the evolution of Leni

Havana Nights Dinner Party

I think I can safely say that my first dinner party was a success. There were some minor mishaps (for example, the beans needed more garlic) and I definitely need to learn to be better at juggling cooking and mingling. But for a first attempt, I'm pretty happy with the results.

And I can't complain about the food not being perfect, it was my first time ever cooking Cuban food. The ongoing joke of the evening was, "If the food turns out bad, we'll just order pizza!"

The sangria and mojitos were delicious. I wish I had taken photos of the food from the start, but I only have the after photos.

 








 


Hands down, the best part of the evening was when the pinata came out. We couldn't stop laughing. It was so much fun! I am now convinced that every party should have a pinata.

 

Good thing we had 2 strong guys to hold the pinata for us!

I decided that I wanted to lay underneath the pinata so that when the candy fell it would fall directly into my mouth:













 

Frustrated after only a little bit of candy falling out each time, Lex finally pulled the pinata down herself!

 

Although Lex successfully demolished the pinata and freed all of the candy, she did get a small battle wound in the process.

A big thanks to everyone who attended. I appreciate you all being there to experience my first attempt at both Cuban cooking and throwing a dinner party. It wouldn't have been the same without you!

26 b/f 26 update

I finally got around to updating the 26 before 26 list. I didn't get everything crossed off the list, but I'm okay with that. I'm now working on my 27 b/f 27 list. I will most likely put the items I didn't cross off the list onto the new list. Or I might scrap them altogether. Either way, I'll post the list once I've figured out what those 27 things are going to be!

*This is my default picture for when I'm thinking about things, when I'm confused or both.

Some thoughts

Not having a small point-and-shoot camera is really starting to bother me. I am hoping to get one for my birthday [May 9th], but it feels almost impossible to wait that long! For some reason, it is more difficult to have to use my big camera. Aside from the fact that it is heavy [It's 2+ pounds!] and that it doesn't fit well into my purse, I have not learned enough about the camera to take decent pictures. (Which is a whole different problem in itself!)

Now that I got that out [Sorry for using the blog to vent about my camera issues!], I want to share an idea that I have. Although I know that I will not be able to cross off everything from my list this year, I want to do my best in the remaining days to cross off as many things as I can. With 13 days left, I figure why not kill two birds with one stone.* I am going to throw a Cuban themed dinner party. [See #9 and #23 from the list.] I am hoping to have invitations sent out by tomorrow at the latest. (That means that I need to actually pick a date to do this!) M has informed me that he wants ALL OF MY FREE TIME during the week of May 3-9th. I swooned over the fact that he wanted to spend so much time with me, but now I realize that I might have to push back the date of the dinner party to the week after my birthday. (It will pretty much depend on whether or not M will let me throw the dinner party that week.) I won't, however, let this hinder me from crossing it off the list. I figure that if the invitations are sent out and everything is in place before my actual birthday, then I can cross it off the list even if the dinner party takes place after the fact.

*Don't worry, no birds will be harmed; this was simply a figure of speech.

19 days and counting ...

As my birthday fast approaches, I have come to terms with the fact that I will not have my entire list completed.

Here is what's left:

1. Photograph life more. (And not just in digital!)

Now that my digital cameras are broken (the little point-and-shoot one broke and the nice one has issues focusing) I have been forced to shoot photos with film. The downside is that it takes a long time to fill a roll and then develop it!

4. Get a second job.

I don't really have time for this one. It was wishful thinking when I first put it on here, but I enjoy my evening and my "me" time too much. I'm not sure the extra money is worth giving those up.

5. Bike to work! (This was changed from "Do yoga or pilates at least 20 times." on 2/3/09)

So I'm not really sure why I changed this from yoga/pilates to bike to work. I'd probably be able to cross it off if I had left it yoga/pilates. I guess I better hop on my bike!

6. Finally lose that last bit of poundage.

Why does this one feel like a never ending battle?

7. Paint on the blank canvases that have been sitting in my room!

One down. (That was the one for M's birthday.) There are still a several more canvases in my room -- including the ones that I bought on sale a couple months back!

8. Complete "couch to 5K".

I pretty much haven't made it past the couch part.

9. Make an entire Cuban meal myself.

I have a menu in the works. I'm thinking of combining it with #23.

12. Learn about stocks, finance and the market.

I would have to read the book I got to cross this one off. See #19 for more details.

