Wekks wrap up no new party

 Sorry for the no update on Monday, I had work to do.  And I went over to my parents house to do some paper work of my passport.  I dont want to do a half ass job on this weeks party Wednesday, but I will tell you what I plan on doing for next weeks instalment... the new Tomb Raider game.  So please stick around, I will have Friday's rant up and everything will be on track once again. 

Bitchin’ Fridays: Admitting you are wrong

            I hate saying that I was wrong, mistaken, false, or flawed.  To many of us, admitting that we were in the wrong wither it be in an accusation, statement, or misinterpreting some facts it still makes oneself belittled.  If you have read my Monday’s blog, you can tell that I was very ticked off with my boyfriend.  And in his normal fashion he got sick of my pouting and forced me to talk. 

            The best thing for any relationship is communication, which I fail on a daily bases.  My man fortunately is great at this and we came to terms with our own faults and had to apologies to one another.  It’s great we cleared the air but it still suck to admitting your own flaws to another person.   For me it always feels like I lost.  What I lost is that little piece inside that puts oneself up on a pedestal and boast how great and awesome you are.  It may not always be up in the forefront but it still feels like you got knocked down a peg. 

            The point is it sucks to say “yeah, I messed up, I said something incorrect, did something stupid, and I am in the wrong.”  But as long as you can admit you are wrong and take that humiliating hit to your ego, you can only go up from there.

Here is a video of a cute frog to cheer you up:

           

See you on the other side 

           

Party Wednesday: Journey the Game

           

            I have noticed a trend with my game themed parties, I have been doing too much SiFi.  To shake things up I wanted to do an Indi game that doesn’t take place in space.  Journey is a PS3 game that came out in March of 2012; all you do is walk, jump, and sing your way to a large mountain.  It is surprisingly relaxing and I love the sound and art of this game. 

Décor:

  This game is most known for its desert level.  For the lighting I went with soft yellows and a few whites that I dimed down so it won’t over power the room.  Use a projector (borrow a friend's if you don’t have one) and on your larges blank wall project the image of the mountain portrayed in the game:

Hide away a fan (preferably one that is quiet) to have that wind blowing across the vast landscape.  I am not going to recommend covering your floor with sand, but if you do this in a garage that would totally be awesome! 

            For table tops, have a red runner going across and be sue it hangs off the edge.  The red runners I want to make them look like the scarf that the character wears.  You can do this in several different was, the first being buying a plain red runner then either embroider the patter( easier to so if you have a sewing machine) or a quicker method is to use fabric paint and paint it on. Second method is to design the fabric using a company like Spoonflower, but this takes longer and is a bit more expensive.  Here are some images of the Scarf and table runner to use as a guide.

http://thatgamecompany.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1940&start=645

            Food:

I wanted to create a menu that is portable and resemble some of the food that you would find in the Sahara desert.

Edible sand:

http://www.rookno17.com/2012/05/sweetest-summer-cake-beach-bucket-cake.html

This recipe uses gram crackers and sugar, but you can use crushed peanuts or Ritz crackers. Edible sand works great for table décor and to scatter around your food plates.

Rice ball desert:

http://unclephilipsg.blogspot.com/2010/06/is-muar-chi-alias-to-botamochi-and.html

I thought that I would give you a sweet option this week to.  The balls pictured are covered in peanuts but you can easily use the sand recipe from above.

Goat Cheese soufflé:

http://www.everything-goat-milk.com/goat-cheese-souffle.html

You can use coffee cups to make individual portions.  Be sure to use smaller cups.

Goat Kebabs:

http://www.blue-kitchen.com/2009/06/10/cumin-and-cinnamon-add-middle-eastern-flavor-to-grilled-goat-kebabs/

If you can find goat meat you can substitute lamb or beef instead.

Goat pastries:

http://www.australian-meat.com/Foodservice/Culinary_Center/Recipes/Goat/Middle_Eastern_Goat_Pastries/

Drink:

Prickly Pear Margarita:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beverage/PricklyPear.htm

Red and White Cloak (Journey mocktail and cocktail):

http://www.thedrunkenmoogle.com/tagged/journey+drink

Desert Sunrise recipe:

http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink9052.html

This should give you all a boost of energy before you to start your own journey.   As always I would love to hear your two cents and see picture of you your own party themes.

