Our 31 Bits House Party

The Cause

31 Bits.

I was going to post a link to my 31 Bits Charity of the Month post, and just realized I never did one, I only featured them in my holiday gift guide. I'm appalled, to be honest. Expect them for July's Charity of the Month :) Meanwhile, you can check out the amazing work this charity is doing here.

The Food

I bought these straight from the farm. Probably the sweetest strawberries I've ever had.

I made an improved version of the strawberry dessert with some recommendations from Jeff: I put them in plastic martini cups, and topped them with a whole strawberry with a toothpick through it. No picture, but imagine it. It was glorious.

I had too much cake though, and not enough martini cups, so the last layer of cake stayed a cake. Improvisation. Not half bad, huh? We were going to have a birthday girl in attendance, so it was actually quite perfect.

This is perhaps the coolest coffee table I've ever seen. Abby painted it with this chalk board stuff, so you can literally write on it with chalk, and wipe it off. And you can use it to let people know what cheese is what. GENIUS!

Self explanatory.

Johnny's spinach and artichoke dip, with fresh wheat french bread, yum!

Spinach and strawberry salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and almonds.

The Jewelry

The People

The Host and Hostess

Family coming out to support :)

Taking orders!

Picking and choosing...such a difficult task

<3

These two. Thanks for being incredibly awesome and supportive!

Seriously. This has to be the new face of 31 Bits!

Absolutely LOVE this picture of Rebeca and her 31 Bits piece

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to support 31 Bits and the amazing work they're doing, you guys are amazing.

A special thanks to the Hubby for playing photographer for the day

Thing's I'm gonna miss

Our lease is up August 14th. We moved in to our apartment in April of 2008. Just the thought of moving is exhausting. We've packed so much shit into this tiny space in the last three years. Most of it is stuff that we don't really need, but I can't get rid of. Jeff might call me a hoarder. He may or may not be right. It's something I'll have to come to terms with next month.

For now, it's been aggravating just looking for a new place. We went apartment searching a couple weeks ago, wanting to feel a little less stressed about the uncertainty of where we will be in a month or so. It was a waste of time. Apparently looking for an apartment more than 30 days in advance of when you will be moving in is "too early." Apartment companies usually require a 30 day notice from their current tenants, so anytime before that, they don't know what will be available in 30 days. The logic makes sense, it just sucks for people like Jeff and I who would like to plan a little further in advance.

Either way, we're preparing to move. Aside from the packing, and the moving, and the finding a new place, I'm really nervous about the emotional toll leaving this apartment is going to have on me. It's the first place Jeff and I have shared. It has so many memories: good times and difficult times. It's seen us through Jeff's unemployment, me studying for the bar exam, my unemployment, visits from Guatemalan and Arizonian friends, and more friendly gatherings than we could ever count. Aside from the upstairs neighbors who keep themselves busy late into the night every now and then, and some of the children that run up and down the hallway at 11 p.m., we don't have many complaints. It's been near perfect. We've got a garage for storage (which is problematic now that we have to empty it), a washer and dryer, and a close to perfect parking availability for visitors. ("So why are you moving?" Because they raised our rent over $100 a month, and paying $1510 for a one bedroom apartment is where we draw the line, even if it is Orange County.)

I'm gonna miss our brightly painted living room.

Our bookshelves are transferable to wherever we move to next. But this is still going to be the first apartment we had them in.

To be quite honest, neither Jeff nor myself are huge fans of our bedroom. We still don't own a headboard, and the rest of the furniture we have are mismatched hand me downs, most of which I don't even really like. I'm excited to see what we do differently with our bedroom in our next home.

This dinning room has seen two, if not three, years of gingerbread house making. And it was the first wall that held pictures of many of our dear friends. I'm excited to expand on that wall.

I'm really going to miss the white cupboards of our kitchen.

Psych! (yep, that just happened)

This kitchen was somehow able to prepare a Friendsgiving dinner for almost twenty people. I still don't know how that happened.

It's also the kitchen where Jeff and I fixed our first meals together. We've pretty much learned all the things we're going to cook for our children, regularly, on a rotating basis, in this kitchen.

