Oh yeah, what did YOU have for dinner?

Sometimes it is simply wonderful to not have to worry about having dinner on the table for Gabe. Case in point, tonight he'll be home late so I fixed myself the quintessential lonely girl's meal- leftover flourless chocolate cake with toasted almonds and vanilla bean ice cream. Oh yeah, it was that good.

Yes, the picture is blurry. I was in a hurry so that the ice cream wouldn't melt!

Humdinger

If you've never played Cranium, you may not understand. If you have played, you will totally appreciate it's role as the perfect ending to a rather formal dinner party.

Take a look at what we were doing Saturday night. In an effort to keep things interesting, we were not allowed to pair up with our spouses. That's me with my brother in law, Eric as we attempted to dominate the performing category (needless to say, we lost!). Let's see if you can figure them out...

Tag, I'm it.

So Alyssa "memed" me and, to be honest, I had to look up what the word even meant. Realizing that I had not caught an infectious disease and that it wasn't just a case of someone spelling my name wrong, I decided to indulge.

Four Jobs I've Had In My Life
I've had many jobs, but I bet you didn't know about these four.

1. Fit model for Wet Seal. It wasn't nearly as glamorous as it sounds and I suffered from a sever case of "zipper finger".
2. Cashier at a pet store. This is how I financed my wild weekends in high school.
3. Starbucks barista. This was one of my favorite jobs. I can still make a mean latte.
4. Cleaning lady. One Summer I cleaned a lady's house every week and made more money than a full week's work at a regular job.

Four movies I Can Watch Over and Over

1. Reality Bites. I was "emo" and I didn't even know it.
2. The Sound of Music. Every Christmas.
3. The Thrill Of It All. Doris Day and James Garner in one of my absolute favorites.
4. Amelie. Everything about this movie is amazing.

Four TV Shows I Like To Watch

1. The Office.
2. Barefoot Contessa.
3. Brothers and Sisters.
4. Law and Order.

Four Places I Have Vacationed

1. Costa Rica
2. Spain
3. Hawaii
4. Belgium

Four Of My Favorite Dishes

1. Red Enchiladas (New Mexico style, of course)
2. Santa Fe omelets from Mimi's Cafe
3. Spaghetti with meat sauce
4. chocolate ice cream (it's not a dish, but it's a favorite)

Four Places I'd Rather Be

1. on the beach with my new Martha Stewart Weddings and Domino
2. at Hotel Bula Bula drinking a "Siberian"
3. at South Coast Plaza with a fistful of cash
4. at a cafe in Paris

Four Websites I Visit Daily

1. msn.com
2. google.com (Numerous times a day, actually. I seem to have a lot of random things that enter my mind that I simply must investigate, such as what the heck a "meme" is!)
3. a bunch of wedding and party planning blogs
4. Design*Sponge

That was a bit harder than I had expected. Try it, you'll see.

My name is Mimi, and I'm a Negative Nelly

I've been in a bit of a "funk of negativity" lately. Maybe it's the change of the weather or that it is getting dark so much earlier, or perhaps just the fact that I have been thinking so much about how quickly time is passing and that every time I turn around the days have faded into months and I haven't done even one tenth of the things I have set out to do. Regardless, it's time for some positive thinking. I have decided to make a list of 25 things that make me happy. Here goes, in no particular order:

1. Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream
2. Gabe
3. stepping on crunchy fallen leaves
4. a clean house
5. new magazines, particularly Real Simple, Cooking Light, MS Weddings, Domino, and Blueprint
6. Chachi and Nacho (the kitties)
7. sleeping in, but not too late
8. cooking
9. feeling creative
10. Marc Jacobs bags
11. receiving mail (good mail!)
12. sitting on the beach
13. spending time on Underhill Lane
14. watching re-runs of Beverly Hills 90210 (a ridiculously guilty pleasure found on the soap opera channel)
15. Cable TV (a relatively new addition to our house)
16. planning parties for anyone, for any reason
17. Williams-Sonoma
18. my sister
19. Paris
20. red painted toenails
21. a fresh haircut
22. being a Palmer
23. my iPod
24. Natalie
25. crystal doorknobs

Wow, that was surprisingly simple. I could go on for another 50, no problem! I guess everybody needs to step back and change focus every once in a while. Here's to a more positive outlook!

The "Happiest Place on Earth", well, almost

Ever since Gabe's comment about my negative postings, I have been apprehensive to say anything that could be in any way perceived as complaining. (Have you noticed I haven't posted in a few days!) Well this weekend we went to the happiest place on earth, and you know what, it was not the happiest of days! Not because Disneyland is not truly a wonderful place, but because I woke up with a pinched nerve in my neck and could not move my head to the left, not even a little bit. That's right, I spent all week bragging about Space Mountain and the Matterhorn and I couldn't even ride them. (By the way, we had free tickets or of course we would have stayed home! I'm not paying $61 to go in and just walk around!)

We were able to go on a few rides that involved very little neck movement like the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, so all was not in vane. Not to mention the fact that for October, the whole park is decorated for Halloween so it is actually quite fun just to walk around and take it all in. All in all, not my best time at Disneyland, but even when you're writhing in pain, it's pretty difficult to be grumpy at the Magic Kingdom.

If I look a bit awkward, it's only because I couldn't move my head!