A Little Piece of England at the Googleplex

First of all, I apologize for the lag between posts, but I find myself posting more and more on Google+. I realize that not everyone is on Google+ yet (wink wink) so I'll continue blogging about the big exciting events in my life, but if you're looking to find out what I'm up to on a more regular basis I encourage you to try out Google+. All you need is a Gmail account (more details at the bottom of this post).

Now...on to the good stuff. David Beckham is an early adopter of Google+ and stopped by this morning for an interview and his first Google+ Hangout . He talked about all sorts of things including his decision to sign with the LA Galaxy for another 2 years, what it was like to go to the Royal Wedding, his new underwear line, and his family. My favorite part of the interview was seeing his face light up when he talked about his daughter and what it's like to have a little girl versus the boys. He's definitely a family man.

I must say he looks as amazing in person as he does on TV and in the ads. He's the perfect mix of clean cut (nicely dressed in a suit) and bad boy (morning beard and tattoos peaking out from his left jacket sleeve). The interview itself was exciting, but even more exciting was the fact that the Hangout after the interview was held 4 office (50 ft) away from mine...SO CLOSE!

Needless to say, working at Google continues to be an amazing experience for so many reasons. I heart Google :) Below are my fav pics but if you want to see my whole album you can check them out here.

The stage

Havin' a good ol' laugh

Everyone trying to get a good shot

After the event right outside my office

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More details about Google+:

The best way for me to explain Google+ is a cross between Facebook, Twitter, blogs...but different ;). You can follow people you find interesting (eg. David Beckham) and share info with people you care about (eg. family, friends). It allows you to quickly and easily share information (thoughts, pics, articles) in a customized and personal way. Here is a great "Getting Started" guide. My favorite features:

• Circles: Put the people you know into Circles that make sense for you (coworker, family, book club). When you go to post something, you select which circle(s) to share it with.
• Hangouts: Group video chat (for free). I haven't had the opportunity to have many hangouts yet, but if you end up joining Google+ and want to "hangout" just let me know :)

Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz came to YouTube today for a short acoustic show. He was in town as he's doing a few shows with U2 on their tour. I hadn't visited the YouTube office yet, which is in San Bruno, so figured Lenny's appearance was a good reason to go and check things out. The short and sweet show was amazing. Mr. Kravitz was looking and sounding amazing as usual. Below are a few pics I took.

Full album can be found here.

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

I was in England when Prince Charles and Diana got married, and although I was young, I can still remember the energy in England for the event. My grandparents threw a party and decorated the house with streamers, Union Jacks, and pictures of Charles and Diana. Although I couldn't be in England for today's Royal Wedding, I knew I wanted to get up and watch it live. My Mom is visiting, and she and I were up bright and early this morning (2:30am PT for me) to watch the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. It was a beautiful ceremony which lasted an hour, yet seemed short and sweet. Although there were 100's in attendance, it was still intimate and struck the perfect balance between formal in some areas and informal in others. Kate's dress was surprising to me, as I expected something a little more fashion forward, but after watching her throughout the morning I realized how it was a classic and timeless beauty. England's people definitely showed up in the streets for a glimpse of the royal couple, but I was more amazed at the organization of the whole event, and how calm and peaceful the crowds were. I wish I could have been there, although I think I probably had a better view from my couch, but I'm very happy and lucky to have had the opportunity to watch it with my "Mum", as it will be an event that I will never forget.

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, I wish you nothing but happiness in your lives together, and of course, God Save the Queen.

In preparation, I made some of my favorite Lemon Blueberry scones which hit the spot as an early morning snack.

Meyer Lemon and Dried Blueberry Scones

Specialty foods stores, Trader Joe's, and some supermarkets carry dried blueberries.

Yield: Makes 12 servings
Recipe from Epicurious

Ingredients

3 cups of self-rising flour

1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 1/2 cups dried wild blueberries (about 10 ounces)

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk

1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon peel or regular lemon peel

Preparation

1) Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

2) Line large baking skeet with parchment paper.

3) Whisk self-rising flour and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl.

4) Using fingertips, rub in chilled butter until pieces are size of small peas.

5) Add dried wild blueberries and toss to coat.

