Monday Money Shot: Beignets and Bachelors

In another birthday post... here is the money shot I wanted. It's not the strawberries, but I think the beignets, the candle, and the "Happy Birthday" in chocolate icing takes the cake! Way to go to my Sweetie for giving me not one surprise dessert, but TWO! Even better is that he did partly because he knew I needed the photo for my blog.

The beignets didn't rival Cafe Du Monde. (My choice, not Wood's.) Though I highly recommend the pecan tart.

Ok, I'll confess that right now I have the finale of The Bachelor on in the background. I have extremely mixed feelings about this show. It's like watching a car crash. Something is so ridiculous about 22 year old women feeling so desperate about getting married, so convinced that they have met the man they want to marry, that I take pleasure in it for its complete disconnect from reality. The sad thing though is that it's not far from reality and that a lot of people get in bad marriages because of that kind of delusion.

That said, I'm hoping Matt asks Shane to marry him.

Sunday Sentiment: Happy Belated Birthday to Me!

Thanks for all of the well wishes from friends and family near and far. Wood and I decided to double up the fancy birthday meal with Mother's Day, so we'll be heading to Acadiana today, making me officially one day younger. (Isn't how that works?)

I wish I would have taken a picture of the lovely slice of strawberry cheesecake I had, surrounded my clouds of whipped cream and more strawberries and lit with a candle. Must have had my sights on eating it more than photographing it. Wood was responsible for all of the extras.

Birthdays are always a mixed bag, aren't they? I think we did a pretty good job making the best of it.

Monday Musing: Realization

I blog too much.

In yoga today, we had this meditation where we were walking in our favorite natural place (mine was some woodsy place near a beach), and then an animal that we considered kindly (for me, it was a little tabby kitten) brought us a message written on a piece of paper.

We were supposed to ask ourselves a question and then look at the piece of paper for the answer.

My question was: How can I be happy?

The answer read: Just be.

Timewarp Tuesday: Grrrl Power

I picked up my guitar for the first time in a long time today. I had been listening to this Salt Lake indie-rock band Lovesucker on my iPod, and it brought back vivid memories of my years playing in the hole in the wall venues like the defunct Spanky's, and The Zephyr and Burt's Tiki Lounge, Urban Lounge, and Liquid Joe's in the late 90's. My bands (Echo 7 and then Sugarpants) often shared a bill with bands like Lovesucker, Fistfull and Fumamos. The common element between the three of them, besides being loud and rockin', was that they had really powerful women in them. (My band seemed to be the exception with my being the only grrrl.)

It reminded me that the 90's were quite the era for grrrls getting loud. Here's one band I really enjoyed seeing play live (once in Madison, Wisconsin and once in SLC): Babes in Toyland from Minneapolis.



That Kat Bjelland! Now she can SCREAM!!!! And I love Lori Barbero on the sticks.

And if Kat reminds you of anyone, it's because she used to play with Courtney Love, although in Kat claims that Courtney ripped off her signature "kinderwhore" (that's what she called it) look. Courtney says Kat copied her look. Who do YOU believe?

Friday Fantasy: The West

On my way to work, I engaged in my pretty regular fantasy of returning to my roots on the West Coast. When I imagine my perfect place like when we're asked to do a visualization in yoga class, my mind always retrieves an image of me somewhere near a beach in Southern California.

It's a little strange since, I'm not from SoCal but NoCal. Maybe it's because my earliest memories of vacations (and hence, adventure) usually involved going on a car trip down South. Or perhaps, it's because I am a swimmer and the water near LA-LA-land has always been more inviting. Then, again, anywhere in the sunny Golden State makes me happy.

Thirsty Thursday: Long Shadows

While today was a shadowless day, I'm glad that we're at the time of year where I can start catching end-of-the day photos like this one. This is me standing waiting for the 96 bus. If you are getting the impression that I take a lot of public transportation, then you would be right. Welcome to the big city.

I Am The Subject

Friday nights are reserved for self-indulgence. It's the time of the week when I let concerns for the outside world fall by the wayside, in preparation for serious "me time." Last night, I couldn't even be bothered to write my blog (but you got a 2-for-1 on Thursday---I take care of my people.) At least, I took a picture of myself. Yet, another metaphor for my "self-focus."