And our wall...

I'm gonna miss our wall.

Again, we can replicate this in our next home, but it won't be THIS wall. You know what I'm not gonna miss? A TV that people at a garage sale won't even take for free...and that's a fact.

Wedding Shenanigans...and possible Career Change?!

Sometime last year, my good friend Shirley asked me if I would marry her (as in, perform her wedding ceremony...the state of California won't let me marry her, per se). I remember being in my office at the bankruptcy law firm where I was working at the time when she asked me. On gchat. Hey, I got my work done.

Sounded crazy to me, but it's Shirley, and who am I to judge what the bride-to-be wanted? Brookie has performed several weddings (she had actually just married our good friends Erika and Julian), so I knew it was doable. I did a little research online and found out it cost $8 (plus $13 for the actual certificate, sneaky sneaky), plus about five minutes of your time to type out your name and email. Five minutes and eight dollars later, probably during the same initial conversation I had with Shirley, and I was an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church Monastery. Done and done, son.

Shirley is probably the best client I'll ever have. "Whatever you want Alex, just keep it short." We literally worked out the script to her wedding about a week before her big day. And I gotta say, it was pretty darn good. I was a little nervous right before the ceremony, but it helped that they had a small ceremony, and maybe those $120,000 I spent on law school taking courses in trial practice and participating in competition teams helped too. Anyhow, the ceremony went without a hitch, and I didn't do half bad. Paperwork was signed, and hopefully everything was done right and they should get their marriage certificate soon-ish. I even dressed professional!

TBM (The Boss Man, for those who forgot already) is getting married next month, and he got wind of my minister's license. I wish I could say he asked me to perform his ceremony because it would mean a lot to him to have someone that he knows perform it, or because he appreciates our friendship and wants me to be a part of his special day, but the reality is that he's trying to get married as cheaply as possible (second marriage, FYI), and I'm about as cheap as they come. So, I've got my second wedding booked! By "as cheap as they come," I mean that he hasn't offered to pay me anything. Which is fine. Jeff and I will get a free dinner at the Montage. And maybe the day off from work (he's getting married on a weekday to make it cheaper...not like on a Friday...more like a Monday or Tuesday). As I see it: a little more experience, a little more confidence, and maybe I'll start trying to make money off of this!

Let's shift gears to Jeff. Abby and Paul got married last July, they had an intimate courthouse wedding. They asked Jeff to take some pictures for them, and the pictures turned out really nice. Not crazy professional, but he captured some great moments. Since then, Jeff's been experimenting a lot with Charlie's camera (buying Jeff his own camera is at the top of our list...when we have the money for it), and he's gotten really great, in my humble opinion. I was talking to a friend earlier this week about her wedding planning, and she mentioned how they weren't going to have a photographer because they don't have the budget to pay someone $2,000 for 'em. *lightbulb* "Jeff took pictures for Abby's wedding...he's no professional (yet), but he'd be super cheap and you'd have some pictures of your wedding." And just like that, Jeff has a paid gig for October.

I think TBM is looking to hire a student photographer for his wedding. I'm gonna throw Jeff's name out there tomorrow. Who know's, maybe Jeff and I are gonna become the new powerhouse for Orange County weddings: minister AND photographer for super cheap!

I like, strike that, LOVE, the idea of being able to work for ourselves. I'm not naive enough to think that a couple wedding gigs that pay way under market value are going to provide us enough to survive, but it's a start. And you gotta start somewhere.

Charity of the Month: Women for Women International

Ok, I'm a little pressed for time now that I've wasted my evening updating all of you on things you probably care much less about, so this will be a short COM.

I first heard of Women for Women ("WOW") from a friend from college, Jessica, maybe a year ago when I was asking for charity recommendations. I checked out the org and it looked absolutely amazing. I'm not sure why I've waited so long to feature it on here, but I'm currently finishing up "Half the Sky" and they mention how WOW started, expanded, and became a successful organization. Reading about it reminded me of Jessica's recommendation, and well, here we are.