6) Mix 1 cup buttermilk and finely grated lemon peel in glass measuring cup.

7) Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and stir until dough beings to form (some of flour will not be incorporated).

8) Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and gather together. Knead dough briefly, about 5 turns.

9) Divide dough in half. Form each dough half into ball and flatten into 1-inch-thick disk. Cut each disk into 6 wedges.

Notes: For step 9, I instead separated dough into small individual sized round scones

10) Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Brush tops with remaining 1 tablespoon buttermilk and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.

11) Bake until scones are golden brown on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 - 25 minutes

Humans need breaks

I took a class a while back called Managing Your Energy which was very interesting and focused on how to...well...manage your energy. One thing they mentioned was that taking a break during a long day at work will actually increase your energy and your productivity. Humans need breaks.

Guess what? I'm human, today is a long day at work, so I took a break.

There is a park right next to campus that has benches to sit on, and a nice man-made stream to sit by, so this is usually where I go when I'm in need of a peaceful moment. I happened to take a picture of my view from a bench during the winter when the trees were bare. I found myself sitting on the same bench today but today the trees were covered in beautiful pink flowers. I just had to snap some pics as a reminder to take breaks in life. We deserve them.

View during winter (Jan '11)

View during spring (Apr '11)

Does anyone know what kind of trees they are? They're really gorgeous, although I don't know if I'd suggest them for your home (unless you like gardening). Today was windy and it was literally snowing pink petals as I sat there.

Note: Pics taken using the Retro Camera application on my Nexus S phone

Happy "21st" Birthday Banana

It was our baby boy's 3rd birthday on Saturday (that's 21 in human years). Anyone that knows Banana, knows he's definitely got his good and bad traits but we can't imagine life without him. He makes us smile every day and our lives haven't been the same since he came into them.

Banana started his birthday morning by joining us in bed where he snuggled and napped under the covers.

Once he woke up, he got a birthday belly rub.

For his big day we got him a party hat, a new toy, an edible card (made of rawhide), and a bottle of tequila (mini-sized for humans, full-sized for a Dachshund). Yep...tequila...after all it was his "21st"!

The hat wasn't very successful as it wouldn't stay on his head which resulted in Banana wearing it sideways and growling at it until he figured out how to get it off.

Banana sniffed the tequila, but in general kept his distance.

His favorite gift was his rawhide card, which he quickly started chewing and carried around with him for 6 hours until he finished every last piece.

Happy Birthday Banana! We can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with you in years to come.

Note: Banana was not served alcohol as a part of this blog. It was purely for a fun picture moment :)

Baby Boy Banana

Lately Banana has been so loving and adorable, so I thought I'd share some recent pics of my baby boy and his Mommy.

For those of you that know Banana, you'll know he's not a fan of other people singing, especially the song Happy Birthday. Depending on how you sing it, sometimes he goes crazy, but if you sing it just right, he'll join in (see here).

Jury Duty and South Lake Tahoe

Well the past month has been busy.

Jury Duty

At the end of February I was called for Jury Duty. In Santa Clara County they make you call in (or check online) each day of the week you're "on call" to see if you need to actually go in to the courthouse. In the past, I've never actually had to go in and this time I thought I was going to be lucky again, but Thursday night I checked and they said I had to be in on Friday at 8am. No big deal (I thought), as I figured I'd go in for the day and then get dismissed. Unfortunately, it turned into another 7 day ordeal. On Friday when I got there, we were taken into the courthouse where we were told the trial was the De Anza Case, which was well known by many locally. I rarely watch or read the local news so knew nothing about it. To make a long story short, there were 120 potential jurors and over the course of the next 7 days we'd go in, they'd call up a handful of potential jurors, ask them a bunch of questions, keep some, let some go, call up some more people...rinse and repeat. They finally chose the 12 jurors and 5 alternate jurors on Day 7 at which point there were only about 25 potential jurors that hadn't been interviewed (one of them being me). The interview process took so long largely because if a potential juror had heard or read about the case, the judge and lawyers would question them one on one to ensure anything they said was not heard by other potential jurors that might not have heard about the case. It would have been a very interesting jury to be on, although probably very emotional, but the case was expected to go through the end of March which would have meant a lot of time off work for me.