See you on the other side

Depression Setting in

            So this week was nothing short of being shitty.  The first half was ok but come Wednesday onward it has been nothing but utter crap. On Wednesday I went over to my parent’s house to do taxes the following day and to also say hi to my father.  Well as usual they asked me “why you have no job?” “You can do [insert random job] this until your career takes off” It really starts to sound like a broken record after a while. The following day we all go meet the tax man and do taxes.  As it turns out, the money I received from my grandfather I have to pay on taxes since he never did.  In other words I owe the oh so lovely US government a lot of money in taxes.  Oh and did I mention that this was on Valentines Day?

            The rest of the day wasn’t peachy either.  I returned back to my apartment feeling rushed and over whelmed.  I had to run around like a chicken with its head cut off to make the perfect night for me and my man.  If have read my previous post you can see the table arrangement that I did for our dinner.  Come dinner time the candles on the table wouldn’t light and my heart shaped pancakes weren’t turning out to great so I had to do small dollar size instead. 

            When my man came home, his reaction was under whelming.  He did appreciate the gift I got him, a 60 minute massage, but his reaction to everything was bleh.  All he wanted was food.  So threw dinner I was the main conversationalist, how fun right.  The rest of the evening we just sat on the couch and watched TV.

            His gift to me/us was tickets to opening night of the Art of Video Games at the EMP.  We went and the exhibit was under whelming.  I would expect more concept art and drawings  to be shown threw out the exhibit ;but all they had was on small room with the major consoles threw out the gaming history with a few concept art here and there.  They did have a cash bar, but I had pay for our drinks.  And here is where we dive into my depression and me questioning my future.

            It started off Friday afternoon.  I get a text from my man saying there is a cash bar at this event, but if I wanted to drink I have to pay for it myself.  Ok, I understand we have been going out for 7 years but what the fuck.  As it turns out he spent pretty much his entire pay check on buying a Microsoft surface pro.  I thought he was going to take time, put money away and save up for it.  But I guess he got over eager and bought the damn thing anyways.  To top off, he states that he is pretty much broke until the end of the month so we will be on whatever we have in the cabinet and pasta diet. 

            So let’s break this all down.  You spent your entire pay check on a tablet that you plan on using for podcasts and editing, which I said you could use my computer that already has everything setup do so.  We have to stretch out food supply until the end of the month because you spent all of your money.  Earlier this year you said you would help me with paying my taxes, and now that you know the exact amount I owe you are becoming iffy on helping me.  I am driving myself insane thinking I’m a bitch for nagging at you to clean up after yourself or to do the dishes or even clean the apartment.  I am starting to feel like all I am in this relationship is a maid, a cook, and a warm body that you sleep next to for warmth. 

            I feel like I need a change, a do over of my life.  Last night I thought about just packing a suitcase and taking a flight to LA or Austin just to shake up my life.  I guess what I want is to be romanced again; not only from a relationship stand point but from a career perspective as well.  I don’t want to keep asking for hugs and kisses or to be swept off my feet, nor do I feel like I have to be the only one in a relationship to be putting out constant effort in the romantic department.  At this point I don’t know what I want to do. I have been feeling numb and confused, I know I should talk to him about all this but I feel like we keep have this conversation every six months. 

            Sorry for the long post but I feel like I just needed to get a majority of my feeling out.  I don’t know what is going to happen but something need to change in my life before I explode and become a limp noodle. 

  See you on the other side

                                                               

Bitchin’ Fridays: Paying Taxes

            This year I have to pay a substantial amount of taxes, thanks in part of a certain grand parent for not paying any.  I am pissed, miserable, and depressed.  In conclusion paying taxes suck.  So to make me feel better here is a picture of my valentines table I mad for my man and me.  Oh and a picture of my awesome cat.

           

See you on the other side 

           

Party Wednesday/Couples Night: Valentines Day

            Valentines Day is tomorrow, meaning you already know what you are planning for your loved one or you forgot and trying desperately to come up with a plan.  Ditch the idea of going out to a restaurant and fight a crowd, stay home instead and plan a romantic meal and evening instead.  All you have to do is remember your loved one’s favorite game, wither it be cards, board, or video, and center a broad general theme to that.