Where do they work: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Kosovo, Nigeria, Sudan, & Iraq.

Mission: "To provide survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. We're changing the world one woman at a time."

How do they do this? They provide financial aid, job training, rights awareness and leadership education to women in the areas they serve. The program has four modules that women work through:

• Module I: Women sustain an income (income & asset management)
• Module II: Women are well (awareness, protection and prevention: job skills training, etc.)
• Module III: Women are decision-makers (family and community decision making: skills training, business training, etc.)
• Module IV: Women have social networks and safety nets (solidarity for support and protection).

How you can help: you can help by providing a one-time donation, a monthly donation, or by sponsoring a woman. You can find other ways to support WOW here.

Like any cause, I think it's important to remember the individual stories of the people you're helping. You're not giving your money to a faceless thing or business, you're giving your money to a real woman, who is supporting a real family. The woman featured in Half the Sky was a woman who was deprived of pursuing an education early in life because she was a woman and was expected to take care of the kids and home. She was married off at an early age, and had to put up with an abusive husband. She later became part of WOW, and went on to obtain not only a college degree, but a Master's, and a Ph.D. She ended up working for WOW, helping to develop the organization and help other women who were in the same situation as she had been in years before. Tell me that woman's life wasn't changed by someone's monetary contribution...you can't!

On a side note, I want to read up on CEO compensation. I checked out WOW on Charity Navigator, and it tells you what the highest paid people get paid. The CEO of WOW makes $215k a year. The organization makes $26 million so I guess it's not a huge portion of it, and I guess the argument for that kind of compensation is the dedication and hours a job like this takes (. I still require more reading on the subject. I welcome reading suggestions on the topic.

While I'm at it...Career Updates

First off, I'm thankful to have a job. But I also don't want to be complacent in a position I'm neither happy with, nor do I believe it will benefit me hugely in the long run. So, I'm in a pickle. I'm pretty much working as a secretary/firm administrator/appearance attorney at the firm I'm working at. The Boss Man ("TBM") keeps saying that in August he's going to start advertising for family law, and he wants me to develop that practice for the firm. Which sounds great in theory. I think I would enjoy family law. I'd get to put my mediation and negotiation competition skills to the test, and I'd have more client interaction. My main concern doing family law at this firm is that it caters to people who can pay...and that's not quite the clientele I want to serve. Haha, I sound ridiculous. But seriously, if I'm going to practice law, I want to do it for the benefit of those who need it and can't afford it. But I also need to pay my bills...

Anyhow, before I get carried away with hypotheticals and theorizing about what my dreams are (which I think I'm starting to figure out, finally)...I don't think this whole family law thing is going to become a reality in the near future. Thing is, TBM hired me because he needed a receptionist, and I knew this when I started. I took the job because I needed the money, with all parties knowing this was temporary for both sides. But now I'm waiting around for something more serious to develop, and I just don't think it will. TBM will always need a receptionist/legal administrator, and as long as I'm there, why would he hire someone else to do it? On the other hand, how am I supposed to "develop" a legal practice while answering phones, dealing with correspondence, and a billion other things that come up on any given day? I just don't see it happening.

And if that's the case, I don't want to waste my time or his. I need to figure out what's best for Jeff and I, and helping TBM out while he figures stuff out isn't quite it. I've done a few contract jobs, and could try to pick up some more jobs like that. Maybe work on my own thing. Of course, with that comes financial risk, which Jeff and I aren't necessarily prepared to deal with either.

Life is a cluster fuck sometimes (sorry mom[s]).

Accountability Updates

So, just realized that it's been over 20 days since my last accountability report (well, technically 21, so just barely over 20...but "over 20" sounds more dramatic). In that post I had made it my goal to get through a whole pilates session that week. It's been over 2o days...fine, 21....and I have to confess I haven't even looked at a pilates video. I did a short session of yoga this weekend, and that's been about it. Am I disappointed in myself? Yes. Am I surprised? No. I honestly don't know what I need to do to motivate myself to find the time to work out. I get home from work and I have a list of about twenty things on my "to-do" list, and working out is never a priority. I also miss rock climbing. I'm hoping Jeff and I can head out with Pat and Charlie in a couple weeks.

