Treats!

A friend of mine and I recently hit Beverly Hills to catch a Sprinkles Cupcake each... Mmmmmm... Just to note, too, SPrinkles cupcakes opened 'Sprinkles Ice Cream!!' yesterday. I was excited about the ATM, but this... this is my favorite! Cant wait to try it out. The flavors are the same as the cupcakes.

http://la.eater.com/archives/2012/04/19/sprinkles_ice_cream_opens_may_24_in_beverly_hills.php

What do you think about the idea of 'Sprinkles Ice Cream?'

While we were in the area we went to see the exhibit at the Gagosian Art Gallery- a small and cool little gallery nearby. The photography and artwork of Cy Twombly were on display...

Here's one of the paintings we saw!! This one was my fave. I like the bright colors.

I really enjoyed the cool photography and art by Cy. Just to give a little info, Cy recently passed away- he was an American artist 'well known for his large-scale, freely scribbled, calligraphic-style graffiti paintings, on solid fields of mostly gray, tan, or off-white colors.' (to quote wikipedia.) My friend is an artist so she was telling some of this to me as we looked at the work. It was fun to take a look!
Do you like the Cy Twombly painting? I love abstract art myself.

Total Eclipse of the...Sun

On Sunday the 20th a solar eclipse happened. It wasn’t a total eclipse anywhere in the world, it was an annular eclipse. The difference between the two is that for a total eclipse, the sun is completely blocked out somewhere in the world. With an annular eclipse, the moon is a little further away from the earth and isn’t quite big enough to block out the whole sun, so a “ring of fire” appears if you’re lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

Here in LA, we weren’t in quite the right place. We only got about 80% of a total eclipse (in the best spots, they got around 90% or so) but it still looked impressive! The lighting outside seemed “off” since the sun was being mostly blocked. To make sure we had a good view of the eclipse, we headed to my office because some of the rooms have a great view of the setting sun (the eclipse happened in the early evening). During the time it was mostly covered, we used a cardboard “projector” to look at it since you don’t look directly at the sun, even during an eclipse. It was pretty cool!

As we were driving home (the eclipse was receding, but still going on) the marine layer started coming in and fog started to develop. Between the fog and the blue shading on the top of the windshield, we were able to safely look directly at the sun and see the last little bit of eclipse.

We took pictures of our projections, but none of them turned out that great, so here's a really cool one I found online:


Image credit: jimnista from www.flickr.com

So I'm living in Edmonton for the summer, and it's very interesting to be back after so many years living elsewhere.  I discovered upon my arrival that I had no idea how to get anywhere, since I wasn't old enough to drive before.  Slowly but surely I am learning the areas of the city, (it helps that it is very easy to navigate by the numbers of the streets) and it has been a lot of fun to reconnect with some people and meet new people in the singles wards here.  And of course, being around so many family members is just awesome! 

I also love running along the river trail which is so close to our house.  I can now more fully appreciate how beautiful Edmonton is!

A Proper Cuppa

When I was about seven years old I got to spend a week at Pop's and Grannie's cabin up at Spray in Banff. I was so happy to have Pop and Grannie all to myself.  Pop was a true mountain man and I thought he was the coolest grandpa ever.  He taught me how to feed Jimmy the tamed squirrel with peanuts from his roll-top disk.  Grannie was a genteel English/Italian lady who loved flowers and tea.  She taught me how to brew a proper cuppa.  I must BOIL FRESH water and pour it over the tea in a ceramic tea pot, so that it could STEEP properly.  Since then I always admired tea drinkers, and actually got into it in my college years when herbal teas became cool.  Over the years I drifted in and out of tea drinking phases, but now I'm back.  One of the reasons for that is because I've become a tea snob with my discovery of loose leaf tea.  So much more flavorful than the tea bags at Superstore.  And so many fabulous flavors.  I love Teavana, the loose leaf tea store in Seattle, and now I've discovered one in Edmonton.  Guess that means its time for a tea party :)

Mirman Fair- 'Mirman and the Chocolate Factory' Theme

Spence and I had such a fun time at the Mirman Fair recently, so I thought I’d tell you guys about it. I got there in the morning to volunteer for a few hours in the ‘Arts and Crafts’ area. I was lucky enough to be put in charge of the ‘Spin Art.’ You remember from your days as a kid? They put a paper down under a frame on a wheel, close the lid and turn it on? You get to drop paint through and as the paper spins it makes a really neat design?


