The Flirty Blog • A Fun and Fearless Lifestyle Resource

The NaBloPoMo Challenge: Jan. wrap up - Feb. sign up

2012-01-31T08:24:00.001-08:00

I survived the NaBloPoMo January 2012 challenge.

That means I posted every day for 30 days in a row. Was it hard? Not really. What may surprise you even more is that I posted at least once a day, every day, in December too. So that's 64 days of posting every day!

I did it mostly to learn one thing: Is it possible to post content of value, not just fluff and fillers, when posting so frequently. Turns out I think it is. But it definitely takes two things: Dedication and the ability to identify what I call bloggable moments.

If you want to join the challenge for February CLICK HERE and sign up on the NaBloPoMo blog over on Blogher. The focus is on "Relative" meaning both familial and in relation to concepts and objects. We have until February 5th to decide if we'll sign up this month. Even if I don't I think you should :)

In January I focused a lot of my posts on beginners' photography tips. In February I'll be focusing on how to increase the frequency of your blog posting kicking off tomorrow with learning how to recognize and identify the bloggable moments I mentioned earlier.

OK, I've already decided to sign up. If you're a blogger I hope you'll join me.

Sylvia White and The Art of Being an Artist

2012-01-30T23:33:00.000-08:00

The ICA is the the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. I went there the past two Sundays in a row. Why? Because I was doing something completely out of my ordinary: Learning how to become a professional artist from Sylvia White, Founder and Director of Contemporary Artists' Services.

From 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM 40+ local artists took part in this two-part workshop taught by renowned gallery owner and art advisor for visual artists Sylvia White and hosted by The City of San Jose's Office of Cultural Affairs and the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. It was titled "The Art of Being an Artist, career management skills for visual artists."

Sylvia has been advising artists on all matters related to the business of being an artist, marketing and exhibitions since 1979. Learning from her was both entertaining and educational. She was engaging, funny and brutally honest. Topics ranged from what name to use, pricing, who and how to approach people in the art industry, how to handle rejection, websites, resumes, artist's statements, and what "being" an artist means. She is a veritable fountain of information.

Photo by: Chuck Kirman

If you're an artist who is ready to launch yourself and your work into the world but you have no clue how to do it, view Sylvia's services on her website. They range from private consultations to long term career planning. Working with her would be a solid fist step to start you off on the right track.

When I received an email invitation from the San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs to attend the complimentary workshop I responded immediately because I really want to take my series of 1000 miniature origami cranes public this year after I've finished hanging my "winter" set.

"The Four Seasons"

Sylvia asked us some tough questions beginning with the most basic: What kind of artist do we want to be? Do we want the prestige of having our work hung in major galleries and museums or do we want to be a commercial success?

For an artist this can be a difficult distinction to make. A lot of us were thinking and asking "Can't we want both?" to which Sylvia replied, "No." She said even if you're 49% one and 51% other you should make a decision about which you want more before you reach out to the art world. You will be ineffective trying to do both at the same time. There are many possibilities when it comes to building your reputation and career path ranging from juried art shows, galleries, museums, private art consultants and interior decorators and until you know your goal, you won't know who to approach.

Sylvia explained that if you achieve one (prestige or commercial success), you'll probably achieve both because they tend to go hand in hand.

She also gave us lots of hands-on advice about how to improve our websites. Or to back up, she stressed the necessity of needing a website at all. Because it's such a specialized field there are specific parameters she believes are best practices when it comes to web design for artists.

This is my improved website home page after attending Sylvia's seminar. Note how my name is not only present, it's prominent. I also made my menu more concise. Below is the before. . .

What a difference! I hadn't ever included my name at the top of the page because I've always felt my art is about my work, not me. Sylvia helped me to realize that my work is a part of me and that being an artist is not a choice. Put that way I felt more comfortable adding my name to the top of the website. My art is an expression of me so why shouldn't my name be on it?

She also made a point that people who are artists must create. The way we create our best, most authentic, work is when we're pleasing no one but ourselves. To allow the direction of your artistic expression to be swayed by a judge in a competition or the approval of any random person means that you are allowing others to alter your expression. I learned early on that in order to nurture my creativity I can't allow others to dictate how I express it. That's why I dropped out of college 3 months before graduating. The environment was so creatively stifling I just couldn't see myself pursuing Advertising Art as a career. So I reasoned, why bother getting my degree at all? It's a decision I've never regretted.

