catheroominations

February 18, 2009

N is for…

Sizzle did something fun a LONG FREAKING TIME ago, and I wanted to play too. She assigned me the letter N.

Here now is a list of ten things that I love, that all start with the letter N.

1. Newcastle Brown Ale
My college sweetheart, John introduced me to beer, and Newcastle was our favorite. To this day, if I go to a bar or restaurant and they have Newcastle on tap, that’s my first pick. And it’s often in our fridge. It is oh so good. Nice and nutty flavor, never bitter. John passed away in 2001, and every time I drink Newcastle, I think of him.

2. Nikon
I shoot with a Nikon D50, and I have an SB-600 Speedlight, also from Nikon. I adore my camera and I hope to collect more, and better lenses for it in the near future. I love what my Nikon can do with what I see. I love it so much, it’s almost like it’s an Apple product or something.

3. Neil Patrick Harris
John, the college sweetheart I mentioned above used to get told by everyone that he looked like NPH. That was during the Doogie days and he was always kind of “gee, thanks a lot” about it. But today Neil Patrick Harris has a hotness quotient he didn’t exhibit when he was Dr. Hauser. If you have never watched How I Met Your Mother, I highly suggest you tune in. I recently noticed there was a laugh track on the show, and I can’t believe I never heard it before. The show is so funny on its own, it certainly doesn’t need a laugh track, and I’m so distracted by the wit, I must tune it out or something.

4. NPR
NPR have some killer programming, and I subscribe to two of their podcasts. Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me and the Sunday Puzzle with Will Shortz are two of my favorite programs on NPR. They’re both clever, intelligent, and both of them make me feel really smart when I get an answer right. For their year-end shows, Wait, Wait… replayed an episode featuring President Obama while he was in the Senate. If you can find it, listen. It’s funny radio without being idiotic. Also, look for the episodes with Denis Leary and Campbell Brown. Wait, Wait brings out the funny in people. And those who are already funny are downright hilarious on this show. Oh, and the Amy Sedaris episode – classic. Shall I go on?

5. NBC Universal
What is it with NBC and their addictive programming on Thursdays? Back in the day there was Cheers. There was Hill Street Blues (or was that a Tuesday night show?) and then Friends, Seinfeld, Will and Grace, and ER. And now, The Office and 30 Rock (and the final season of ER) occupy my DVR on Thursdays. How do they do it, those people at NBC? Plus, they own Bravo, which airs Top Chef and Project Runway. There are other good shows on other networks, but NBC knows how to do Thursdays right. Oh, and Tuesday nights, The Biggest Loser is huge (pun totally intended) at our house.

6. Newton Faulkner
Work has been really busy of late, and when I’m feeling overwhelmed and stressed, I just put in my earbuds and find Newton Faulkner in my iTunes. He calms me, without distracting me from what I’m doing. By the way, he was born the year before I graduated from high school. I’m so old, but that young’un can really sing.

7. Natural Peanut Butter
Ingredients: Peanuts, salt. That’s IT. As I attempt to change my eating habits to more whole foods and fewer preservatives and processed crap, natural peanut butter has become a treat. It tastes like peanut butter, not sugar. I love the consistency because I can feel the tiny bits of peanuts in there, even in the creamy version. I bought a jar from Whole Foods for $1.99. Who knew one could find such goodness at Whole Foods for just $2?

8. New York City
I heart NY, for real. I’ve only been there twice, once in the humidity of summer (I was on the Today show, did you see me?), and once in the frigid winter. I love the energy and I feel safer walking around alone there than I do in San Francisco. I took the subway from Midtown to Harlem alone and was never worried about a thing. When friends took a cab to dinner, I walked. I adore Central Park and was fortunate enough to run a race there in July of 2005. Being a theatre geek, I go a little nuts over Broadway, and on my last trip packed in as many shows as I could. I want to go there in the fall one year and take hundreds thousands of photos of the architecture, the city lights, the food, the people.

9. Nintendo Wii
Although I have neglected my Wii of late, there was a time when I was addicted to it. Addicted, I tell you. I regressed back to my Atari days and would tell Matte, “just one more game,” before I would hand over the controller. There were weekends when we wouldn’t get dressed at all, and play Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy, and Guitar Hero for hours at a time. We would break for food and the bathroom, and other than that, we were molded into the couch cushions, watching Nintendo’s version of ourselves bowl, flip around to fit into bubbles, and play rockstars. Now my addiction to television has distracted me from my Nintendo.