           

            For décor you will want to dim your lights and add candles threw out your home on especially on your table, please do not use scented candles as they may over power your loved ones nose. Get them flowers, be it girl or boy everyone loves to get this little gesture. Here are some flower ideas:

  The first one is from Think Geek , a cute idea for a retro gamer

                                    

This next idea came from The Huffington Post, the article focuses on famous painting but it gives you an idea of how you can achieve a bouquet from an image.  I particularly love the Sunflower arrangement from Van Gogh.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sarah-mcgiven/national-gallery-flowers_b_1341051.html

            Now to set the table.  I feel it is not necessary to place a table cloth over the table, but if you are heading down this path use a solid color table cloth and have your napkins and place mats be a different color to stand out.  Here is how you set up an informal table, a true formal table is a bit to fancy and may confuse your loved on what to use.

Be sure to add a water glass along side of your wine glass.  Place a few candles in the middle of the table and for a final touch is to add a flour or a little piece of chocolate on his or her plate.  Here is an example of a well put together table for romance:

http://www.accentondesign.net/blog/bid/90890/INTERIOR-DESIGN-Be-My-Valentine

            Now for food, we are doing a 3 course meal that is simple, fool proof, and easy.  I recommend a pinot noir, merlot, syrah, or canti.  The starter will be a curried carrot soup, this also doubles are your veggies for the evening.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Curried-Carrot-Soup/Detail.aspx

   For the main course just about everyone loves Italian.  Instead of making the same old spaghetti and meat balls, why not try to do something a little bit fancier, spaghetti carbonara. 

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1052/ultimate-spaghetti-carbonara

            To finish off the evening, most people would go for chocolate cake or cheese cake.  After having the spaghetti it is wise to go down a lighter route.  I highly recommend doing poached fruit; they are light and ooze romance.    But if you are being lazy you can always buy some fancy truffles or hand dipped chocolate strawberries and feed it to your loved one.

http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/808263/poached-fruit-recipes

            To cap off your evening, curl up on the couch together.  Have a warm fuzzy blanket ready for the two of you to share.  Watch his/her favorite childhood movie or play a co-op game together.  Remember to relax and enjoy your time together, and if they appreciate anything that you did for them that evening time to move on and find someone else. 

See You on the Otherside

Creative Week, Now Time to Get a Job

            My creative juices were flowing this wee.  I even managed to write a few pages of that screen play that I have had in my head for a while now.  The creativity was great but I know I need to start finding more steady work in the near future… but that is the future.

           

            I like the lounge about weekend I had with My Man, please note that our weekends are the early part of the week.  Mid week is when my juices were a flowing.  I meet up with a couple of my girl friends in Redmond, and we all sat around and did our own creative thing.  It was to have other people there to give critique to your work.  So for the rest of the week I spent my time writing and playing Skyrim (bad Schad Girl, bad). 

            For the First time in a long time, my man and I went out to dinner on a Saturday night.  Luckily I had the foresight to make reservations that morning for Local 360 and we were able to get a table in stead of waiting over an hour to eat.  We have eaten there numerous times, this time we decided to try the chef’s tasting that night.  It featured rabbit mouse, flank steak, and Beignets for desert.  While the meal was delicious, I wished that there was more steak on the plate so you were not left feeling hungry after the main course. 

            Sunday I just wanted to enjoy the day.  Luck for me the sky was clear and not that cold.  As any normal person would do on a day like is to go for a long walk.  I walked threw Sculpture park, then all the way down and back Myrtle Edwards park, and finaly walked up Queen Anne Ave and threw Seatttle Center.  Like I said, a long walk, but my god, there were a lot of people out just walking.  I guess that is what happens when there is sun out in Seattle.

            For this week’s party Wednesday it is going to be a little different.  Instead of a group party, I am going to do a romantic geek dinner for two in celebration of Valentines Day.    

  See you on the other side

                       

Bitchin’ Fridays: FaceBook Drama Queens

            Lately on my Facebook page I have had quiet a few “friends” posting ridiculously long posts about very minute events happening in there lives and turning them into tragic ordeals that appear life or death.  Usually when a post is more than a paragraph long, or is taking up the majority of the page, I ignore them.  I can see threw your hour long post and see that you are screaming for attention from your internet “friends”.  You just want a bunch of people to pat you on the back and say its ok we love you or to make you feel in the right of what ever cause you happen to be fighting this week. 