I've been failing on the eating healthy area too. I've been doing a little traveling during the day for work, which means I stop by a drive through and pick up some form of grossness or another. But not tonight. Cooking up a pretty nice meal tonight.

I really need to figure out how to do everything in a day that I want to do: work at work, work on my side projects which make me happy, work out, cook healthy dinner, relax. Taking suggestions.

Also, I mentioned before how I had ordered a couple cookbooks. I was super excited when I got them, and now I'm not sure what to do with them. They're both super cool, but a lot of the information is wasted on someone who doesn't have more than a tiny balcony and can't even grow basil in it. And, like most cook books, the recipes sound awesome, but intimidating, with ingredients I've never even heard of. So. Add that to what I want to do in my normal day: explore new recipes!

Haiti Tweet Up

Since I returned from Haiti last year, I started using Twitter and following various individuals and organizations that work in Haiti, all with the hope that I could live vicariously through the work they're doing, and stay informed of events, news, and developments in Haiti.

A few months ago I started noticing that some of these orgs and individuals started interacting and having conversations with one another via Twitter. It was pretty cool to see how they each encouraged and supported one another through their various programs, and sometimes frustrations. Just so you have an idea on the diversity of what they're all working on: one of them helps run a non profit making clean water accesible to people in Haiti, another is a doctor, another an architect, another runs a non profit that works in the areas of healthcare, water and education, another is a great non profit working on sustainable development. You get the point.

In the past week or so they started talking about meeting up, and per Twitter conversations I have gleaned that they all met up yesterday. Again, it sounds creepy that I know this much, but it's not my fault that all their conversations are in a public forum and come up on my home feed!

Anyhow, it goes to show the power of social networks such as Twitter, if used the right way. I think it's absolutely amazing that individuals working in diverse fields, but each of them performing great work within a fairly small geographic location, were able to connect through Twitter and actually meet each other. I'm excited to see what this means for each of them and their organizations: will they collaborate on any projects? Will they join forces on something really cool? Or maybe just stay in touch and continue to be a support group for one another and the work they're doing?

I guess I'll just have to continue to follow the Twitter feeds!

Oh the places you can go!

With just a few complicated steps, Jeff can turn this hideous picture of me....

Into this.....

And this....

Sorry ladies, he's taken :)

Technology is pretty amazing. And deceiving.

31 Bits Party: Menu!

In case you haven't decided to join us on Sunday, keep this in mind:

• Spinach artichoke dip with bread
• Hummus & pita bread
• Spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing (possibly a spinach/strawberry salad)
• Some appetizers from Trader Joe's (easy and delicious!)
• Delicious wine and beer
• Hopefully an improved version of the strawberry cream cheese cups I made for Memorial Day weekend

Looking forward to baking, cooking, and decorating with Ms. A-b-b-y, and then enjoying the company of some wonderful ladies :)

Daddy Issues

Well, it only took 28 years for me to get emotional about Father's Day.

Up to now I've always told myself, and others, that it probably worked for the best that I never met my father, and hence, that he's never been a part of my life. Curious thing to say, right? Thing is, the father relationships that surrounded me growing up have always been complicated ones. Not necessarily bad ones, just complicated: divorced parents, step-father, emotionally withdrawn, not around, etc. From what I understand, my dad wasn't ready to be a dad, and he made that clear to my mom. So why would I want someone in my life who didn't want me in theirs? I prefer that I've been brought up by people who love and care for me, as opposed to someone who felt obligated to do so; I think any issues I have would have been exacerbated by a father who didn't care to be a father to me. Nothing that happened today changes my mind about that.

Now that I'm older, I'm seeing relationships that are less complicated. Jeff's dad is a great example, as is my uncle, who is constantly at baseball games and family vacations with his kids and family. During the sermon at church today (after which my mom gave me a book titled "Rediscover Catholicism," but that's neither here nor there for purposes of this post), the priest recalled stories of time spent with his dad, like going to pick rocks at the Santa Ana river bed, which they later used to for various projects in the garden. He recounted these stories with a certain...I dunno...sparkle? Maybe not the right word, but you could just hear in his voice how much he enjoyed spending those moments with his dad. Jeff's often recounted similar stories to me, with the same "sparkle" and enthusiasm.

