all your consoles are belong to us.

this past weekend we had our Christmas Soiree which was part wine&cheese party, game night, and gift exchange. and with 3 xbox360s, a wii, and a ps3, game night seemed to change into gamer night, but it was still a grand 'ol time. there was tons of hor'derves, cheese, desserts and ofcourse wine! not much to say, but it was fun.. and lasted from Saturday evening until about 2pm on Sunday.

i even made the most adorable magnets as christmas gifts for my buddies.

if i bake, they will come.

after a successful halloween celebration at work, i decided to plan an IT festivus celebration... as usual, i bribed coworkers into participating by enticing them with treats. this time, cherry & apple turnovers that I had made the night before... the main event was a white elephant gift exchange.. one with actual useful presents! i count that as success.

earlier into the week, dru had mentioned his christmas wish for chocolate bread (after seeing a mix for such things at william sonoma) so i figured why not try to save christmas for him.. by whipping up some chocolate bread for one of my bests. he now believes in santa claus, the easter bunny, and mr. peanut again.

i also made a grandiose tiramisu for our christmas (wine & cheese/gamenight) party.. ofcourse there were several other desserts that night.. leaving us with tons to finish before they all expire.

more about the game night later.

happy holidays!

now that the christmas cards have all been sent out, i guess i can appropriately display all of the chosen photos from our christmas photo shoot with my favorite photog dru. i had decided well into summer that this year we were going to take christmas card photos. and i had the bright idea to stray from the norm, of posing with matching sweaters, etc. i wanted them candid magazine quality, with a vintage 1950s feel. my inspiration being the brad & angelina W shoot... i told dru months in advance that he would have to take our christmas photos, and to think of some poses too. ofcourse i would attempt to assist in the art direction of the shoot as well as wardrobe. we actually only did a few poses.. and i really wanted to do this pose on the right... maybe next year! anyways the result of the shoot was quite positive. after some manipulation of the photos for better contrast and color, the photos turned out nicely. below are the finished products (sans pictures from previous entries).. click to enlarge.

i scoff at your challenge.

because two in one day has already been done. but fine, because of your duel update (get it? duel.. touche!) i shall update too.


so this past friday was our neighborhood christmas party aka "progressive dinner"... pretty much a few people (3-4) volunteer to open up their houses (to show off) and to be the main host for a course of the meal. "appetizer house", "entree house" and "dessert house". we went last year so we were veterans... last year we went to it unknowing of how it would be meeting all the neighbors for the first time.. after the night ended we had bonded with most of the neighbors in attendance, and with a wine distributer in the neighborhood supplying us with never-ending bottles of wine, followed by two ice chests filled with beer and drinks which were pulled along, as we walked from house to house, glass in hand.. we learned that "christmas party" should be aka "drunken debacle"... ok well not that harsh.. but it was definitely so much fun, that i couldn't wait for the next gathering. so i was way excited for this years christmas party..
it started out pretty much the same, a little slow and quiet, greeting old neighbors and meeting newcomers to the event. (only about 12 couples come each year, and usually the same ones) after everyone had arrived, and the wine started pouring, you could see everyone in little groups chattering about this and that and nothing in particular. eventually someone would motion that it was time to go to the next house.. where everyone would continue chatting in the streets as we walked over to the next location.. the entree house was decorated to the max, the cornish hens were delicious, and the company was delightful. by the entree house you could tell which neighbor's had already drank multiple glasses, as voices got louder and neighbors that generally just wave hello got friendlier. finally the dessert house, which was at one of the newer neighbor's houses, lots of cakes and hot cocoa... and peppermint schnapps. we decided that there definitely needs to be more gatherings. there were 2 others this past year.. but even that didn't seem to suffice. we decided that we finally need to have the neighbors over.. as we had already been to a few other's homes. might as well open up our doors.

it's beginning to look a lot like...

i am sure you were wondering about the wreath.. so here it is! it's quite simple.. but with a quick stop at michael's the other day and four dollars later i had the minimal supplies needed to make a simplistic outdoor wreath. after i got home it took me approximately 10 minutes to put it together. 8 of those minutes making the bow and putting it on the wreath. voile!

amalgamation of me part II

so last night i was looking at myspace and realizing that i don't really have anything in the 'about me' section. it got me to thinking what makes me.. me. what do i put here.. how do you describe me.. who would've thought myspace could result in such a sleepless night of intrigue.
which made me recall that post a few months back where i describe how i am a little bit of this and a little bit of that. which is very true. that and i just like too damn much. my interests far surpass that of things that i am actually good at. i mean it's like i have ADD with interests/hobbies and what not. if i focused on one thing perhaps than i could be really good at something as opposed to mediocre in multiple things. i mean i have played 3 different instruments. i listen to a variety of genres, i dabbled in drawing, writing, crafting, and photoshopping.. then there's the liking of all sorts of foods from foie gras to pork rinds. and the yearning to travel to far off places, and to doing the everyday with friends and family. then to style.. from wanting to be classic to trendy to urbn to retro. it is just too much, i'm sure i will burst one day. the world of myspace with it's about me doesn't need to know such things.

