Friday -- happy hour at Lula in Santa Monica...margaritas and appetizers for $4.  Their mango margarita was pretty good but the food was just ok (had the chile relleno and the calamari tostada).  Afterwards, went to watch Prime (with Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep).  It was a cute romantic comedy but more of a DVD rental unless you just really want to watch a movie.

Saturday -- went with the bf to Brea Mall to get his Hugo Boss suit.  Later met up with a lot of friends to go rock climbing at the Rockreation in West LA.  It was fun teaching a lot of newbies  Dinner was at Aliotta Via Firenze in Torrance, a really cute Italian restaurant.  I had the Pennette al'Antoinette with filet mignon chunks, roasted peppers, and mushrooms in a marinara sauce...pretty good.  Dessert was free and they ended up charging us for 4 glasses of wine instead of the 4 bottles that we drank.  Met up with some more friends at World Cafe for $5 mojitos.  Stopped by the Circle Bar but it was too crowded so decided to go to the Mor Bar instead.  Started getting late though so ended up just going home since we were going to wake up early the next day to go climbing outdoors.

Sunday -- was supposed to get up early but ended up sleeping in quite a bit.  We went climbing at Ortega Falls in the Cleveland National Forest.  Did the 5.9+ crack.  Only had time to do one climb since we got there so late.  About an hour drive and 20-30 minute approach...lots of bouldering problems too.  Forgot the camera again but here are some pics by other people.

I wanted to cook dinner so ended up making lasagna...my first time.  Turned out pretty good and now we have leftovers for a couple of days, lol.  Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

12 pieces of lasagna noodles

16 oz. of ground beef

32 oz. of pasta sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic

3 cups of ricotta cheese

16 oz. of mozzarella cheese

¼ cup of parmesan cheese

2 large eggs

1. Boil a large pot of water.  When boiling, add the lasagna pasta.  Bring to a boil again and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn’t stick together.  Drain.
   
2. In a large skillet, sauté ground beef, salt, pepper, and garlic until meat is brown.  Drain excess fat and add pasta sauce.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
   
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and 2 eggs.  Mix until smooth.
   
4. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. 
   
5. Line bottom of pan with 3 lasagna noodles.  Layer 1/3 of the cheese mixture over noodles.  Spread ¼ of the pasta meat sauce.   
   
6. Repeat step 5 two more times.  Top with 3 more lasagna noodles and the remainder of the pasta meat sauce.
   
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I went to a Hennessey tasting event last night at the Wattles Mansion in Hollywood.  It was supposed to be free but there was a $5 required "donation"  There were a lot of good hor'dourves and the venue had great views of the city.  Tried 3 different types of cognacs...the VSOP (not very good), the XO (pretty decent), and the Paradis (so smoooth!).  The Paradis retails for about $300/bottle and consists of a blend of about a hundred cognacs ranging up to 130 years old.  They also have a Richard which they weren't tasting that is a blend with a 200 year old cognac in it and sells for about $150/glass   Cognacs are made from a special type of grape grown in a certain region of France and undergoes 2 distillation steps.  I'll have a much greater appreciation the next time I have a brandy with my cigar (all cognacs are brandys but not all brandys are cognacs).

Afterwards we went to the Day After (Montmartre Lounge).  We were able to get in VIP because my friend is a member of Xenii which is supposedly a very exclusive networking group.  The club consists of very hot girls (who are invited to join for free) and guys who make over 6 figures (they pay $3500/month for membership).  Members get access to celebrity parties such as Tara Reid's 30th birthday party thrown by Michael Sutton this Saturday at Mood.  I felt a little uncomfortable as it wasn't truly my scene...too much Hollywood fakeness but it was an interesting experience nonetheless.

Got a lot of things to look forward to for the rest of 2005:

Nov. 19 - 27 : Vietnam

Dec. 2 - 4 : San Francisco

Dec. 9 - 11 :  Mammoth

Dec. 16 - 18 : Vegas

Dec. 23 - Jan. 1 :  Brazil

Started planning out all my vacations for 2006 already...tentatively planning trips to Cancun, Miami, China/Japan, Egypt, and Morocco.  Can you tell I love to travel, lol?