South Lake Tahoe

This weekend we headed to South Lake Tahoe with some friends. I'm a true Southern Cali girl, so cold/rain/snow isn't really my thing, but I figured I should get out of San Jose for a weekend and enjoy a trip with friends. We headed up Friday afternoon and got home today (Sunday). It was a great trip filled with layers of clothes (weather ranged from 32 to 44 although it didn't rain or snow until we were leaving). We stayed at a beautiful cabin which was at an elevation of 8,000 ft. Here are some pics from our trip.

View from our cabin

Me trying not to freeze on our balcony

Banana enjoying the view while staying warm on the inside

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

Hello friends! Sorry it's been a while since my last blog. I've had a busy month with lots of visitors keeping us busy. This was the first weekend in a while that I had no plans and so decided to open up one of my recent cooking magazines to try a new recipe. While my Mom was here, she mentioned that my brother recently made a delicious meatloaf, and ever since I've been craving some. Lucky for me, my Jan/Feb 2011 Cooking Light magazine had a recipe for Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis. Below is the recipe and "tips" they share, unfortunately I'm not very fast at chopping, so their "game plan" caused me to burn my first batch of bread crumbs and completely forget to add an egg. Without the egg, the meatloafs didn't hold together as well as they should have (as the egg is a binding ingredient), but they were still delicious. One more thing I learned, is that meatloafs don't look very appetizing in pictures, but trust me, they were GREAT and something I'll make again. I served my mini meatloafs with mashed red potatoes and corn. I especially like that each person gets their own mini loaf, probably because I like the crispy parts on the outside.

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Cooking spray

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup ketchup, divided

3 ounces white cheddar cheese, diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish*

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin

1 large egg, lightly beaten

*I left out the horseradish and added a chopped jalepeno (minus seeds) for spice

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently

3. While breadcrumbs cook, heat a large skilled over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Combine onion mixture, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup ketchup, and remaining ingredients. Shape into 6 (4x2-inch) loaves on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; spread 2 teaspoons ketchup over each. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until done.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 meat loaf)

The Game Plan:

While oven preheats:

*Toast breadcrumbs.

*Chop onion and garlic.

While onion and garlic sute:

*Dice cheese.

*Chop parlsey.

A Day with Mila

Today was like no other. I've been waiting to sleep in since we got back home on Tuesday and I decided today was the day. It was Alex's day to take Banana for his morning walk but when he returned he told me that a neighbor found a Chihuahua and had taken care of it for the last 3 days but was now looking for the owners. He mentioned that he might take it to a shelter at which point I remembered that we needed to head to the shelter to get Banana some of his favorite lamb treat which we've only found at the Milpitas Human Society.

So...we took the dog, loaded it up in a crate, and headed to the humane society. When we got there, they scanned it for a chip (which would be registered to the owner), unfortunately it didn't have one. They were able to confirm that she was a girl who was either pregnant or recently had babies. They told us that because she was found in San Jose, we had to report her as a lost dog, or release her, to the San Jose Animal Shelter. So, we packed her up again and headed down there.

On the way, we talked about what we were going to do with Honey (we gave her a name by this point). My hesitations in keeping her were 1) Banana is not a fan of other dogs, 2) we knew nothing about her and therefore would have to get her to a vet for all her shots before she could even be introduced to Banana to ensure she didn't get Banana sick.

We arrived at the San Jose Animal Shelter where they said we could give her to them but they couldn't promise us what would happen to her. It would be based on her disposition, which from what we had seen was sweeter than pie, and any illnesses she might have. They said that after 30 days, assuming she was ok, they would put her up for adoption and we could adopt her if we wanted to. We decided to release her to the Animal Shelter.

As soon as I signed the papers and saw her taken away I started to cry, and cried most of the way home thinking we'd done the wrong thing, so we turned around. I just couldn't stand not knowing her fate, and figured at least if she was with us I'd know she's alright and could look for her owner. Luckily, the people at the shelter hadn't processed her yet, so they gave her back to us. We headed to PetSmart to make an appointment with the vet, and got her some food, bowls, a bed, and toys. As we arrived home, we noticed the neighbor that originally found her was outside. As we got in the house, he rang the doorbell and asked if we still had the dog as he had found the owner.