I haven't thought very much about what I've missed out on. I guess maybe when I was little I did. But I can't remember it anymore. Maybe that's why today just hit me out of no where. What if my dad is actually a great dad to the children he has now? What stories will they have to share about their dad that I don't? I've always told myself that I haven't missed out by not having my dad around, but what if I have?

I think those are questions I'll never know the answer to. Today was the first day I asked myself if I'm really ok with that.

Curious Things Seen in Orange County

Young adult, male.

Driving a convertible. Top down.

Smoking.

Listening to books on tape.

Music Corner: The Head and the Heart -- Rivers and Roads

Old Spice vs. Edge Shave Gel

Apparently (I'm tempted to say "allegedly" but it just doesn't apply, sigh) I'm about a month behind on this, but I just saw the Edge Shave gel commercial tonight and the similarity to the Old Spice commercial was just uncanny.

It made me instantly wonder if something like that would actually work, or just backfire. On the one hand, they're using an idea that's worked before, to a miraculous degree. Ok, miraculous might be an exaggeration, but I guess that would depend on your religious/spiritual beliefs. It worked for Old Spice, why wouldn't it work for them? (I decided to do some research on whether the Old Spice ad campaign actually translated into money...and apparently it didn't. What it did do, however, was give Old Spice a facelift and show how social media can be put to good work in an advertising campaign.)

On the other hand, it's such a blatant copy cat, and Old Spice picked up quite the admiration with it's commercial, that maybe people would be offended that someone would copy it. I'm assuming that Edge Shave knew how blatant the copy cat was, and thought people would find it funny. But you can't mock something that people like...because people get defensive. And you're trying to win those people over to buy your product.

Turns out, this wasn't such a smart move for Edge Shave. Comments on the interweb were generally negative and disappointed in the blatant copying of the Old Spice commercials.

Anyhow, my thought process immediately following the commercial are superflous since comparisons have already been made. But I thought I'd add my two cents to the internet anyway.

What do you think:

vs.

True Story: I made a girl cry. Once.

Not on purpose, I swear.

It was probably second year of law school when it happened. Allegedly -- and I use that word simply because I don't remember it happening, the source of this information is actually very trusted and don't doubt her word by any means...and I really like to use "allegedly" whenever I can -- our usual group of law school folk were hanging out, probably pretending to study Con Law, and a new member was introduced to our group: cue Ms. Natalie. Through the course of this initial interaction, Ms. Natalie said or did something that elicited me to say something to the effect of "wow, you're not even part of our group." Harsh, right? Here's the thing though...if she had known me at that point in time (which she obviously didn't because we had just met), she would've known that I was being uberly sarcastic. Maybe too sarcastic...since those words did elicit some tears. Am I ashamed? Yes.

Good part of the story: we now share moments like these:

To those I have unintentionally made cry: I'm sorry, I hope you've since forgiven me and that we've had some amazing moments like Natalie and I :) And let this be a reminder to all of us: sarcasm is usually only appreciated after the person knows you well enough to be able to appreciate it. Yep, true words of wisdom, from yours truly.

OCD: The Gmail Inbox Kind

Ever since first or second year of law school, when Courtney showed me how I could have a clean inbox by archiving everything into folders, I've been a little obsessive about having too many emails in my inbox. In my prime, I could keep it down to maybe 4-10 emails in my inbox.

My current inbox total: 302 emails. It's killing me.

Mind you, these are not unread emails. That would be ridiculous and would bug me to no end. Just emails that I've read, but don't want to archive yet because I want to read the content when I have more time, or I need to follow up on it and archiving it means I'll never remember to do it.

302 emails.

And growing.

Yikes.

Decorating, Cooking, & Hosting, Oh My!

