tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693632761187711062024-09-08T04:50:45.554-07:00An outlet for rants, raves, and reviews.Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-83850117113676718302011-04-06T08:09:00.001-07:002011-04-06T13:36:57.196-07:00

I made a promise to myself that 2011 will be the year that I take care of my life. The inner and the outer, the tangible, the invisible, the loud, the silent, the confident, the lost, the broken, the strong, the crazy I don't know what I am doing with myself life, the life that surrounds me and tries to get by without me touching it except by its coattails as it zooms by. That life.But I am messy

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-68971096121240756622011-03-14T10:59:00.001-07:002011-03-14T11:52:57.772-07:00

Last Thursday, I took my first step into a CrossFit gym. It was, to say the least, intimidating. First of all, it looked like a giant garage in the middle of an industrial zone. "Really?" thought I. "Am I going to get murdered here?" There is nothing around except warehouses! (At least that's what it looked like at night). But then I walked in and it was quite lively and remarkably happy. A

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-60746701267367814192011-02-16T15:55:00.000-08:002011-02-16T16:05:27.721-08:00

I heart Southwest very much. If one could marry an airline, I may have considered it. They are speedy, helpful, reasonably priced, efficient, pleasant, and so on and so on. During my year of Long Distance Dating, Southwest and I got to know each other very well. We are good friends.But even good friends can sometimes say to each other, Um, say what?A dear friend is coming to visit soon and

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-59425881005796195672011-02-16T15:41:00.000-08:002011-02-16T15:43:36.546-08:00

There are times in life when the people you love say or do something that stops you in your tracks and makes you think, damn, I love this person! Lucky for me, my fiance does/says things like this all the time. I take it as a good sign of a lifetime to come. But someone else who will be standing next to me when I get married does this as well. Meet my bestie, we'll call her Maid Monkeypants

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-15048716940709600492011-01-18T16:42:00.000-08:002011-01-18T16:51:08.939-08:00

This past weekend M and I went to Yosemite for a night. In trying to recall the words that I'd describe this masterpiece, I thought of Shelley's "Mont Blanc." So for your pleasure, the visual of Yosemite, as described by Shelley when contemplating Mont Blanc in France: Mont Blancby Percy Bysshe Shelley(Lines written in the Vale of Chamouni)1 The everlasting

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-28693459466124610482010-11-03T13:51:00.001-07:002010-11-03T15:09:55.952-07:00

Personal photo taken at the train station in the morning, Nov. 2after the Giants won the World Series on Nov. 1Let me start by saying I am not a big baseball fan. Until quite recently, I did not even know who the Giants were. I am marrying a Dodger fan. But, Giant fever bit me this year.At work, everyone was in a tizzy the last month over the Giants. During a very important dinner with some very

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-31498943495535800642010-11-02T15:47:00.000-07:002010-11-02T15:51:37.004-07:00

what if my dress looked like this?it's kind of growing on me...Oh no! With eleven months to go until the wedding, my dress has arrived! Why is this an "Oh no!" you ask? Because a) I am very indecisive -- I am afraid I will change my mind about loving the dress by having it around for So.Damn.Long; b) I am impatient -- it is going to drive me nuts having this dress and not being able to wear it; c

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-33780696514571730952010-10-25T15:34:00.000-07:002010-10-25T16:03:36.159-07:00

Today is a pissy day. I come in to work this morning bright-eyed and bushy tailed, to find my giant, shiny iMac dead. Dead? DEAD! This piece of #### is only a year old, I don't go to shady websites or play videgames on it or download anything more risque than images of wedding centerpieces, so what the heck, yo? After much investigative reporting, it was decided that the hard drive has bit the

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-18135491315958582282010-10-07T15:21:00.000-07:002010-10-07T16:39:24.187-07:00

On September 30, 2009, M and I closed on our very first home, a midrise condo in a major metropolitan downtown area. Even as recently as June 2009, I was deeply skeptical about our ability to purchase a home in the area where we live, defined by any given statistic as one of the highest cost of living places in the United States. However, once M and I started seriously discussing our options, we

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-796332879373029472010-10-07T15:09:00.000-07:002010-10-07T15:20:27.882-07:00

I took a year off, but I am back to my blog. Soon to come:1. A year of home ownership2. We're engaged and planning a small, backyard wedding. "You have no backyard," you may say. "Indeed!" Details to come.3. Baking updatesThis and much more in the days or weeks to come.

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-14451276056988687902009-09-30T22:24:00.001-07:002009-09-30T22:26:31.632-07:00

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-64206154467350699052009-08-01T13:39:00.000-07:002009-08-01T13:46:21.888-07:00

This little snippet is so incredibly cool! Bobby McFerrin demonstrates how the human mind intrinsically recognizes the pentatonic scale.World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.YouTube has lots of fun Bobby McFerrin videos. Check 'em out!!