We walked her down to the house she lived in (which was in our complex), and the owner came down, at which point we found out her name was Mila. He seemed happy to see her, although not as happy as I would be after losing Banana for 4 days. Mila seemed happy to be home and reunited with their other teacup Chihuahua.

Overall, it was an emotional 6 hours all together and in the end bittersweet. I'm happy she's home with her owners, but was starting to warm up to the idea of having another girl in the house. Here are a few pics from her time with us.

Happy 2011

First of all, I apologize for not posting recently, but in my defense...life's busy during the holidays. Alex, Banana, and I all headed to San Diego on Dec. 16th and we didn't get back until Jan. 5th. Our vacation was packed with family time, outings with friends, and even some time for relaxation. Here are just a few of the details from our trip.

Weather

We headed down a day early since we were driving and heard a big storm was coming...and it did. It rained a lot, especially for San Diego, for 3-4 days but then the sun decided to arrive soon after. The rest of our trip we saw our share of rain and sun. Below is a picture that reflects my holiday trip in San Diego. Santa in front of a rain spotted window and a palm tree with the sun peaking out. :)

Baking

You had to know that baking would be involved. On Dec. 23rd we headed to Myra and Sean's house for a holiday gift exchange potluck. My mom made Poulet de Broccoli (recipe below) which was delicious and I made mini carrot cake and red velvet cake cupcakes (see my previous posts for the recipes).

Poulet de Broccoli

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups cooked chicken, breast and thigh (I use just breast)

2 small or 1 large package of frozen broccoli - or fresh broccoli

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup mayonnaise (for lighter dish use part plain yogurt)

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp curry powder (adjust curry powder to your taste)

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

1 1/4 cups soft bread cubes

2 Tbs. melted butter

Instructions

1. Barely cook broccoli spears. (Slash stems for move even cooking)

2. Put in buttered casserole dish. Add a layer of chicken which has been torn into chunky pieces.

3. Mix cream of chicken soup, mayo, lemon juic, and currey powder together.

4. Cover broccoli and chicken with sauce mixture5. Distribute shredded sharp cheddar over sauce

6. Mix bread cubes and melted butter and top casserole with mixture

7. Bake for 30 mins. at 350.

Note: Serves 8

Christmas Eve dinner was at my Mom's house and Christmas dinner was at my Brother and Sister-in-law's house, so I decided to try something new. My nephew, Jack, said his favorite cupcake was vanilla cake with chocolate icing so I made mini vanilla cupcakes and mini chocolate cupcakes, and topped them both off with chocolate buttercream icing. (Note: The above links will take you to the recipes I used. The recipes make 24 standard size cupcakes so reduce ingredients and cooking time appropriately if you're making mini cupcakes.) This was my first time making vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and the batter with this recipe was AMAZING. It was like a fluffy mousse that I wanted to eat by the spoonful, but I resisted. My favorite was the vanilla cupcake. My mom said her favorite was the chocolate cake, but it still didn't have the flavor I was looking for so you'll likely see more chocolate cupcakes in my future.

Family Picture

Two days after Christmas, we got together for a family picture. Luckily, one of my friends is a photographer and agreed to take on the task. He did an amazing job, and you can take a peak at a few of the pictures on his blog at Drew Clayton Photography.

Crafts

Remember a few years ago when message bulletin boards were popular? At the time I watched a lot of "do-it-yourself" home shows and made my own. Recently my mom has been updating her house room by room and she asked me to make one for her office which is the next room on her redecorating list. She decided to go with an English theme for her office, meaning she'd keep things red, white, and blue (like the Union Jack). We headed to Michael's for a bulletin board and some stuffing, and then to Yardage Town for fabric, ribbon, and buttons. The only other things you need is a good staple gun, some thread, and a needle. The best part of making your own is that you can customize it by using whatever fabric, ribbon, and buttons you want. It's hard to see in the picture, but my favorite part of my Mom's is the one red button in the middle. Making these is super easy so I won't bore you with the details, but feel free to reach out to me if you're thinking about making your own and need some tips or help.

Those are just a few of the highlights from my trip. I hope your holidays were as enjoyable as mine. 2010 was a year of many great memories, and I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for me!