Since my last update:

• Happy hour at Zip Fusion...50% off appetizers and $3 soju drinks/draft beers until 7pm...their Zip Alba-cado (albacore wrapped in avocado slices) is pretty good as is their raspberry lemon soju
  
• chinese family style dinner with 15 people at Hop Li in Arcadia...seafood galore with lobster, clams, shrimp, fish, scallops...sitting at the "nipple" table, haha
  
• shooting pool at Fourth Dimension in Monrovia...they were giving away free Brahmas, a brazilian beer...it's also a hip hop club for dancing in between games
  
• suit shopping with the bf at Hugo Boss in the Ontario Mills Outlet...also bought 2 tops at Bebe for $10 each
  
• dinner at La Boheme in West Hollywood...very romantic french restaurant...ordered the Pappardelle with Red Wine Braised Lamb and the Lobster Risotto...for dessert we had the Huckleberry Feuillete...food and service were excellent!
  
• clubbing at Ivar...it was crowded, drinks were watered down, and the music just so so but I still had a blast because of the great company  Thanks LBB for driving down...it was fun hanging out with you as usual.
  
• late night snack at the BCD Tofu House on Wilshire and getting home at 5am
  
• sleeping in and then lunch at Secret Recipe, a Malaysian/Indonesian restaurant in Rowland Heights
  
• chinese food take-out and a blockbuster night...watched Y Tu Mama Tambien...funny with lots of explicit sex scenes...sad ending though

Went on a dinner date with the bf on Friday night at L'Opera in Long Beach.  I had the Risotto al Pescatore with a glass of pinot grigio...the food was so good...I'd have to say this is one of my favorite Italian restaurants now.

On Saturday I took my brother out to lunch at Banh Cuon Tay Ho in Little Saigon.  Later that night I had plans to go clubbing for Halloween with my friends.  We were going to go to the Factory originally but the line there was so long that we ended up going to the Garden of Eden instead.  It was a lot of fun…lapdances, booty smacking, and a dollar bill being passed from cleavage to cleavage, haha.  I think Kenny was the sexiest of us all in his coconut bra and grass skirt, lolz.

The next day decided to take my mountain bike out to Chino Hills State Park.  Rode for 10 miles roundtrip along the upper Aliso canyon trail.  Man I’m so out of shape…my thighs were burning on the uphill parts.  Also did a short 2 mile hike to Mclean Overlook to watch the sunset.  Whenever I’m feeling sad or blue, I like to just get away from everything and everyone and just enjoy nature.  My favorite time of the day is either dawn or dusk…the time right before the sun rises or right after it sets…I love the play of different hued lights and the changing colors.  It was so peaceful and serene…very calming. 

Monday, I wore my old nurse costume to work.  Here’s what some of my other coworkers dressed up as.

Also went to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnival this year.  As usual, there were tons of funny and strange costumes.  I forgot my camera so I’ll have to wait for my friend to develop her pics.  Here’s another pic of the Halloween party from the weekend before.

EDIT:  Yay I just found out I won an Ipod shuffle!

Thursday:  happy hour at Enterprise Fish Co. in Santa Monica...well cocktails and wines for $3 from 4-7pm...we also ordered the vegetable potstickers (very yummy!), shrimp quesadillas, and seafood stuffed mushrooms.  Afterwards we went shopping at Santa Monica Place.  Stopped by Leonida's Chocolate Cafe for some belgian chocolates...I had the Europe with rum ganache and also tried the Mexican hot chocolate with cinnamon.  Last we had another late night happy hour from 9:30-11:30pm at En Sushi...$5 martinis and appetizers/sushi rolls for $3.50.

Friday:  orignally we had planned to go to a mansion party in Beverly Hills but the shuttle that was supposed to take us there was horribly organized so we decided to go to the Vanguard instead.  Ended up missing the cut off for guestlist so I actually had to pay cover for once.  But they were giving out $100 worth of Alterna hair products so I guess it was ok...funny coincidence since my company actually makes that stuff.

Saturday:  attended Reyna's Birthday/Halloween party.  Happy bday girl!  There were scary decorations, costume contests (categories were sexiest, scariest, funniest, and most original), pumpkin carving contests, a DJ, food catered from Daphne's, and halloween party favors.

Sunday:  had lunch at World Wrapps in Chino Hills...the thai chicken and samurai salmon wrapp were okay but not great.  We rented Alexander...it was a horrible movie...too long, boring and confusing...not even worth renting unless you like watching scenes of gay guys kissing and looking at Colin Farrell's ass.  I cooked for dinner and made baked pesto chicken with a Caesar salad.  Here's the recipe:

Monday:  I had a work function to attend...a free cruise of Long Beach harbor aboard Spirit Cruises.  Appetizers included jumbo shrimp, crab claws, smoked salmon...and there was an open bar.  For dinner there was steak and chicken skewers, swedish meatballs, rice, salad, and cheesecake for dessert.  On the top deck there was a DJ and dancing...it was fun watching my boss try to dance to hip hop, haha. 