            Its getting old, please stop writing these outlandish posts.  I can understand if it is a story your retelling that does not pull focuses on you.  But when you start pulling sob stories of how you got kicked out of a club and how it’s now way your fault, all I want to do is reach across the screen and slap the shit out of you.  While yeas I do on the occasion take pleaser in your pain but not when you post the say compliant every single day.  I am beginning to think that you are just coping and pasting your rant. 

            What really sets me off is when they post on your wall asking you to stop what you are doing and give them attention or why you have not praising/comforting them.  This happened to me on several occasions, the most recent one being coming back from vacation and posting on my wall how much fun I had.  Not soon after I posted, I get a message from a friend asking why I had not visited her while I was on my 1 day vacation.  *face palm* No, I do not want to play your game, drama queen.

            I don’t like being around people that make or cause drama in my real life. So what makes you think that I would want to be wrapped up in your virtual drama that I have to comment on it every time you post?  The answer is I either block you or do the sneaky thing and just block all your posts from my time line.  That way I don’t have to see your sad little drama of the day on my timeline. 

           

See you on the other side 

           

Party Wednesday: Dead Space 3

            Well the new Dead Space came out yesterday; to celebrate lets throw a Dead Space 3 party!  We are going to create a fearful winter wonderland to scare and delight your party guests.  This is going to be a cocktail style again but you need to be on the run from those necromorphs.

 

            This is concept art for Dead Space 3 of the inside of a bunker, kind of looks like a living room.  So now it is time to turn your room into a falling apart freezer.  Using 3-4 small tables fit a white sheet to cover the edge of each table but not falling over the edge.  Place large icicles around the tables edge, you can do either a solid line of ice or space them out; you don’t want every table looking the same.  And finally add a bit of fake snow and add a few drop of blood or a make it a massacre, just remember to have fun.

            I found this company online that specializes in fake ice called Trengove Studios Inc

                                   

Or you can make your own with the help from this site Cut Out & Keep

            You can buy on Amazon the artificial frost in a can (the type you use on windows to give that frost look, year round.  Simply spry your windows a mirrors with it.  You can even apply it to the legs of your table, just be sure to wrap the legs and any part that you are spraying with saran wrap.  

            For the lighting, use low yellow lights and dim them low.  You can add a red light in the corner for contrast but make sure it does not over power the other lights, think of it as an accent.  If you can try to make the lights flicker every once in a while.  

            Play ambient sounds of low ominous winds, and creaking noises, with the occasional scream from a necromorph. 

            The last little bits of detail to add are the broken monitors.  To achieve this you can buy (or if you are crafty make your own) screen protector for your TV, you can find them online. Frost the edges of the screen protector with the frost in a can, if you want you can even crack and break the protector, and just before placing it on the TV, write in blood “No Hope” or other depressing sayings.  Once the screen is secure turn the TV onto static.  Want to go above and beyond, make a video that loops and you can make ship schismatic or pictures of your party guests with there information flashing up on screen. 

            Final touches are adding blood and snow to the walls and floor of your room. Make your own necromorph  stabbing arms and place them around the corners of your room.

             For food and drinks I want to create a menu that allows you to move and run away at ease.

           

Food Menu:

Fried risotto balls with cheese on the middle

Pigs in a blanket

Caramelized grilled salmon skewers

White Hummus dip

Drinks:

Brain Hemorrhage:

Ingredients:

1 oz Peach Schnapps

1 tsp Bailey’s Irish Cream

2 drops Grenadine

Directions:

Pour the Peach Schnapps into a large shot glass. Slowly add the Bailey’s and top with the grenadine.

Skeletons in Your Closet

Ingredients

 1 1/2 part(s) Hornitos Plata Tequila - (more)

 1 part(s) DeKuyper Island Blue Pucker - (more)

 1 part(s) Mango Juice - (more)

 1 part(s) Pineapple Juice - (more)

Instructions

Shake over ice until well blended and strain over ice in a salted margarita glass. Be careful what you reveal.

Bloody-tini

Ingredients:

2 oz VeeV Acai Spirit

1 oz acai juice

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

Top with fresh champagne

Lime wedge for garnish

Preparation:

Combine VeeV, Acai juice and fresh lime with fresh ice in a cocktail shaker and shake.

