You knew this was coming...

Thanksgiving 2006 in San Diego was quite an affair. I left Thursday morning around 10:30 and didn't get to San Diego until about 1pm. Good thing I had plenty of Christmas music to keep me occupied.

How many people does it take to deep fry a turkey? This is Anne's sister and brother-in-law, our hosts for the night. Something new I learned: Costco, during the holidays, sells different types of oils in large cardboard boxes. We used peanut oil for the turkeys and boy did it smell GREAT!

How delicious does this bird look?

There were a total of three deep fried turkeys. We didn't even get to the third one.

Anne's family really knows how to do their sides. We had stir fry green beans, potato pie, Caesar salad, bacon wrapped asparagus, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, MY deviled eggs, croissants, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

The other side of the sides.

A tasty ham.

Top to bottom: Anne's aunt made these white chocolate cups with custard and fruit. She said her inspiration was Vegas buffets. Apple pie and pumpkin pie from Marie Calendar's. Last but not least, Anne's homemade pecan pie.

My plate. Round one.


And what's Thanksgiving without some White Russians?

I watched the "Thanksgiving" episode from season one of Felicity (yes, I own season one) and it was great. I know this is stupid but Felicity (the show) had a really big effect on me. That's not really saying much though because the most insignificant things always have an effect on me. The Thanksgiving episode, in particular, is really great. Jennifer Garner shows up as Noel's girlfriend and she looks like a humpty dumpty librarian and the whole lot of them (Felicity, Julie, Ben, Noel, Shawn, Elena, Xavier, etc.) all stay in New York for Thanksgiving and they have a big feast in the dorms. So cute!
I've commenced watching the entire season from the beginning and it's reminding me how much I loved Felicity's big sweaters and her big hair and her beat up Converse and I'm pretty sure that's where I got the idea of going to New York in the first place. And the guy who played Brian Krakow on "My So-Called Life" is in a few episodes as is John Cho. John's role is fairly minute but he's really funny. And I love Meghan and her mysterious box.
Kind of a side, kind of not: as more time passes since my break-up with the ex, the less I'm beginning to remember why we ever went out in the first place. Watching Felicity totally transports me back to that time when I was finishing high school and starting college and that was a great time for me and now I'm right back in that same zone. It's like those five years in between when I was with my ex didn't even happen and the sad/scary part is that I'm okay with it.

Operation SexyBack is in full effect. I squeezed into my Size 4, Long and Lean Gap jeans this morning. !!!!!!! I have not been able to get into these jeans for years. Seriously, when I moved from Riverside to L.A, I had to decide whether or not to chuck my skinny clothes or keep them and continue to be be in denial. I decided to keep them and consequently, did not look at them for a year. When I moved again this summer, it was another reminder that I hadn't made any progress but once again, I decided to keep the skinny clothes and hoped that one day I would magically wake up skinny, 18 yr. old, Nina and be able to wear my old clothes. Long story short, I've been really good lately with my eating habits and this morning I was able to saunter into work wearing my size 4 jeans. Hi-fuhhhive.
I opted not to go see Stranger Than Fiction with the roomies tonight. I was kinda on the fence about it. Plus, I had my heart set on watching Casino Royale. Hopefully tomorrow night. Was I the only one who was totally appalled when they first saw Daniel Craig? I was like "Oh, hell no! That guy is dis-gus-ting! He is no James Bond!" Yes, I was outraged. But then I started seeing the billboards and he looked kinda good. And then the reviews were pouring in and they were good so now I'm really excited.
I've been using a lot of italics in this post because yesterday I went on a tour of the Clark Library. I'm too tired to go into it right now but I have lots of cool pictures. But anyway, one of the books we saw was printed by Aldus Manutius, the father of italics. He printed smaller sized books in 15th century Italy and in order to squeeze more words onto the pages, he italicized them.

Separated at birth

I.AM.GOING.TO.HAVE.TOE.SURGERY

I went to the doctor today to have the x-ray of my right big toe read. I guess I should back up. At one point during the summer, while in New York, I stubbed my toe against the wooden frame of the bed and ever since, I've had mild big toe pain but I just brushed it off and figured it would go away. (As a rule, I never go to the doctor unless it's for my yearly check-up) So when I got back to L.A, I noticed that my toenail was looking a little gnarly and I tried to trim it but couldn't get under the toenail. Gross, I know. So I had Crystal and Wes look at it and they thought it looked a little off as well. But I continued to ignore it. Finally, upon closer inspection, I did notice that the toenail was sort of growing upwards at an angle so I made an appointment at the health center, yada, yada, yada, the orthopedic surgeon today said that the stub caused a contusion and there was bleeding so consequently, my toe(?) released calcium to stop the bleeding and it's the calcium deposit that is causing the upturning of my toenail aka bone spur or in medical jargon exostosis. I'm just glad it ain't fungus; I thought maybe alls I needed was a pedicure.

I don't think I've ever posted any sort of library resource but this one came my way via a fellow library cohort and it's just way too funny.

Ms. Dewey search engine

That's me behind the white chicks! Yeah.

See Gaslamp entry below.

Went to the Gaslamp on Friday with Mandeep and his coworkers. Sole reason for going was to see the 80s tribute band, Knyght Ryder, that plays there every Friday night. I was gleeful when they played Tainted Love but the deal was sealed when they played Don't Stop Believin' followed by Livin' On A Prayer. Other classics played that night: Sweet Child O' Mine, Jessie's Girl, Jenny(867-5309), Billy Jean....


Saturday, Clare and I went to Pasadena to print the holiday cards we are condemned to provide as officers in the group we are condemned to. I was using a Vandercook flat bed press. Very cool and I still have all my fingers.


Yes, you will be getting these in the mail from me.

This is the wine I just bought from Trader Joe's. I bought it soley because it had a word search puzzle as its label. How awesome is that? Added bonus? Quite tasty!

Last night watched the midnight showing of Borat. I almost fell out of my seat during the much talked about naked man-on-man wrestling scene.

This is what I had to look forward to as I drove from the Valley back to L.A Friday evening. My immediate reaction was "Well, L.A. has finally burned down just like in The Day of the Locust".

I have a lot of work to do. And what have I accomplished instead? Munched on some pistachios from the nut farm, had a second glass of wine, and nibbled on my Fontina cheese...Dammit.