At the end of the second day Sylvia asked us to write a list of three things:

Our 6-12 month goals
Our 5 year plan
One over-the-top thing we want to have happen with our art

We wrote them down, sealed them into envelopes, addressed them and exactly one year from two days ago she is going to mail them to us so we can see if we were able to achieve our goals for 2012.

One of my 12 month goals I'd like to share with you is to find somewhere in the Bay Area to exhibit "The Four Seasons" during the month of August. Specifically I want the exhibit to coincide with the Peace Festival held in Hiroshima each summer on August 6th.

I also met a lot of local artists which was really fun. At times we paired off, broke into groups or chatted during lunch so I wanted to share the websites of some of the people I got to know during the workshop:

Photographer: SusanCarnahan.com

Pet Portraits: MarvinPlummer.com

Oil Painter: NancyWaltersArt.com

Photographer: SusanHillyard.com

Bronze Sculpturist: MariaKoretzSculpture.com

And I still have a lot of questions to figure out. For instance I don't even know how to classify my work. What kind of art is my origami? Is it sculptural? Could it be considered fine art or is it arts and crafts? Would I call it mixed media or something else? And am I a contemporary artist? If people like my work I'm not even sure that any of these questions matter. I haven't found anyone to ask because there are precious few miniature origami crane artists in the Bay Area, or, well, anywhere for that matter. At least that I'm aware of. At the moment I'm a bit in the dark about all of this but I'm sure I'll figure some of it out by the end of the year.

I found you this highlights video of Sylvia presenting The Art of Being an Artist

If you would like to learn from Sylvia White you can find her at ArtAdvice.com. Her site is a wealth of information so take some time and read through it if you're an artist who feels it's time to emerge and let the world know you are an artist.

Contemporary Artists’ Services
1783 E Main Street
Ventura, CA 93001
Office Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm
ArtAdvice.com - Consulting

Sylvia White Gallery
1783 East Main Street
Ventura, CA 93001
Gallery hours: Wed-Sat 11am-5pm
SylviaWhite.com - Gallery

If you'd like to learn more about different art programs in the South Bay visit:

City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs
SanJoseCulture.org

San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art
SJICA.org

The Center for Cultural Innovation
CCIArts.org

Attend TEDx Sunnyvale's inaugural event, virtually

2012-01-29T23:59:00.000-08:00

Have you ever attended a TEDx event? Well, I'm bringing one to you, virtually! On Saturday TEDx Sunnyvale hosted our first event. As an organizer, I had a great time both helping to put it together and being there to experience the videos with our audience. While many (probably most) TEDx events include live speakers, our team decided to focus on sharing only videos to create a day filled with some of the best pieces from the TED and TEDx archives.

Image credits with links are at the end of the post.

Our theme was "Prototypes" beginning with need, moving to concepts, and sharing both success stories and the value of failing.

We planned for an intimate audience where attendees would have the opportunity to mingle and get to know each other and we could get to know them. We even had a couple of drops ins who joined us.

If you would like to replicate the TEDxSunnyvale inaugural experience here's what you'll need:

A computer connected to the internet
Blueberry muffins
Coffee
Sandwiches
Water

Ready? Here we go. . . Just click on the name of each speaker to watch the videos we watched that day in the order we presented them:

Session One - Prototype Theory

Erin McKean - Lexicographer 
Need is one of the greatest motivators that compels people to create prototypes. Erin McKean discusses how need will someday cause someone to create a better, more complete, dictionary. (16 minutes)

Jason Halpern - Entrepreneur
The Journey from Start to Finish ... is it Ever Finished? A candid discussion about why not all prototypes are successful – but regardless, you can learn from each success and failure. (13 minutes)

Tom Wujec – Build a Tower, Build a Team
Tom’s “marshmallow problem” is a simple team-building exercise that makes clear our thought process and perception of success and reward can lead us down the wrong path when it comes to creating successful, imaginative, prototypes. (7 minutes)

Dale Daugherty - All of us are makers
MAKE magazine publisher Dale Dougherty says we’re all makers and creators at heart. This belief led him to creating MAKE magazine and one of my favorite annual events here in the Bay Area, Maker Faire. (12 minutes)

Eric Whitacre: A virtual choir 2,000 voices strong
The internet has created an opportunity for creative thinkers to come up with new ways to share traditional talents. In this fusion of old and new, composer and conductor Eric Whitacre leads a prototype, virtual choir of singers, from around the world. The results are breathtaking. (15 minutes)

Then came Lunch: Now is the time to eat your muffin and sandwich. If you want to recreate my experience make sure yours is a humus sandwich on wheat with water as your beverage :)

Refreshments were sponsored by Bellano Coffee and Tech Shop.