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-40265327465360447212009-07-28T15:46:00.001-07:002009-08-03T14:19:56.919-07:00

For M's birthday a couple of weeks ago, we decided that we wanted to celebrate a deux, and I promised to make cupcakes, instead of buying a birthday cake. I looked around the internet for different recipes, and finally settled on white chocolate cupcakes with raspberry filling from Good Things Catered, one of my favorite cooking blogs. However, I did not want to use shortening in the filling (

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-28729990933091304392009-07-27T15:25:00.000-07:002009-07-28T15:44:15.375-07:00

Something very exciting has been happening lately -- amidst a subtle and ongoing midlife crisis, I have discovered that I really enjoy cooking and baking; this is probably a felicitous discovery considering how much I like eating!Since domesticity has never been among my strong suits, at first I was surprised by my own epicuriosity. I blame three people for this new interest: my mother, M, and

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-35733471222062343232009-07-22T09:50:00.000-07:002009-07-22T09:54:48.909-07:00

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-SmithMy rating: 1 of 5 starsOh, Jane... Jane, Jane, Jane. Seriously, let me just begin by saying that the only redeeming aspect of PPZ is Austen's text.I began this book entirely open minded, but expected it to be what it claims to be: P&P with zombies in it. I expected the characters to be the same people I fell in love with so many years ago,

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-11592493356531871982009-07-17T16:46:00.000-07:002009-07-17T16:48:35.890-07:00

This is hilarious. Senator Jeff Sessions during the Sotomayor hearings on July 16:

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-57446883418170423002009-07-16T15:38:00.000-07:002009-07-16T16:12:31.948-07:00

1. Photo proof* of my culinary adventures, including my soon-to-become famous white chocolate, raspberry-filled, and chocolate cream cheese-frosted cupcakes.2. Impressions of 4th of July camping trip.3. Additions to my foot woes/whoahs series, including adventures in barefoot running and my high hopes for five-toed running shoes.4. Discussions on upcoming events, including Kenny Chesney concert,

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-32217728242784384502009-07-16T11:20:00.000-07:002009-07-16T11:27:37.485-07:00

Stuff white people like, #99: grammar.

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-32535730699275118362009-07-13T12:57:00.000-07:002009-07-17T16:48:51.009-07:00

ridiculous [ri-dik-yuh-luhs]adjectivecausing or worthy of ridicule or derision; absurd; preposterous; laughable.ORIGIN 16th centuryPhoto credit: Jim Wilson/NYT, appeared on front page of NYT July 12, 2009.This poor baby looks like it's being exorcised... Why would anyone want this woman touching her infant, let alone writing on her with a probably toxic Sharpie?!?!RIDICULOUS!

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-54828152872892779952009-07-02T09:09:00.000-07:002009-07-02T12:05:20.780-07:00

On July 2, 1776, after much turmoil, the Congress of the twelve colonies voted to adopt Richard Henry Lee and John Adams' resolution to declare independence from Great Britain. In a letter to his wife Abigail, Adams wrote about this momentous day that it "will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America." He followed, "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-39523277913360788322009-06-24T16:38:00.000-07:002009-06-24T17:00:27.675-07:00

This just in: Arborlorn, the aforementioned elf kingdom in Terry Brooks' The Elfstones of Shannara, is located in modern-day Oregon. Thank you, Wikipedia! And thanks to imdb.com for informing me that Elfstones is set to be made into a movie directed by Mike Newell, who directed "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-68266377498190085382009-06-24T13:44:00.000-07:002009-06-24T14:06:20.927-07:00

The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry BrooksMy reviewrating: 2 of 5 stars**Disclaimer: LOTS OF PLOT SPOILERS!!!**The plot of Elfstones is intriguing, the characters of the book are likable and pretty, and the world of the elves is a captivating one filled with races of men and magic of a forgotten world.If you have no problem with the previous sentence, please stop reading this review and

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-64167407033328617622009-06-10T08:46:00.000-07:002009-06-10T22:03:13.891-07:00

I have a little secret. The Mud Run on Saturday was... great fun!The three muddy buddies after coming out of the final mud pit, but before crossing the finish lineThe day started early; actually, it started on Friday, with a flight into Burbank. We tried to go to bed at a reasonable hour, because come Saturday morning, we were up at 4 (or was it 4:30)? M's sister and her daughter came over, and

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-5383654002431603652009-06-04T14:17:00.000-07:002009-06-04T16:14:25.630-07:00

Where have the last six months gone? It feels like just yesterday I was lounging on a chaise on a cruise ship, sipping champagne, waiting for the ship to sail out onto the Pacific. This is exactly what I was doing when M's sister called to tell him that indeed, the three of us had been signed up for the Camp Pendleton Mud Run on June 6. Now, it is June 4, and I feel compelled to both run with

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-569363276118771106.post-30318361449979552302009-05-05T09:44:00.000-07:002009-05-05T09:50:49.897-07:00

This clip featuring Rep. Michele Bachmann is hilarious! Thanks to thedailybanter for bringing it to my attention.

Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12738066224708695573noreply@blogger.com0