14. Actually read the stack of magazines under my coffee table!

I have actually been working at that stack of magazines. Despite the fact that I probably get ten magazines a month, I've slowly been getting through them. I've been good about reading those that come in the mail so that they don't pile up like the last ones did! (The stack, however, is still pretty big.)

15. Complete my "special" idea!

I need a working scanner for this. Now that my work area is up and running, maybe I'll make some progress on this.

16. Secret. (I might tell you if you ask me nicely. Privately.)

This one's the hardest. It's a personal goal that probably wont happen by my birthday, but that's okay. I needed it on there. And I can always keep it on next year's list!

18. Get ring with quote "Run within Yourself."

Ideally, I'd like to have this ring engraved with the quote, but the thought of spending $210 on a sterling silver ring is not exactly what I had in mind. Maybe this or this or this.

19. Read 5 new books.

If I can somehow muster up the momentum to do what this girl did, I'll have this one in the bag. The only problem is that I don't see that happening any time soon. Seriously, though, she read 584 pages in 24 hours! It definitely gives me hope that I can complete this goal by May 9th.

21. Start getting up earlier.

Seriously, why is it so hard to get up in the morning?!

23. Throw a dinner party.

I'm in the process of planning this one. I am just trying to work out all the details and create formal invitations.

A 26 Update

I have been trying to make progress on my list. I have 66 days left and I am hoping to have everything crossed off the list. Right now the following are the most difficult:

(Please do not interpret my statements below as excuses. I am merely expressing my difficulty and struggles in completing them.)

3. Save money for ROTH IRA.
    I don't get paid enough to be able to save and put away the amount I want into the ROTH IRA. I will put what I can, but it probably won't be as much as I had wished.

4. Get a second job.
    A second job would definitely help me to put away money for a ROTH IRA, but they're hard to come by. I am actively searching for jobs and have decided to sell some of my favorite oil paintings in the meantime.

5. Bike to work! (This was changed from "Do yoga or pilates at least 20 times." on 2/3/09)
    The weather has been bad for biking to work -- lots of rain! In the meantime, I have been doing yoga and pilates, so maybe I should just switch it back to the original one. Haha!

6. Finally lose that last bit of poundage.
    This isn't a difficult one, it's just a slow process! Maybe one day I'll post the story of how the added pounds were "found".

7. Paint on the blank canvases that have been sitting in my room!
    My roadblock here is time. I just don't have the time to paint everything. I'm still working on M's birthday painting!

14. Actually read the stack of magazines under my coffee table!
    If you saw the stack of magazines, you would understand why this has taken me so long. Actually, I should post a photo of them so you can see!

15. Complete my "special" idea!
    I am still struggling with my scanner. I can't say anything else.

16. Secret.
    As my little cousin once told me, "La vita e la vita; la vita e dura." [Life is life; life is hard.] Growing is a slow process. That's all I can say about it now.

19. Read 5 new books.
    Once again, it takes time to read. At least I have been reading, right?!

21. Start getting up earlier.
    Truth is, I like to sleep. I have trouble sleeping [I'm a SUPER light sleeper. Any sounds or lights wake me up!] so when the alarm clock goes off in the morning, I can't help but reset it for an hour later!

Blah

I have updated the 26 before 26 list. To make it easier to track my progress, I have "crossed out" the items that I have completed.

I also found a couch yesterday. It happens to be velour fabric in a "yellowish gold" in color. I really like it. I wish I knew how to reupholster furniture. The couch is lovely, I'm just not in love with the color like I am with the shape. I will have to do some rearranging of my apartment in order to accommodate the second sofa. I will take photos and post them when I'm done.

Overall, I'm feeling "blah" today. There is no pep in my step. I'm tired and bored. At least I'm ticking away slowly at my to-do lists.

I found Jesus!

Yesterday was great! The first thing I did was drive over to get Timmy washed.

I then decided to go around to a few second hand thrift stores.

It was there at the Goodwill that I found Jesus:

Actually, I found him twice:

I also found this awesome Cigar collector's item. I was going to get it, until I realized that it was $50!!! (Sorry for the glare on the glass.)

I went around to a few more second hand stores.

It was unfortunate that the City of Hope Thrift Store closed at 3pm, because I really wanted to get a better look at this painting!