Well that’s what I helped several kids to do. Some even wanted to make 2 or 3! It was cute, busy, fun and rewarding.

The best part is when Spence came to meet me! We met up with a coworker of mine and her boyfriend and walked around, getting hot dogs for lunch, scouting out the Silent Auction, browsing the bake sale, watching some of the kids play games like catapult and ball tosses and whatnot. There were some really fun decorations like big huge 'candies' and lollipops in the lawn. We went to the parking lot area and got ice cream - and agreed to watch some of the kids who really wanted to show off to their teachers as they sped along on the roller coaster ride or jumped really high on the trampolines.



A big moment of the day was just before the silent auction closed. Our eyes caught sight of a ‘Simpson’s Basket’ from one of the producers of Simpsons. We had seen it earlier and it still peaked our interest. It had action figures, several Simpson’s seasons, character key chains, and other cool jazz. So we had to bid! The price was already fairly high but we figured we'd give it a shot! What did we have to lose? :) Well... We quickly got outbid, as it turned out, but it was fun to try! And we did our part to raise the bid and help the fundraising cause I guess.

It was wonderful to see everyone, a well planned event, and we had such a lovely, really fun and snazzy day at this awesome fair!

The Napoletana

Most people look at me like I'm crazy when I express anything less than enthusiasm about going to the Cannes Film Festival.  Admittedly the south of France is a sexy location and Melissa and talk about tacking a vacation on to the end of it at some point in the coming years.  That said, it really isn't as sexy as it sounds.  I spend most of my days (and nights) in antiquated, hot and smelly theaters watching mostly mediocre to outright terrible movies.  The one major highlight is the food and specifically the pizza.  I'm particularly partial to the Napoletana, a pizza smothered in anchovies and olives.  Its a salty treasure and it goes great with a salade verte on the side.  I've had it at several restaurants here in Cannes and I like Vesuvio's the best.  Its a beachfront restaurant with great italian food and a selection of great desserts.  It also offers a lovely view of the ocean and the Croisette.  It is a quintessential Cannes experience and makes the rest of the job worth it. 

Last-minute Heroics

Since I chose to write about sports, it's my job to bring everyone up to speed on the ending of the English Premier League and the exciting finish that just happened. First, some background.

For those who don't follow it, the EPL is the top league in England and is arguably the top soccer league in the world. Every year a champion is crowned and the three teams that finish worst in the league are dropped to the next highest league and the top teams from that league are promoted to the highest league. This gives teams incentive to play hard throughout the season. It also means that if Jordan had started his own recreational team while in England, theoretically he could lead that team all the way to the top league.

For the last game of the season, all games start simultaneously. This way, there can't be any backroom dealings between teams to alter the results of the games. The key game was Manchester City vs Queens Park Rangers (QPR). Manchester City was fighting with Manchester United for the championship. Picture the Oilers/Flames rivalry, except they are in the same city and the Flames had won championship after championship, but the Oilers hadn't won a championship in 44 years. If Man City wins, they are the champions. If they tie, Manchester United has to tie or lose their game. If Man City loses, Man U has to lose for Man. Meanwhile, QPR are fighting to avoid relegation down to the next lowest league; if they win, they're safe. If they tie or lose, they need another result to go their way to avoid relegation.

Man City scored first and appeared to be in control of their own destiny. Then QPR snuck a goal in to tie it just after halftime. QPR then had one of their players red carded (and he'll probably get a major suspension because after the red card he kicked an opponent) and it looked good for Man City, though they still needed a goal. Then, despite being a man down, QPR scored to take a 2-1 lead. Meanwhile, Man U was winning their game. Entering into stoppage time, Man City was still down 2-1 despite attack after attack. Man U finished their game slightly earlier than Man City and they had won, so Man City needed two goals in stoppage time for the championship.

It happened.

Final score: Man City 3, QPR 2, giving Man City their first title in 44 years, or the equivalent of the Oilers winning the Stanley Cup at the expense of the Flames. QPR got the help they needed and thus avoided relegation. But TWO stoppage time goals? That's why I've said it before and I'll say it again: Don't leave until the game is over.

Here's a link to see the highlights for those who are interested.

Moms

Wanted to wish a Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers in the family! You are an integral part of keeping your individual families going and also the extended family as well. Today's the day set aside to celebrate what you do for everyone, though like Christmas, we should keep this in mind the whole year round. Hopefully you're just enjoying the day and not doing any work at all. Thanks again!

Cute pics

I love the stage my kids are at right now.  Thought I'd share some cute pictures of them.