last night i went to michael's and target.. there were a bunch of teens hanging outside of target.. and i thought to myself, "i should've went to the new target on eldridge.. probably less riff-raff there" then i LOL'd in my head too. because my internal self said riff-raff. i am so 1940s. oh and i made a wreath when i got home.

glassemo.

i am wearing my glasses... at work. usually i only sport these when i drive at night and feel the need to be a responsible driver. or when my eyes feel strained (this generally occurs when it is overcast yet i can still feel the uv rays hitting my eyes). and once in awhile, like today, i sport these brown/plastic framed candies underused glasses at work, because my eyes are tired. why are they tired? perhaps it's the neverending glow from my two viewsonic monitors, or the slight yellowish tinge of light shining from my smallish ikea table light, or because plainly i work with the lights off (but really those harsh florescent ceiling lights would be so much worse). whatever combination it may be.. (most likely it's staring at the same test matrix for hours on end). i think that subconsciously, the glasses come out when the outfit arises. and once they are on super-magically transform me into some emoific stature that was not noticed prior to their arrival. it's like clark kent and superman. glasses make him more socially inept, emotional, wears ties, and with less styled hair. without them he is mr. popular, full of confidence, wears primary colors, and has hair full of gel. yes i think glasses do this to many. my striped sweater vest swears to this.

food cravings.

i'm not sure if it was the recent fine dining experience at chez nous, or reading restaurant reviews for houston's notable new restaurants. but i am having massive food cravings that will require being satisfied sometime soon. these taste buds are yearning for something deliciously roasted, seared, dry-aged, or immersed in a garlicky-butter sauce. perhaps some antipasto will do the trick.. there's nothing better than some cured meats and stinky cheeses to settle down these cravings until the next venture out. if only i had these cravings yesterday.. before i went to the grocery store. i'll have to see what salty delights i have left in our fridge.

i am sure to at least be able to scrounge up some pears to roast.

good.bad

let's play.

good.
finding the toilet seat up at work. (meaning you are the first one to use it since it's been cleaned)
bad.
finding the toliet seat up at home.

good.
the public restroom doorknob is wet because previous person washed their hands
bad.
the public restroom doorknob is wet because the previous person didn't wash their hands

... your turn.

divine dinner

the husband's mom came to town for her first american thanksgiving (canada has thanksgiving too, but in october) actually i think she was most excited about the after thanksgiving sales she had heard so much about. and boy did she shop.. practically every day she was here! we managed to squeeze in some good meals with family throughout her stay. not forgetting the main thanksgiving meal itself.. dad made the turkey and broccoli&rice casserole, while i made all the sides (green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, etc) followed by a plethora of pies.. but the best dinner out, was when she treated us to chez nous (i had seen the yummy pictures of this place from annie's site) and the best part as usual at many upscale restaurants was the appetizers... foie gras and escargots, my mouth is watering just thinking about them. next time i think that's all i'll order as our chateaubriand was HUGE.. but still delicious, although it left barely any room for the gran marnier souffle.

since thanksgiving has past that means it's time to go all out with the christmas spirit. many of my neighbors had their lights up by friday. i managed to put up a few things.. changed out the wreath, set out a lighted topiary tree, wrapped our light post with garland and a bow... and inside set up the tree sans decor, and decorated the mantle. i'm hoping to put up some lights outside this weekend.. and decorate my tree.. pictures when it's complete :)

no time warner tech support, i am not THAT slow.

so our internet has been down since yesterday afternoon, so the husband called and they said the fairbanks area was experiencing internet outage... but really are we considered fairbanks? during lunch today i checked to see if it was working.. still down, so when i got back to work i decided to get on their live chat system to see what is going on.

me(Tue Nov 21 13:43:26 CST 2006)>our internet has been down since yesterday but our cable tv works
TimeWarner minimum wage CSR(Tue Nov 21 14:44:33 CST 2006)>Your online talking to me now.

issa's head: ...
issa's head: omigaw rude.. i cannot believe...
issa's head: oh and it's YOU'RE not YOUR

me(Tue Nov 21 13:50:10 CST 2006)> i'm at work...
TimeWarner minimum wage CSR(Tue Nov 21 14:52:33 CST 2006)>Oh OK.

wii. whee!!!