Tuesday:  For work I had to go to Supplier's Day at the Long Beach Convention Center.  There were hundreds of booths...I like going around just to pick up all the free goodies, i.e. pens, flip flops, calenders, radios, mugs, bags, candy, etc.  They also served lunch and appetizers and there was a free martini bar and coffee shop (the caramel machiattos are so goooood!).  I tried my luck at the virtual golf game but I sucked   There were also a ton of raffles of ipods and other prizes.  One of my coworkers won 2 ipods (a 20GB and a shuffle), another won a $100 giftcard to Best Buy, 3 of them won a $50 giftcard to Macy's, another won a flat screen TV, and another won a 40 GB Toshiba MP3 player.  I, however, didn't win anything...boo.  Afterwards, there was a reception at the Hyatt Regency with more raffles, open bar, and taco buffet.  Then we decided to migrate to another free party at Alegria's where there was flamenco dancers, tapas, a mojito and sangria open bar.  There was one more party after this but I was tired so I decided to call it a night.

Canoeing Topock Gorge weekend

• 16 people camping at Park Moabi in Needles (4 hours east of LA)
  
• two days of Canoeing along the Colorado River -- total 28 miles
  
• lots of eating and drinking
  
• mud slinging and wrestling
  
• watching pig porn
  
• Indian petroglyphs
  
• Row, row, row your boat
  
• hanging out with friends who I don't see enough

Last Thursday I went to a friend's birthday party at Busby's in Santa Monica.  It's like an upscale sports bar with a DJ and dancing.  There were a lot of young twenty something year olds straight out of college...ah to be that young and full of hope *sigh*

Went to a screening tonight of Big Momma's House 2 at the Villa Marina Marketplace in Marina del Rey.  The theatre was pretty old but the movie was funny...especially if you like Martin Lawrence.  The plot is a little unoriginal and predictable though so I rate this one as a good rental.  Had dinner beforehand at Chin Chin, a chinese restaurant with an open kitchen so you can see them cooking your meal.  Their signature chinese chicken salad was just ok...not as good as California Chicken Cafe and the chow fun noodles were mediocre as well.

The next day, I had an awesome time with the girls for our spa day at the Miramonte Resort in Indian Wells (near Palm Springs).  Thanks so much to June for organizing…it was exactly what I needed.  We did a group treatment…imagine 7 girls painting each other with colored mud, lots of ass slapping, showering together, drinking wine, and rubbing/massaging each other with oil.  Afterwards, my skin felt so much softer and smoother.  Normally the treatment is $100 but with the group discount it came out to be only $45 which included tip too.  When you check in they give you a robe and slippers and they provide you with cucumber flavored water with dried fruits in their waiting room.  Also included in the fee is use of the steam room, sauna, pools, and classes.  We took a power yoga class that was great.  The instructor really pushed us to our limits and I felt a lot more flexible by the end of the class…still feeling a little sore from it today too.  We also took a hydro tai chi class which was interesting.  The rest of the time was spent tanning, reading magazines, and lounging by the pool.  Later, we had dinner at Florentine's Downtown Grill in downtown Fullerton. 

Sunday was spent relaxing mostly.  We had lunch at Dono Sushi in Chino Hills.  Did a short hike in the estuaries of Newport’s Back Bay…saw a lot of wildlife (rabbits, squirrels, lizards, ducks, and tons of birds).  Also walked around the tide pools at Corona del Mar before having dinner at GG’s Café & Bistro in Laguna Beach…really good gyros and kofkes. 

On Tuesday I got to attend a work seminar at the Hotel Bel Air.  This place is so nice...suites there run for about $900/night.  They have this gorgeous lake with huge swans swimming around.  There was a catered lunch and open bar cocktail hour afterwards with delicious appetizers.  I was actually buzzed off 2 glasses of wine...how sad.  I think my lowered tolerance was due to me still being sick.

The swan lake

My hot coworker Mario

Tonight we had happy hour at Toppers in the Radisson Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica.  They serve potent margaritas in your own personal pitcher and appetizers are $3.50.  I tried the chicken satay skewers, chicken spring rolls, and calamari tacos...all were pretty good.  But the best part is the gorgeous view of the sunset.

Birthday weekend celebration

Wednesday:  for my actual birthday we had dinner at Bar Celona in old town Pasadena.  We ended up trying each of the tapas on the menu and two pitchers of sangria.  The lamb empenadas and garlic shrimp were especially tasty.  There was also a live band so I made an attempt to dance to the meringue music.  Thanks to everyone who made it out on a weekday night to celebrate with me.  I  you guys!