Session Two - Prototypes in Practice

Onyx Ashanti: This is Beatjazz
What happens when a musician becomes an inventor? You get Beatjazz. Onyx Ashanti's imaginative presentation made him one of TED 2012's full spectrum finalists. (7 minutes)

Nathan Myhrvold – Inventor
A new way to photograph food. Nathan Myhrvold talks about how the team at Modernist Cuisine, approached food photography in a whole new way creating vibrant images from a whole new perspective. (10 minutes)

Marcin Jakubowski – Farmer, Technologist
Practical prototypes are the ones that may change the most lives in the most significant ways. TED Fellow Marcin Jakubowski created open-source blueprints for 50 machines he determined were the most basic and vital, some for a tenth the cost of their counterpart manufactured products. (4 minutes)

Zach Kaplan & Keith Schacht – Inventables guys
The Inventables guys, Zach Kaplan and Keith Schacht, demo some unexpected and fun new materials and designs. Some have the audience laughing and the responses from some public street interviews will have you laughing too. (16 minutes)

Sonaar Luthra: Meet the Water Canary
Unwilling to accept that to test safe drinking water had to be an expensive and time consuming process Sonaar created a device that will save lives in the aftermath of tragedies . (4 minutes)

Commercials - The Fun Theory - Not TED related
What happens when you take an everyday object and transform it into a fun prototype that creates a fun and behavior changing result? (5 minutes)

Johnny Lee – Wii Hacker
Johnny Lee uses Wii Remotes to prototype an interactive whiteboard and a head-tracking system. Instead of thousands of dollars his prototypes can built for less than a hundred. (6 minutes)

JC Dill - Before our finale video, photographer JC Dill shared with us how she created her ethereal and unique Sublimation series of images that she generously brought and displayed for our guests to enjoy.

Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez - Entrepreneurs/Urban Farming
A bucket was the first prototype in design that led to a symbiotic, eco-friendly business model that in its own right is also a prototype of how seemingly random companies can work together to create a product and business model beneficial to all. (14 minutes)

Well that wraps it up. I hope you enjoyed our presentation. For me, the underlying connective thread was that you have to be aware of opportunities to improve the way things have been done in the past, one can't allow convention to stop you from being imaginative and you shouldn't allow fear to stop you from trying to bring to fruition an idea that others may not understand or believe in. As a maker, performer or designer you have to create, a lesson I learned today by art authority Sylvia White. It's part of you. It's in your DNA. It's what you do and who you are so don't let anyone stifle your passion to explore possibilities that present themselves to you.

Here's how we did it. TechShop San Jose allowed us to use their conference room to host our event.

For several weeks beforehand our team (Gordon, Dave, Brenton and I) met at a local coffee shop and sorted out how to build our website, we set up our Facebook and Twitter pages, located our sponsors, came up with a marketing plan, and made our video selections.

The day before the event Gordon and I met at the venue at 10:00 AM.

We wanted to check out the room set up and make sure we knew what we needed for Saturday. We soon discovered we didn't need my portable projection screen. Make that my tiny, portable, projection screen. LOL

Then we thought we could use the screen to block light coming in through a large front window. But we ended up filling the window with black paper donated by photographer JC Dill. It was a much better solution.

We pulled a bit of an all nighter so Gordon provided me with an impressive snack bar.

You know how they say a watched pot never boils? Well turns out a watched laser cutter still cuts. LOL. That's Gordon checking on our custom, wood, laser cut, name tags.

See that bright, white line on the left side of the picture? That's the laser burning through the wood.

TechShop has an Epilog Helix laser cutter.

It cut 36 name tags out of one sheet of wood.

Ta da!

The wood was just barely connected. The tags snapped apart.

The edges were blackened by the laser. We thought it looked cool!

The next morning Brenton and Dave were like Santa's elves snapping them apart and punching out the holes for the lanyard clips.

An unanticipated consequence of burning the tags apart was the singed edge was black because it was covered in soot. In all honesty we didn't have time to wipe down the edges of all of the tags so we decided to extend the "prototype" and "maker experience" to our guests by giving them a paper towel and the opportunity to finish their own name tags. Seemed like a winner of an idea and everyone was great about helping us out :) We had a great audience!

I'm really looking forward to working on our next event. If you can't wait until then there are plenty more videos to watch online. Go see for yourself. TED and TEDx are both overflowing with inspiration and with over 10,000 videos there are plenty of opportunities to be inspired by TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design).