10. Nob Hill Foods
This is my favorite I-can-buy-anything-at-this-store grocery store. I love Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, but I usually have to go to a second store to supplement my groceries. But not when I go to Nob Hill. They have gorgeous produce, and killer cuts of meat. They have enough organic stuff to choose from and a lot of low-fat and low-calorie versions of things as well. Their generic version of shredded wheat is better (yes) than the one at Trader Joe’s. The biggest plus for me is that Nob Hill is close enough to my house that I can walk, assuming I’m not doing my “big” shopping. Oh, and they have a sushi bar, which includes brown rice versions of some of my favorites. Yes, I know brown rice is probably blasphemy to sushi snobs, but sometimes I need my fix, and brown rice is a healthier substitute. When I shop on Saturday mornings, I must grab a nonfat latte from Peet’s, which is right inside the store. Awesome.

If you want to play, leave me a comment and I will assign you a letter for your meme. I promise not to give you X or Z. It’ll be a good letter. And, like Sizzle, I won’t assign you a deadline. I think it took me 2 weeks to get this post done!

March 15, 2008

That’s great, kid. Don’t get cocky.*

First I saw Sizzle do it, and then Dagny did it, so I just had to do it! I needed something to blog about today and my mind is a bit

Here are my rules:
* Pick 15 of your favorite movies
* Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie (or quote them from memory because you are that bad ass)
* Post them on your blog for everyone to guess
* Fill in the film title once it’s been guessed

These rules are for you, my peeps:
* No Googling or using IMDB search functions (Don’t cheat!)
* Leave your answer(s) in the comments

  1. It can’t be done. No one’s ever taken anyone out of here. Not in the whole history of… the whole history!
  2. That’s why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they’d call them something else. – Sixteen Candles (guessed by Jenni)
  3. What’s in the box? – Se7en (guessed by Jenni)
  4. Well, then, I just HATE you… and I hate your… ass… FACE! – Waiting for Guffman (guessed by Jenni)
  5. Old McDonald had a farm ee i ee i o. And on that farm he shot some guys. Badda boom badda bing bang boom. – The Usual Suspects (guessed by Saj (well, her husband, but close enough!)
  6. Are you calling me on the cellular phone? I don’t know you. Who is this? Don’t come here, I’m hanging up the phone! Prank caller, prank caller! – Pulp Fiction (guessed by Kathy)
  7. You know, I have a theory that hieroglyphics are just an ancient comic strip about a character named Sphinxy. – When Harry Met Sally (guessed by Sizzle)
  8. I was just in my office and I heard a ruckus – The Breakfast Club (guessed by Ali)
  9. The blues are because you’re getting fat and maybe it’s been raining too long, you’re just sad that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling? – Breakfast at Tiffany’s (guessed by Tobie)
  10. Who do you have to screw around here to get a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit? – Love Actually (guessed by Jenni)
  11. But wouldn’t you say that consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds? – Next Stop Wonderland (guessed by Sizzle)
  12. The coin don’t have no say. It’s just you. – No Country for Old Men (guessed by Ricki)
  13. We get caught laundering money, we’re not going to white-collar resort prison. No, no, no. We’re going to federal POUND ME IN THE ASS prison. – Office Space (guessed by Sizzle)
  14. Today I quit my job. And then I told my boss to go fuck himself, and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. Pass the asparagus. – American Beauty (guessed by Ali)
  15. You’re still here? It’s over. Go home. Go. – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (guessed by Jenni)

Some are easy, no? But I hope you’re stumped by a couple. Please DO NOT CHEAT. Cheaters never win. I offer no prizes, but if you guess, you get some linky love for the correct answer. Oh, and bonus points if you guess the quote in my post title. I think that answer might come from Wisconsin. – Star Wars Episode IV (guessed by Jenni)

August 16, 2007

The Interview

Ali over at AliThinks has interviewed me. Because Ali is someone I admire as a writer, blogger, and photographer, I figured she’d come up with some good questions for me. And she did. Here’s what she wanted to know:

1) You used to live in Lexington. What brought you here?
I think it was United Airlines. I kid, I kid. What brought me there was a boy man boy. He left San Jose State to finish school in Richmond, KY, where he could graduate sooner. I decided after I graduated in 1992, that it was the perfect time to live somewhere else, having been in California my entire life. I lived in Kentucky for just over two years, where I worked at the University of Kentucky in the Department of Surgery (as an editor, not as a surgeon), and at Michael’s on Nicholasville Road, and I wrapped Christmas gifts at Fayette Mall, and I sold Avon, not all at the same time, but I did have more than 2 jobs at once most of my life in KY. Kentucky is also where I adopted my sweet kitty Jasper, in 1994. I highly recommend Animal Helpers in Versailles (at least I think it was in Versailles) if you’re looking for a feline friend.

2) And why didn’t you staaaaay? (whine)
Well, had I known that you’d show up just over 10 years later, I might have stuck it out. But, I didn’t stay because…the guy and I broke up. *I* broke up (although two years later, his nephew asked, “Why did Uncle John break up with you?”). Things were not going where I wanted to go, and so I came back to California and GAVE UP KENTUCKY WILDCATS BASKETBALL TICKETS. The ex’s sisters begged me to stay and even offered to find me a nice surgeon to date, but I came home, again on United Airlines, but this time with Jasper doped up under the seat in front of me.

3) How did you meet Matte?
Matte and I met at a local Irish pub. I was on a night out with my friend Krissy, and we were planning to meet up with her friend Alyssa. Alyssa brought Matte, and I found out she was doing so, just a couple of hours before my company picnic (Krissy and I worked together, and our company picnic was that afternoon). So, I showed up at the pub, dirty from water balloon toss contests and volleyball, and in walks Matte. Who knew I’d meet my future husband when I looked like such a grub? But Mom always said it would happen when I least expected it! Appropriately, Krissy and Alyssa were the officiants at our wedding.

4) What’s your favorite food? And can you prepare it yourself?
My favorite food of all time is tiramisu. I’m not sure I know how to prepare it because I have never tried. I can dial a mean phone and order it from our favorite Italian restaurant, and if it is on the menu wherever I am, I will order it. I should try to make it some day, huh? Or at least call my pastry chef sister over and watch her whip one up for me.

5) Do you have any big plans for your upcoming birthday?
Actually, I just decided that I will be hosting a virtual birthday party this year! This was not my idea. I stole it from Shephard who stole it from was inspired by Finn. Because everybody loves a party, right? And with this one, the gifts will cost you nothing because they’re virtual. If you’d like to play along, all you need to do is send me an email with a photo of what you would like to give me (the sky’s the limit!), or send an email describing your gift. Or you could write me a poem, or draw me a picture and email that to me. Oooh, or sing me a song and put the video on YouTube! Use your imagination. My email address is catheroo (at) gmail d0t c0m by August 24. I will post all of the gifts on my blog on August 25 (my actual birthday), and link to the gift giver. See? You get something back! (But if you’d rather remain anonymous, your secret is safe with me.)

So there you have it. Thanks for interviewing me, Ali! It was fun to find out what you wanted to know about me.

If you would like to play, leave me a comment asking me to interview you. The specifics are:
1. Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.” Bribery involving cookies is a good idea too.
2. I will email you five questions, so be sure to leave your email address in the little box when you leave a comment. I get to pick the questions, but they won’t involve your jean size, or anything else you wouldn’t want to admit.
3. Update your blog with a post containing your answers to my questions.
4. Include this here explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
And so on, and so on. FUN, yes?!?

May 6, 2007

Seven

Matte and I had an appointment with our wedding coordinator today, and she is located near the place where Jenni‘s brother got married, so we got to say hello to her and her family. Everyone looked beautiful, and the kids were so adorable in their wedding attire. Seeing Jenni reminded me I hadn’t done my seven things yet, and she tagged me for it a while back. See? I told you in my last post that my bad habit is procrastination. I’m no liar!