Deviled Chicken for Dinner

I don't often make dinner and when I do, I have a limited list of standard meals. As much as I love to bake, cooking has never really been my thing. At the same time, every month I get at least four "food" magazines with plenty of delicious looking meals. Over the 4-day weekend, I went through the Nov. and Dec. issues and marked any recipe that looked tasty AND easy to make.

I'm sad to say that after a wonderful 8 day visit, it's my Mom's last night in San Jose. (I'm happy to say that I'll see her again in 18 days when I head down to San Diego for a couple of weeks.) With it being my mom's last night, I decided to try out one of my newly found recipes, and decided on Deviled Chicken for dinner. The original recipe, from the Nov. 2010 issue of Cooking Light, serves the chicken with Broccoli with Shallots and Herbed Rice, but I made the side dishes even easier by serving it with peas and Trader Joe's baby tri-colored potatoes (already marinated in oil and herbs).

It was surprisingly pretty good, which in my book is a success. I especially liked that it has a bit of spicy kick, thanks to the red pepper flakes.

Deviled Chicken

Ingredients

4 (8-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons prepared mustard (I used French's yellow but I'm sure you could use dijon, honey mustard, or any mustard you like)

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (I added more cause I like things spicy, but you can substitute with an equal amount of mild chili powder for a milder flavor)

2 (1-ounce) slices French bread baguette (I used store-bought bread crumbs and the last of the french fried onions we bought for our Thanksgiving green bean casserole)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees*

2. Sprinkle chicken with black pepper and salt; lightly coat with cooking spray

3. Place chicken on rack of a broiler or roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 475 degrees* for 15 minutes; remove pan from oven.

4. Combine mustard and red pepper in a small bowl; brush over chickn. Place bread in food processor; pulse 10 times or until crumbs measure 1 cup. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over mustard mixture on chicken, pressing lightly to adhere. Lightly coat breadcrumbs with cooking spray. Return pan to oven. Bake at 475 degrees* for 10 minutes or until breadcrumbs are browned and a thermometer registers 165 degrees.

*I made this in my toaster oven, which only goes up to 450 degrees, so I just left it in a little longer than the instructions suggest.

Makes 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half). Calories 214; Fat 3.8g; Protein 34.2g; Carb 8.8g; Fiber 0.4g; Chol 90mg; Iron 16mg; Sodium 408mg; Calc 17mg

Welcoming Brian with some Mini Carrot Cupcakes

One of my favorite co-workers, Brian, is in town from New York this week. For those of you that know Brian, his breakfast usually consists of sugary cereal or M&Ms, so whenever he comes to visit, I make him a "healthy" breakfast which is usually some kind of fruit or vegetable flavored cupcake. For this visit, I've made mini carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting...that's healthy...right? I found the recipe on Martha Stewart's website and tweaked a few things.

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup raisins (excluded from my cupcakes)

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (excluded from my frosting)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners' sugar

Cupcake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 42 mini muffin cups with mini cupcake liners; set aside (I didn't have cupcake liners so I just lightly sprayed with Canola Oil.)

2. Beat sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla, and buttermilk together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle.

3. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add three-quarters of the flour mixture to the sugar mixtrue; mix until will combined. Add carrots and raisins to remaining flour mixture; toss to combine. Stir into batter until will combined.

4. Fill each muffin cup with about 2 teaspoons batter. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of cupcakes comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes (I actually had to cook for 14 mins). Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before frosting with cream-cheese frosting.

Frosting Directions:

1. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add maple syrup, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar; continue beating until will combined and smooth.

Makes 42 frosted mini carrot cupcakes.
Recipe found on Martha Stewart

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Today I'm thankful for all the friends and family I have in my life, especially those of you that read my blog!

On Banana's morning walk this morning, I realized something...there are two types of days that I absolutely love when it comes to weather, The San Diego Day and the Bay Area Day.

San Diego Day: A warm day, bordering on hot, where there is a cool ocean breeze to keep you comfortable.

Bay Area Day: A day like today, where it's cool and crisp but with the sun out and no wind it's perfect.