the past week was a busy work week. finishing projects and getting new ones with too soon due dates. we'll see how that effects my December. all the while i was keeping myself entertained by reading about the crazy that ensued due to the launching of next-gen consoles the PS3 and the Wii. well the crazy was more geared to the PS3 insane profit people were hoping for... while on saturday walking by the lineup outside of walmart i heard cheering as more people lined up (which i am quite sure is not what would've happened 2 days prior for the sony contraption). go fanboy love! me and the hubby being of the casual gamer genre, opted for the wii instantly. and i picked up ours last night. i'd say it is all we had hoped for.

other happenings.
Friday night, we trekked over to D's place for what we had interpreted as a friend's Thanksgiving dinner (with meatloaf). Props to chef D and his lovely lady roz for a wonderful dinner. Even with the part where they forced us to watch Rob&Big on mtv.
Saturday night, took my cousin out for a belated birthday dinner and outing. went to pic for dinner (the old aries), i expected it to be quite a bit more casual as the initial change over had insisted. instead the menu just changed to be more casual tastings with not too much of a change in price. unfortunate. if you're still going to charge 20+ entrees bring back the aries menu. after dinner we hung at tina's place for some 8bit gaming before heading out to 'ol reliable decco. lots of dancing.

somethings neat.
http://www.lookatbook.com/
http://new.nabaztag.com/en/index.html
http://www.harcourtbooks.com/Quincy/

savannah, ga

went to savannah, georgia over the weekend to attend my cousin's wedding. it was a super quick trip, so we didn't get the chance to do much sightseeing (although i've been to savannah a few times). this trip was mainly a family reunion of sorts.. minus 2 families and a few cousins. still enjoyable.
it started out friday after dropping off renji at the vet/kennel and picking up mi familia on the way to the airport. i expected it to be a small plane. but once we got to the terminal.. on the ground floor it looked like we were at a bus station instead of IAH. no intercom system, barely an empty seat, each gate had listings for at least 6 flights boarding at each, not to mention the line up of buses at the glass doors of each "gate." fortunately we had the crazy announcer man at our gate so i could hear when it was time for boarding. on the bus we went that took us to our express jet, each row had 3 seats, a single then aisle, then 2 seats. it seemed to me that the heavier ppl should have the single to keep the plane balance. but whatever. about 2 hours later we arrived in savannah, headed to my aunt's house, hotel, then dinner with the family at Paula Deen's restaurant The Lady & Sons and well i do not recommend it.. even if you like southern food. a lot. afterwards we all headed off to see my cousin's house along with his 3 dogs and 5 cats. he owns a kennel.. and somehow that is his excuse. one dog is enough for me. the night practically ended here. i heard it went on for the aunts & uncles.. if you family is like mine, normal is aunt & uncles speaking in extremely loud voices like they are yelling at each other.. this goes on late into the evening and early in the morning. actually this can occur at anytime of day. we were glad to have a hotel room to save us from the early morning raucous.
Saturday, we thought we'd get to do some sightseeing prior to the wedding since it was a night wedding, but it was Veteran's day and there was a parade blocking off most of downtown.. which is where the sightseeing would have occurred. instead we ended up not doing too much, but did end up at one of the two malls in town. yeah, random. after that and eating lunch it was time for a quick nap before getting ready for the wedding. the hotel, mansion on forsyth park, was impressive to say the least. apparently this is were the elite who travel here go, stay, get married, etc. the ceremony was outside by the pool under a white canopy w/chandelier. it lasted for literally 15 minutes or less. i didn't take pictures of the event because of the more than one number of professional photographers on hand. afterwards the guests proceeded inside where you were to sign a book and get your table seating. each table had movie names. our table was 'the king and i', the main table was 'beauty and the beast' (this made me laugh). on a table nearby there were several rose arrangements, each with a name of a movie (the table name) and you were to take a rose from the corresponding arrangement to place on your table. in the pre-reception there were waiters walking around with hor'derves and wine, not to mention the fully stocked open bar. my dad especially enjoyed this portion. we grabbed some hor'derves and wine and headed toward the hotel lounge to sit on some posh chairs and i made friendly with the pianist who played 'ruby, my dear' and 'in a sentimental mood' per request.
After about an hour we were let into the ballroom for dinner of tenderloin, pasta, and seafood and dancing to a live band. overall it was a lovely wedding albeit short of a few traditions.. like speeches, and bouquet throwing, etc. my favorite part was when a relative on the bride's side came up to us was very surprised at the fact that many of us were born in the US. when i told him i was born in texas he was like. wow so you can actually call yourself an all american girl. at least he didn't tell me that i speak english really well. after the wedding, we thought we'd go out downtown, but it didn't end up quite as planned... as we ended up just walking around downtown.
sunday, woke up early so we could go see the cobblestone walkway by the river... a cold front came through overnight so it was pretty chilly out.. but it was still nice out. the day went by quickly and we headed back pretty much after lunch. i'll post more pics elsewhere later...