Strain into a chilled martini glass and top with champagne.

Serve with a fresh lime wedge.

            All there is left to do is to scare your guests into delight.  If you have comments or pictures of your own Dead Space party, please email or comment below, I would love to share and give you guys some spot light. 

See you on the other side.

Off the Bumpy Road, For Now

             What a relaxing carefree week I’ve had.  I have been relaxing at home, planning on future endeavors, and eating at fabulous restaurant.  Wednesday was the official kick off to a great week; so far this has been the best week of the year.  It started off with a phone call from our old apartment complex telling us to come pick up our deposit check.  I have never achieve a deposit check back from an apartment management,  even when I have cleaned the apartment top to bottom never had they issued back my deposit.         

            The second kick off was later that night, I went out with a good film friend of mine to a happy hour event designed around to meeting other film peeps.  I meet so many connections there I still need to send out emails to remind them of how awesome I am and that they should hire me for future endeavors.  I’m defiantly going back to that event at the end of this month.

            Next day I picked up the check, it was way more than I was expecting.  So that night we went out to celebrate our first time ever getting a deposit checks back, the place: Palace Kitchen.  We had no trouble getting seated right away with out a reservation, it was dimly lit which is a bit of an issue with me since I like to see my food while I eat. 

            The cocktails were well made, I had a blood orange margarita that wasn’t too sweet or tart, and we shared a goat cheese fondue that had bit of bread and crisp apple to dip in it.  The melted goat cheese was velvety smooth and had a slightest herb after taste to it, what I loved was that the cheese doesn’t stick to the inside of your mouth and if you don’t touch it for a while it is still melted and creamy.  For the main course I had parsnip puree ravioli with carrots and parsnips on the side.  This dish was wonderfully earthy; the raviolis were large and had a nice balance of sweetness from the parsnip purée.  The accompany sauce had a great spice that added a much need heat and salt to the dish while without over powering the delectate vegetables.       

            Now you must be wondering what my man had at this higher end restaurant. He had a Burger with fries.  Now it was a good burger and the fires were excellent but still a burger. Now for desert we shared a lemon pudding cake.  It was moist and firm, had a wonderful cookie crumble scattered along the plate to give it that much need crunch, and   the lemon flavor wasn’t to tart or sweet.  Over all the Palace Kitchen is great and the chef defiantly know how to make a balanced dish.

            The rest of the week was uneventful for me but still a good week over all.  Didn’t watch the supper bowl but glad that Ravens won.  I couldn’t stand 49ners coach and I know how much my jerky friend loves that team and so now I get to gloat that her team lost for a whole year.  

            News for this week is on Wednesday’s party theme is to celebrate the new Dead Space 3 game.  Don’t know what I have planed yet for Friday’s rant but I still got time.

  See you on the other side

                                                               

Bitchin’ Fridays: Bus Riders

            In general most bus riders keep to themselves and just want to be left alone.  I am one of these people; I get in, sit down, shut up, and leave when I get to my stop.  For the life of me I can’t seem to grasp why a few individuals have to make an already miserable commute that much more appalling.

           

            People talking generally does not bother me, it is only when they talk so loudly that if they are sitting in the back people in the front seat can hear about how your man is an asshole for cheating on you.  I can think of a few reasons as to why he may have done so.  And it seems like it is one of the following types of people that talk to this amplitude of noise level:

1) Just plain crazy people that you are afraid they will stab you if you look at them.

2) Teens to early 20 something’s, usually in a group or talking on a cell phone

3) Foreigners

            Another offender is the people that want to start a conversation with you.  I don’t like it; I wear my head phones for a reason.  Even with head phones people still try to get in a conversation with you, here is a hint, if the person responds back with quick yes no answer they are not interested in talking. 

            And last but not least, the person who wont give up there seat for an elderly or disabled person.  It is the young kids, by kids I mean teenagers or young adults, or the foreign men.  I can’t count how many foreign men have sit there while I give up my seat of some one and have to hold on for dear life in heels as the bus bumps along.

             People have gotten so rude and disconcerting for their fellow man it is disgusting.  A little chivalry towards your fellow man goes a long way and it doesn’t cost you a dime.  If being courteous to others granted you a deductible on your taxes, then maybe more people will do so. 

See you on the otherside.