With such a perfect start to my day, I'm looking forward to the rest of the day. My mom is visiting which is great as it's always nice to have family around during the holidays. I'm also cat-sitting, Meeko, who is a Bengal cat that acts and looks more like a leopard than a cat. It's taken a day or two for Meeko to get comfortable at my house, especially with a short-legged, brown, barking dog running around like a maniac, but he seems to be enjoying himself. You might think that cats and dogs don't get along, but Banana seems to like cats more than dogs, and Meeko is big and strong enough to put Banana in his place if needed. Banana goes about his daily schedule, while Meeko perches in high places, occasionally making a sneak attack on Banana when he's not looking. It's actually quite amusing.

Whatever you're doing today, and whoever you're with, I hope you have a wonderful day.

Meeko and Banana relaxing

Meeko and Banana in action

Meeko the leopard....I mean cat

Voting Day

Today was Voting Day in the U.S.

Banana and I hope you were all able to make it out to the polls (or send in your ballot).

Dr. Oz @ Google

I heard that Dr. Oz was coming to Google about a month ago and made sure I put a reminder on my calendar. Last week, we got an official announcement letting us know when he was coming and to my disappointment, I had a team meeting scheduled for the same time as Dr. Oz's speech. Over the weekend, the meeting was cancelled and I thought "Yes...I get to go." Unfortunately, less then 24 hours later I had been added to another meeting which conflicted with the Doc. Luckily, it only conflicted with the first half of his presentation, so I was able to make it to the last 30 mins.

For those of you that don't know Dr. Oz, he's a cardiologist, who co-authored You:The Owners Manual, and a number of other "You" themed books. He became a celebrity thanks to his regular appearances on Oprah, and now has his own show 5 days a week.

His presentation at Google was to share the 5 things you need to do to "be a better you." Like I said, I only got to see the last half, so didn't hear much of his presentation, but instead saw the question and answer session that followed.

Here are a couple of pics I took, including one of him with Eric (Google's CEO) and Laszlo (SVP of People Operations). Note: Guy in green shirt - unknown.

Before and After (painting)

I spent most of October dreading the idea of painting my office. Thanks to a lot of help from Alex, and a good edging brush, I'm happy to say the painting is done (before and after pics below). I'm only done with the painting...there is still a lot more to do in the decorating world so stay tuned for more pictures as that progresses.

Before

All the walls in my house were this beige color when I moved in. I started to buy furniture, lamps, and drapes that were dark, modern, and/or bold as I knew some day I'd get around to painting.

After

I selected teal and dark grey for the walls. To be honest, for how small the grey walls are, and the amount of extra work they caused, I think I could have just done the whole thing teal, but we live and learn. I love the way the white pops now with the bold colors on the wall. The wall above my desk (center pic) is the most in need of some help as it's just empty right now. Can't wait to get some things on the walls!

Where did September go?

Wow...a whole month has passed and I haven't posted once. I don't know whether it's because I've been so busy I haven't had time, or I haven't had anything that exciting going on in my own personal life. A little bit of both I guess. Here's a run down of life for the last month:

Social Life:

Babies and Brides - I'm at that age, 32, where everyone is either getting married or having babies. This year I've had 3 friends have babies, with another 3 announcing they're pregnant, and I have 2 weddings coming up. This last month alone I attended a baby shower, a bridal shower, a Bachelorette party, and visited a new mom in the hospital. I'm so excited for all my friends, and it's kept me pretty busy :)

Games - I love me a good game night. My co-worker decided to have a game night just days before having her baby which was a ton of fun, and last Friday I was invited to a Poker Party at my friend Rochelle's house. I've played poker before, but usually with a bunch of chattering girls who aren't really paying attention. This time there would be men, serious men, so I decided to do some pre-reading before heading to her house and providing my "donation" to the winner. I'm happy to say the pre-reading helped. Although the first hand I played was a mess, I quickly got into the swing of things and ended up winning the first game. Woo-hoo!

Movies - I think I've been averaging a movie every weekend. Since Eat, Pray, Love, I've seen The Town (which I loved), Easy A (which was cute), and Social Network (which was interesting although I wish I knew what was true and what wasn't). I love going to the movies and it seems like there are some good ones coming out during the rest of the year.

