went to his friend Jenny's party, and we danced the night away! It was pretty fun. Also, New Years Eve-eve, Aneil and I went to Alamo Drafthouse with his pal Aly and her bf Klaus, and we watched these guys make fun of Die Hard, Mystery Science Theater style. It was super funny. Then we went out on the town with Aneil's friends John and Johnny. They were most excellent dancers and we had a great time. Aneil and I are all about the boogie lately. Next time we are in Austin, we all have to go to Red Fez and shake our moneymakers together!

I also attended the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Mom and I had fun and the Tigers won, so hurrah!

Here we are in the superdome. It was LOUD.

Fro is the one in the middle playing the quads. We were real proud.

Hooray! Go Tigers!

I have since returned home and after a whirlwind week of driving through Louisiana and Texas, I was exhausted. So this past week has been all about maxing and relaxing (chillaxing?) so that was glorious. I start school this week, so it will be back to constant activity for the next few months, but I don't mind.

Here is a list of things I love this week:

• White Condiments - I have been putting sour cream on most foods, but for sweets I prefer cool whip.
• Sarah Mclachlan's cover of Kermit the Frog's "Rainbow Connection." It nearly brought me to tears last week. Just so pretty.
• The SAINTS! NFC Championship here we come!!!
• My Boss - made me a pan full of homemade lemon bars and they were delicious...how cool is that guy? Also he quoted "The Big Lebowski" during lunch and couldn't stop giggling about it.
• "Irreplaceable" by Beyonce. I realize it is a lil dumb and she rhymes the word "minute" with, well, "minute", but I love it so.
• The TV show "Sports Night". Have you seen it? You should.

This will have to do for now. Before I sign off, here is a great recipe I tried for super-low-fat pita pizzas. They were DELICIOUS. I recommend dipping them in SOUR CREAM.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place pita on cookie sheet and spread store bought pizza sauce on it (I used Contadina...it came in a squeeze bottle!).
3. Top with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle on some Italian seasoning.
4. For toppings, I used low fat turkey pepperoni (which is surprisingly really good) and I sauteed some onions, peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes in olive oil. YUM.
5. Bake 6-8 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

Love you all!