L to R: Mary, Tina, Emma, me, Samantha, Kevin, Mario, Tony (not pictured), Alan, Reyna, Ken, Loretta, her roommate, and Rena

The 3 dozen roses my boyfriend had delivered to me at work

Thursday:  decided to hang out with a friend and one of my coworkers in West Hollywood.  We made a stop at I-Candy...they have these cool comfy round tables with a hole in the floor for you to put your feet.  Then it was off to Fubar for BFD (Big Fat Dick) night...so named because male volunteers take pictures of their penises which are then posted above the bar for people to vote on which is the biggest.  The winner gets a $100.  There are also male gogo dancers and shirtless waiters.  Had to sober up at the usual Ihop.  Overall, a very fun and raunchy night.

Friday:  went to my friend's pool party in Chino Hills.  There was sushi and lots of alcohol.  Caught up with some old friends and met a couple of new cool people.

Saturday:  today was a free day at 24 different museums in Southern California so we decided to check out the Orange County Museum of Art.  They had a great exhibit entitled "Villa America" which highlighted a lot of modern American artists like Georgia O'Keefe.  I especially liked the room showing the nude paintings, hehe.  There was also a wing dedicated to modern abstract artists from California...some of the displays were pretty wacky but interesting.  Later we had dinner at Gyu-Kaku in Beverly Hills.  It's supposed to be japanese yakiniku where you get to grill your own meat.  I shared the "Geisha" course which came with miso soup, salad, edamame, Harami miso beef, kalbi tare, garlic shrimp, vegetables, bibimbap, and smores.  The food and service were very good although the restaurant is pretty small so make sure you make reservations ahead of time.  Afterwards we went to 310 Lounge in Santa Monica.  Try their Flirtini...very yummy!

Sunday:  so after all this partying I got sick and spent the rest of the day in bed watching the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy...the extended version.

Also uploaded the pics from Laughlin so check out last week's entry.

Laughlin Fun in the Sun

So this last weekend I went to Laughlin for a nice relaxing weekend getaway.  For those of you who don't know, Laughlin is located between the border of California and Nevada...about 4.5 hours east of LA and 2 hours south of Vegas.  We didn't check into Harrah's until late Friday night so all we did was gamble to get some free drinks.  I won a little bit at blackjack but then lost some of it back in the slots.

Woke up late Saturday morning and ate at the hotel buffet for brunch.  It was pretty decent with a very wide selection.  Afterwards we lounged around by the pool with some drinks.  Decided to migrate to the beach where the water was so cold!  Then we rented a jet ski/waverunner for an hour.  It was my first time and it was so much fun speeding down the Colorado river at 45 mph...all the way up to the Davis Dam.  Took a shower and changed before walking along the river to check out the other 9 casinos in Laughlin.  Had dinner at the Golden Nugget in the River Cafe which had some nice views.  Too bad the T-bone steak that I ordered wasn't very good.  The halibut was ok though.  There was a blues concert that was going on at the Colorado Belle where we hung out for a bit listening to the music.  This is kind of a neat casino because it's a replica of a Mississippi riverboat.  At the end of the strip we stopped by Lightning Strikes at the Riverside Resort which was sort of a club/bar.  They had some good drink specials as well as shadow dancers.  The nightlife in Laughlin really sucks compared to Vegas though.  After all that walking, we were tired so we decided to take the water taxi back to our hotel.  Gambled some more before going to bed.

After checking out the next day we went shopping at the Horizon Outlet Mall.  There weren't many shops at all but I did manage to buy some cheap tops at the Gap.  Brunch was at the Edgewater where I ordered the steak & eggs.  Later we did a short hike at Grapevine Canyon (go 6 miles west on Hwy 163 and turn right at Christmas Tree Pass) to see some Indian petroglyphs by a little stream of water.  We also visited Oatman which is a historic mining town.  There are wild burros (similar to donkeys) that roam the streets and for $1 you can buy a bag of carrots and feed them.  There are also a lot of vintage shops and saloons.  They usually have a staged gunfight show but we got there too late to see it.  That was our last stop before driving back home along part of historic route 66.  We stopped for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in Chino Hills.

View of the Colorado river from our casino

Sipping on a strawberry daquarri at the hotel pool

View from Grapevine Canyon hike

Lanny in front of the sign for Oatman

Feeding carrots to one of the many burrows in town