now it really is paradise...

aparently if you want something done. then blog about it.

ps. thanks office bff!!

do a blog roll!

considering my variance of posting habits is never consistent.. this past week i have had great blogging stature. multiple times in one week, and almost daily at that.. absurd! especially when there isn't really much for me to blog about. i generally use pictures to fill blog space and subject matters. but today i am writing about nothing in particular, and probably nothing that you even care about. but you ARE reading. and that is all that matters.

so yesterday my friend, i'll call her sharpie brown.. got sucked into the world of facebook. which i embarrassingly am already a part of.. though only login to verify friendship to others. this reminded me of when i was in out shopping a few weeks ago and there were these two women whom i assumed were mid to late 20s. all of a sudden lady 1 says to lady 2, "girl, i'm mad at you... i facebooked you and you didn't facebook me back!" i wanted to LOL. but restrained and cracked a smile as i ran to the other side of the store. what does it mean exactly to 'facebook' someone. do they have comments like on myspace? so leaving a comment on myspace would be 'myspacing' someone. strange.

apparently nearly 50% of my coworkers blog traffic comes from my site. i am awesome and he owes me that layout he promised me during the summer. but at this rate, whatever he was creating will be outta style by the time i actually get it.

i have realized that i would look much better if i had contrast/brightness adjustments +15, and hue/saturation +9 .. but that can vary.

work has been quite busy lately, and in the process of being busy with projects the war begins between QA and Development. this is when i realize how high maintenance and temperamental our main Dev is. i need to tell him to stop being a girl. i mean really. stop being so angry/sensitive emo mr. thirty something man.. your programs are not perfect. get over it. but work is good. haha.

i'm sure you have all noticed the slew of christmas commercials since halloween has passed.. and many are already disgusted or tired of them. i on the otherhand get excited each time one comes on. i am tempted to begin listening to my harry connick when my heart finds christmas cd. but i should at least wait till the week of thanksgiving. which reminds me.. i need to get that christmas tree sometime soon.

all about dru.

by request.. here are some extra photos from dru's birthday celebration.. the man behind the camera finally makes it to the forefront.

the sharpie friend.

sometimes i think that i need more sharpie's in my life. but then i reflect on the sharpies that i have, and i am more than satisfied with them. we are not immune of each others sarcasm and ridicule, which makes the bond even stronger. you can always count on a sharpie.. in time of need, down for whatever, in cheering you up, and acting silly with you. no inhibitions. you never have to worry about a sharpie judging you. sharpie's are the best kind of friend. you really never have the need to erase what was done by them. permanent. my sharpie friends are awesome. who needs a pencil when you have a sharpie. pencils are inconsistent.

dream a little dream...

i dream.. but i almost never remember them the next day.. just the knowledge that i had a 'dream'..

so last night.. and about one night every six months or so i have a dream. and in that dream the hubby does something to annoy me. something ridiculously stupid. yet i get annoyed. so much so, that i decide that i am going to wake myself up. and him in the process.. my revenge on absurd dream hubby. i'm not sure what i do except wake up by thrashing around the bed and pulling all the covers away. but it works. he wakes up. i don't even remember what the dream was about. i'm weird.

such posers.

jstar sent me the ultimate surprise the other day.. the japaneesy panda/puppet known as 'pakupaku'. months ago i had mentioned to her to see if she could find one for me in harajuku after seeing them online at cuteoverload.com .. there's just something irresistible about a panda with a huge puppet like mouth. just ask the let's pecology panda. i think it's their photogenic capabilities..he totally steals the show. arigato gozimasu jstar!

photo recap(s)

dru's b'day festivities.

daytime. renaissance festival.

we started the day fairly ontime arriving around 1pm. lasting until nearly 6pm.
the thing i remember most is eating. yeah i think that's all we did.
that and play some silly games. beating each other up in celebration.





nightime. dinner at julia's bistro.

we thought we'd stray from the norm of eating sushi on birthdays.
so we ended up at julia's bistro, which consisted of latin american foods.
dru is laughing in the photo below because of the exhorbant bill price
that he stuck us with. the night ended there as short notice of
goings out to a costume party left 5/6 of the party without costumes or cash.



halloweenz.

i went in the un-sexy costume of a roo. but i was still cute dang it.
i made this super huge pakupaku panda for mr. rocks to wear..
but it was so hot.. and sorta heavy.
you can read a recap of the office halloween festivities hosted by
yours truly (the offical IT event coordinator) here.