After all the thrift store hunting I decided to get an ice-cream. You might be thinking "Ice-cream in the middle of winter?!" Let me mention to you that it was 85 degrees out!!!

I then went home to put the "shower curtain" fabric (that I picked up at one of the thrift stores) to good use. It was a 2 minute project that was super simple. I measured the width of the window in my bathroom. The cut the fabric to the size I wanted.

Because it "used" to be a shower curtain, I didn't need to sew anything. I kept the part where the shower rod goes through at the top of the fabric so that I could easily hang it on the metal rod in the window.

Then I got lots of kitty love!

Spunky doesn't really like it when I take photos of her. She also doesn't really like more than 10 minutes of "kitty loving" time.

I started reading the first book from my list (see #19):

I didn't get to read much of it because I had to meet M and his "grandfather" for dinner. To get there, I had to sit in a lot of traffic!

But it was in that traffic that Jesus sent a message to me:

I know it's a terrible photo and it's difficult to make out. In my defense, I was driving while trying to shoot the photo. It was written on the back of a semi-truck. It says "I'll be back to get you. Love, Jesus."

I thought it was nice of Jesus to use the semi-truck driver to tell me that. I tried to wave down the driver of the semi-truck to give him a message. I only wanted the driver to relay this little message to Jesus for me: "Jesus, I'm glad you're coming back for me, but please don't make it soon. I'm enjoying myself here! How about you come for me in, say, 65 years?" Unfortunately, the driver just thought I was trying to make him honk. I yelled the message out as loud as I could. Hopefully the truck drive's honk got Jesus' attention and he my message anyhow. I guess I'll just have to wait and find out.

Shh ... today I'm sneaking off and taking a half day!

At the end of today, I will be able to cross of number 26 from my list. I have yet to decide what I'm going to do. Maybe I will use the time to visit some thrift stores, or maybe I will sit in a comfy Starbucks chair and read a book while sipping on some chai. Perhaps I'll sleep the entire afternoon away! Or, I could dust off my paint set and start a new piece of art. Oh the possibilities!

I'm so excited! Fifteen minutes from now I'll be away from my desk and enjoying "me" time!

The Official 26 before 26!

26 things to do before I turn 26:

1. Photograph life more. (And not just in digital!)
2. Make plans to visit Thea Mary and Thea Brenda. (Sept, 2009!)
3. Save money for ROTH IRA.
4. Get a second job.
5. Bike to work! (This was changed from "Do yoga or pilates at least 20 times." on 2/3/09)
6. Finally lose that last bit of poundage.
7. Paint on the blank canvases that have been sitting in my room!
8. Complete "couch to 5K".
9. Make an entire Cuban meal myself. (May 14, 2009)
10. Go on a road trip. (to Palm Springs in May 2009)
11. Buy a bottle of wine that should be consumed only for a monumentally celebratory occasion and drink it on a random night for no reason.
12. Learn about stocks, finance and the market.
13. Figure out my finances.
14. Actually read the stack of magazines under my coffee table!
15. Complete my "special" idea! (4/8/09 - M's bday surprise!)
16. Secret. (I might tell you if you ask me nicely. Privately.)
17. Set up work area.
18. Get ring with quote "Run within Yourself."
19. Read 5 new books. [One. Two. Three. Four. Five.]
20. Go thrift shop and antiquing treasure hunting (at least 3 times). [One. Two. Three.]
21. Start getting up earlier.
22. Go on a picnic.
23. Throw a dinner party. (May 14, 2009)
24. Perform a random act of kindness for a total stranger (at least 3 times). [One. Two. Three.]
25.  Go wine tasting.
26. Take a half day and sneak off to do something fun.

Unrelated to the list, but worth mentioning, I am now adding categories to my blogs to make things easier!

New Year's Resolutions

I don't know about you, but I really dislike "New Year's Resolutions". I hate it when people say "This year I want to ...". The sentence almost always ends in: "lose weight.", "buy a gym membership.", "quit smoking/drinking.", "get out of debt." You get the point. Sadly, most people (at least the people I know) never actually complete their resolution. People just set themselves up to be letdown. So, instead of New Year's Resolutions, I make lists. I'm more of a "list" kind of girl anyhow. I usually do my yearly lists around my birthday. This year, it took a little longer to get my list finalized. (And, I am still looking to replace those few I completed with new ones!)

If you have any ideas of things to add to my list, please let me know!