Other - I went to Santana Row for a girl's night with some of my old co-workers, and went to Palo Alto for a farewell dinner to one of my current co-workers who moved to New York. Both nights were a blast, although I was sad about my co-worker moving (Miss you Leena!)

Baking:

First time - My old team sits in a building that went "healthy" for a month, so there were no sugary snacks in the microkitchens for the whole month of Sept. That's where I came in with Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. Yum!

Second time - One of my favorite snacks used to be a Hostess Cupcakes. The cake is so dense, the cream filling, and that thick chocolate topping on the top. Strange thing is, lately I haven't craved the Hostess version, but instead the version made at work for lunch a few months ago. It was so delicious so I thought...I can make this. I have to say this was my first VERY BIG FAILURE. I don't know what went wrong, but whole thing tasted horrible. Bleh! One good thing that did come out of this was I got to buy a cake decorating set which included a tool for filing cupcakes.

Third time - This doesn't really count as baking, but I really wanted a double layer chocolate cake with chocolate icing, so I went to store and bought boxed cake mix and canned frosting. I can officially say that I finally realize the importance of making things from scratch as this cake didn't live up to my expectations :(

I won't be baking for at least a month as today is the first day of The Detox. The Detox was introduced to me by my co-worker Cole, who in general keeps a pretty clean diet, but every 6 months she likes to detox her body of toxins, chemicals, etc. She found this program in The Complete Guide to Nutritional Healthy by Pierre Jean Cousin and Kirsten Hartvig. Basically, you eliminate all dairy (yes....cheese included) and wheat based products, reduce your salt intake, avoid meat and animal fat, tea, coffee, white sugar, candies, alcohol, and tobacco. You load up on grains, veggies, fruits, herbal teas, etc. So I'm basically on a vegan, gluten-free diet...or as I like to call it HELL. I was only able to survive 3 out of the 4 weeks the last time I tried this (a year ago) but I must admit I never felt lighter or more energetic. I also slept like a BABY, so I'm going to try to stick it out for the full 4 weeks. My last day of the detox will be Halloween! Last time I didn't have a plan for after the detox, but this time I do, so I'm hoping the effects last a little longer than last time :)

I guess I have been busy, but don't worry, I'll be back in the swing of things soon. My next big project is painting the office in my house. I'm pretty sure I've selected the colors, now all I have to do is paint it (not something I enjoy doing but never seems worth the money to hire someone). I'll be sure to post before/after pics as soon as it's complete.

That's all from here!

Plans for the Holiday Weekend

My plans for Labor Day Weekend can be best shared through a picture.


No plans except snuggling with my B boy :)

Eat (Lasagna), Pray, and Love

Today my team at work decided to take another field trip to the movie theaters to see Eat, Pray, Love. I had read the book, back when Oprah first introduced it to me, and loved it, so was very excited to see the movie. Overall, I loved the movie and felt it was a good adaptation of the book. In the beginning they seemed to rush through her marriage and love affair with a younger man, but that's probably because the book wasn't called Get Divorced, Be a Cougar, Eat, Pray, and Love. Once Julia got to Italy, the movie definitely picked up and stayed on point for the remainder of her trip. For those of you that have read the book, you'll remember the FOOD described in Italy. Well, the movie did the FOOD justice with Julia eating plates of fresh pasta, pizza from Naples, and many more Italian treats. After the movie, the team agreed that all we wanted to do was eat, and preferably eat something Italian.

Luck was on my side today because when I arrived home, Alex had made dinner (a welcome surprise), and wouldn't you know...lasagna was on the menu. We call it the 5-year Lasagna, because he only makes it once every 5 years. This is largely due to the fact that he doesn't skimp on any of the good stuff, so it's always a treat. I can honestly say that tonight's lasagna was one of the best I've ever had and I think part of the reason was due to his Persian secret ingredient, saffron. My lasagna came with garlic toast and a simple garden salad on the side. Delizioso! Grazie Alex!