Here’s the deal: each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to blog about their seven things and post the rules as well. At the end of your post, choose 7 people to tag and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog! OK, here goes…

1. I am strangely attracted actors with receding hairlines, or no hairline to speak of: Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Piven, Ed Harris, and even James Gandolfini a little bit.
2. I lived in Kentucky for 2 and half years and never made it to the Kentucky Derby. I did, however, host Derby parties…in California.
3. I’m getting married in 19 days.
4. I don’t wear shorts. Even when I was in Vegas and it was 100+ degrees, I did not wear shorts.
5. I actually like working out. I like working out at 5:30 am every weekday.
6. I hate hate HATE passive aggressiveness and grudge holders.
7. I want to try skydiving.

I am hereby tagging YOU. If you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged. 🙂

May 1, 2007

Me, A to Z

(Snagged from Sizzle, who is practically from my home town!)

A – Available or Single? I still check the “single” box, but only for a few more weeks!

B – Best Friend? Yes.

C – Cake or Pie? Uhm…whatever tiramisu is closest to.

D – Drink of Choice? Water or Fresca. Or wine.

E – Essential Item(s)? iPod. Camera. Cell phone. I am a geek.

F – Favorite Color? Purple.

G – Gummi Bears or Worms? I prefer the Bear variety.

H – Hometown? San Jose, CA

I – Indulgence? Unbaked chocolate chip cookie dough. I will eat an entire box of that stuff. For dinner. And dessert, if there is any left.

J – January or February? February.

K – Kids? None. Just 2 kittehs.

L – Life is incomplete without… love. Whether from a significant other, friends, family, pets…love.

M – Marriage Date? May 25, 2007!!!

N – Number of Siblings: One younger sister.

O – Oranges or Apples? Oranges.

P – Phobias/Fears: Bugs crawling on me in the middle of the night.

Q – Favorite Quote: “Blessed screaming Jesus on a whole wheat goddamned cracker!” (from Rescue Me)

R – Reasons to Smile? It’s Friday! In a few days.

S – Season? Summer…my birthday is in August.

T – Tag Three: Jenni (I’ll do my 7 things if you do this one!), Italian Babushka, and Music Mama.

U – Unknown Fact About Me: Well, if I tell you, it wouldn’t be unknown, now, would it?

V – Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? I (heart) beef. Especially from here.

W – Worst habits? Procrastination.

X – X-rays or Ultrasounds? What the ??? I’ll skip the radiation, please.

Y – Your Favorite Foods? Pretty much whatever I am not supposed to eat.

Z – Zodiac: Virgo.

November 6, 2006

My soundtrack

This NaBloPoMo thing is hard. Having to think of something to write each day is challenging enough, but trying to come up with something people might want to read? That causes me serious brain farts. But after yesterday’s brunch with Schnozz and Moose, I realized I was trying too hard. See, they make it look easy. Now I realize I should just write what I want to write. If people want to read it? Bonus! If they hate it and leave mean comments? Well, I have the power to delete those comments, and I will, so go ahead and try. And what if I write something that pisses someone off? Well, great! Because this guest list of mine for the wedding is too long anyway.

And, if all else fails, and I can’t think of anything to post about? I’m not above stealing an idea from someone else.

keep reading My soundtrack

May 24, 2006

5 things meme

Ali tagged me for the 5 things meme, probably to get me back for toilet-papering her blog awhile back. At least this meme doesn’t force me to dig deep into my psyche and reveal my inner oddness, like this one did.

5 items in my fridge
1. Fresca
2. string cheese
3. Kaukana Port Wine cheese spread
4. salsa
5. Korbel champagne

5 items in my closet

1. Tom Cruise (oh, sorry, I thought you said 5 items in the closet)
2. Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture Edition
3. too many homemade scarves
4. 3 pairs of Vans
5. VHS tape from 1983 of MTV’s broadcast of a Duran Duran concert

5 items in my car

1. Starbucks napkins
2. extra pairs of sunglasses
3. carwash coupons
4. Mickey Mouse head and Jiminy Cricket figure suctioned to the windshield
5. faceplate-less stereo (unless I’m in the car, then said faceplate is on and my iPod shuffleth)

5 items in my purse
1. entirely too many membership cards for store discounts
2. keys
3. cell phone
4. Canon SD400
5. unbalanced checkbook

5 people who are tagged
(I tag because I love. Truly, I do.)
1. (e) – he doesn’t have a purse, so maybe he can tell us what’s in his backpack or something
2. Jenni
3. Shannon
4. Grins
5. Moose

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