Abby and I have decided to co-host a jewelry party fundraiser for 31 Bits, and we're quite excited about it. There's a huge chance it'll be the two of us a a little more than a handful of the ton of people we're inviting, but I'm honestly just excited to cook some new appetizers and desserts, and decorate Abby's place all vintage-y. We were inspired by this blog.

This past Saturday we woke up earlier than you should on a day off, and did some garage sale hunting. We found some cool vases, and THIS beauty:

That shiny, beautiful red lantern was only $0.50! The camera belonged to my grandfather, and my mom has loaned it to us, along with these:

See that ruler? That's what back in the 1950's was called political propaganda! Pretty cool, huh?

And these beauties...I found them when Jeff and I were in Old Town Orange looking for the door handles for the jewelry thingamabobber project (which, if it turns out good and vintagy enough, we might also use to hang some cool jewelry on at the party). I kept joking that I wanted to find a "$5 deal" which was ridiculous: prices at these antique stores are, well, ri-di-cu-lous. Then I found these containers...and I was expecting prices of about $25 for each of them, which would be in line with everything else...

But no! They were $7 and $9! Even the guy who rang me up was shocked by the price...it almost seemed like he was debating on whether he should sell them to be for that price or try to come up with some excuse to hold on to them. But alas, I got them, and got as close to a five dollar deal as I was gonna get. But I'm really, really happy with my find/purchase.

I'll save the menu for another post :)

DIY Project: Necklace Hanger Thingamabobber

I always get excited (and by "excited" I mean slightly jealous) when I see other people's works of creativity, including Jeff's art. Recently I realized: like so many other things in my life, the only thing keeping me from doing stuff like that is myself.

Last week I mentioned to Jeff an idea I had (I'd like to say it was original since it was new to me, but I'm sure someone's done it before--please don't send me any links confirming my unoriginality: ignorance is bliss). Being the amazing husband he is, he's encouraged me every step of the way and it's almost complete!

1) We went to the Orange Circle to an antique store that actually inspired the project: I was there a few weeks ago and saw a wagon full of old door knobs and handles and thought they looked super cool. So we went there, and we bought some :)

2) We scrounged through Jeff's dad's garage and found some old pieces of wood. My job: knicks and scratches and sanding! Jeff's job: everything else!

3) Jeff put it all together, then he taught me a great technique for using protective blue tape.

4) This is where it really came in handy to be married to an artist. I had no idea what I was doing...

5) Not too shabby, eh?!

6) Tonight we gotta finish drilling the wholes and place the handles. I might need to buy some more screws, since the ones we got at the antique store weren't necessarily matching ones.

Stay tuned!

Accountability Updates

I had In n Out for lunch yesterday. And I didn't even go for the protein style version of the burger. Then I had chicken tortilla soup for dinner....from El Pollo Loco. I know. FAIL.

BUT, I have been doing a little yoga here and there, and yesterday I tried a little pilates on Netflix instant watch. Holy-way-more-intense-than-yoga! My legs are actually a little sore today, and I don't think I even made half way through the forty minute routine. My goal this week is to make it through the whole session at least once. I will confess that one problem I had was in keeping up: it's way faster than yoga, and my coordination is sorely lacking...so I haven't had the easiest of times keeping up with the routine, ha.

We had a pretty busy weekend, which means no hikes or climbing (but plenty of fun, which hopefully I'll write about later). I really miss how much time we spent outdoors in April. July should be a little more mellow during the weekends, so hopefully we can pick up where we left off (we still have to explore Blackstar Canyon, and do more outdoor climbing).

On a good-ish note, this has been my usual breakfast for the last couple months or so:

What is this mess, you may ask. And I don't blame you. Fresh fruit (banana and cantaloupe in this case, although it's usually a banana and orange or something), granola, and yogurt. I mentioned earlier that I transitioned to vanilla yogurt, making my way from strawberry to plain. After I finish what seems like five pounds of vanilla yogurt I'll try out the plain stuff. I wasn't a huge fan of the vanilla stuff when I first started eating it, and now kind of enjoy it, so I'm hoping the same goes for what I'm sure won't be as pleasant plain yogurt.