You can find a pic and the recipe for his 5-year lasagna below:

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter

1 white onion (diced)

1 clove of garlic (diced)

1 pepper (diced) - he used orange, but you can use green, red, or yellow

1 pound of 80/20 ground beef

Salt and black pepper to taste

6 white mushrooms (diced)

2 jars of marinara sauce

1 tbsp ground saffron

1 box of lasagna pasta sheets

6 oz of 4 Italian cheese blend (shredded) - he bought a pre-shredded bag that included mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, and white cheddar

6 oz of mozzarella (shredded)

15 oz of ricotta cheese

Instructions

1. Melt butter over medium heat

2. Add onion and cook until golden brown

3. Add garlic and pepper

4. Once the above is tender, add meat, and salt and black pepper to taste

5. Once meat is cooked, add mushrooms, marinara sauce, and saffron. Turn heat down to a simmer.

6. While sauce is simmering, cook lasagna as instructed on the box

7. Butter your cooking dish (or spray with non-stick cooking spray) and begin assembling

8. Start with a layer of pasta, then add a layer of meat sauce, and finally add a mixture of the different cheeses.

9. Rinse and repeat until all of your ingredients are used.

10. Cover with tin foil and cook at 350 for 35 mins.

11. Remove foil and cook for another 10 mins.

12. Remove and let stand for 15 mins before serving

Note: Even after 15 mins, the lasagna is hot so can sometimes be tough to cut and serve...but it's worth it :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to the best Mom a girl could have!!

I've been in San Diego for the last week, and it's been a BUSY week. My agenda has included a work reunion party, visiting my friend's new baby boy, betting on the ponies at the Del Mar Race Track, going to see Dirty Dozen Brass Band (Jazz/Blues), seeing "The Other Guys", and having many breakfasts, lunches, and dinners (drinks included) with a lot of great friends and family. I'll be sure to post pictures soon.

Mom loves the races, so we headed to the Del Mar Race Track on Wednesday. My sister-in-law and nephew and told me to bet on the grey horses, so when we got there with only 3 minutes left to bet before the 1st race started, Mom and I quickly looked at the horses, and bet on the only grey one out there. As luck would have it, it wasn't the favorite (so the odds were good), and it WON! Here's a pic of Mom and me with our winnings (minimal but still exciting).

To end my vacation, my family had a birthday dinner for my Mom. The menu included Jack's Famous Flank Steak, Baja Chipotle Chicken Breasts, Cold Pesto Rigatoni Salad, Smashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, and a green salad. Desserts included Boston Cream Cake and Butterscotch Cupcakes. My favorites from dinner were:

Smashed Potatoes: Small golden yukon potatoes (with skins) mashed with butter, bacon pieces, cheddar cheese, and sour cream

Corn on the Cob: I LOVE corn on the cob, but I usually just boil the corn and add butter. I noticed at work, and in a lot of food magazines, there have been a variety of toppings for corn so I decided to spice it up a bit. I husked the cobs, brushed them with melted butter, and sprinkled some chili powder on them. I then threw them directly on the grill and kept them on for about 12 minutes on medium heat, making sure to turn them regularly and adding additional melted butter as needed. They were great!

Butterscotch Cupcakes: My mom's favorite dessert is anything butterscotch flavored so I decided to try butterscotch cupcakes. After doing a lot of searching, I realized most Butterscotch cupcakes are plain cupcakes with a butterscotch frosting. Here are mine.

Butterscotch Cupcake Recipe

Cupcake ingredients:

1 egg

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup milk

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 tbsp corn syrup

1 tbsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 salt

Cupcake instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter nonstick muffin pan or line with paper baking cups.

2. In large bowl, whisk egg. Whisk in brown sugar, milk, butter, corn syrup, and vanilla. Sprinkle flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk until blended and smooth.

3. Spoon into prepared muffin pan. Bake fro 15 to 20 min or until cake tester inserted into center cupcake comes out clean.

4. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely

Note: I think this might be an English recipe as the cupcakes were dense and I find English cupcakes are often a dense cake. They aren't overwhelmingly sweet which is good since the frosting is super sweet.

Frosting ingredients:

2 tbsp butterscotch-flavored morsels

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Frosting instructions:

1. While cupcakes are cooling, melt butterscotch morsels in microwave on high for 45 secons, or use double boiler over hot water.

2. Mix butter with butterscotch, then add powdered sugar.

3. Blend frosting with mixer until consistency is smooth.

4. Spread frosting atop cooled cupcakes.