Thank you to all of our sponsors: TechShop, Bellano Coffee, JC Dill Photography, 37 Signals, LiveWorld and TEDxConstitution Drive.

Speaker Images Credits - Erin McKena, Jason Halpern, Tom Wujec, Dale Daugherty, Eric Whitacre, Onyx Ashanti, Nathan Myhrvold, Marcin Jakubowski, Zach Kaplan & Keith Schacht, Sonaar Luthra, Johnny Lee, Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez.

Wood name tags made on a laser cutter

2012-01-28T22:37:00.000-08:00

Last night my friend Gordon and I collaborated to make name tags out of wood. It was Gordon's idea to make them out of a sheet of cherry wood for our first TEDx Sunnyvale event. I was the designer, he did the production.

Admittedly, they weren't perfect. But seeing how the theme of our event was "Prototypes" I felt like I shouldn't focus too much on the end result but instead the fact that we were willing to try something new.

The smell of burnt wood was actually quite fragrant.

How did we, or make that Gordon, make them? On a laser cutter! I would love to get into all of the details tonight but I'm so tired I'm about to fall over and fall asleep. Which, for an insomniac like me, is pretty amazing! So I'll do a full recap in a day or two.

Shot with my macro lens: 45mm / F2.8 at 1/40 shutter speed.

Where did we make them? At TechShop. When they say "Build Your Dreams Here" they mean it. I'm dreaming up all kinds of things I'd love to make. Oh, and our TEDx event was a lot of fun and very inspiring. We had a great turnout and I hope everyone had as much fun as we (the organizers) did.

I'm an organizer for TEDxSunnyvale!

2012-01-27T18:00:00.001-08:00

Recently I designed a piece of artwork to be used on a website banner for the new TEDxSunnyvale website. The reason I undertook this project is because I am one of the organizers of TEDxSunnyvale! What is TED and TEDx? In short, it's a gathering of people who want to change and improve the world by sharing ideas. I've blogged about them once before.

My apologies now for the overt copyright watermark. Because this was a design, technically for a client, I feel compelled to exercise more effort in protecting the copyright of the images as enlargements.

As we designed our website we wanted it to represent the city of Sunnyvale so we asked ourselves: "What does Sunnyvale represent to us?"

First and foremost would be orchards because the area where Silicon Valley now resides used to be miles upon miles of fruit orchards. The most well know today would be C.J. Olson's Cherries. I even saw Martha Stewart mention them on her show years ago.

Next would be Moffett field located on the border of Sunnyvale and Mountain View. Hanger One can easily be seen from HWY 101 as you drive through Sunnyvale. It's a military and civilian airport so you'll see everything from the Blue Angels to blimps taking off from Moffett Field. Thus the addition of the Zeppelin, which isn't a blimp, it's a dirigible. A diri-what-le? That's what I said when our fearless leader Gordon said it isn't a blimp. So what is the difference between a dirigible, blimp and zeppelin?

The term dirigible is like saying car. There are many types of cars but they are all cars. Blimps and zeppelins are like different models of cars. The one thing they do have in common is they are lighter-than-air craft that are steerable and have a power source.

A Rigid Airship has a metal framework with a fabric that covers it. Zeppelins are a brand of rigid airship made by the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin company in Germany.

Blimps are like big balloons. There is no framework that holds the shape in place. When deflated they flatten like a balloon.

The final representation for our banner was inspired by Lockheed Martin Space Systems. They create commercial and military satellites, space probes, missile defense systems. We chose to feature a non-military weather satellite as part of our banner.

And of course it's Sunnyvale, so I felt we had to include a sun. In fact I began the design with the sun. With the collaborative efforts of the group I was able to refine it to what you'll see when you visit TEDxSunnyvale.com. If you live in the Bay Area and would like to be added to our mailing list just sign up when you get there. You can also Follow us on Twitter or Friend us on Facebook :)

Blog Tag... You're it!

2012-01-26T06:56:00.000-08:00

Blogger HiLLjO, author of Daisy to Sunflower, tagged me in this meme of 11 questions. Here are the rules below!

Rules:

1. You must post these rules.
2. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
3. Answer the questions the "tagger" listed for you in her post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
4. You must choose 11 people to tag and link to them in the post.
5. Go to each blogger’s page and mention that you have tagged them.

The 11 questions HiLLjo asked me were:

1. When was the last time you laughed? When my mom's cell phone accidentally called me (again). She accidentally calls me a lot.

Photo is optional. I just couldn't resist adding one.

2. Cried? Tuesday when I found out my friend Janet only has two months to find a bone marrow donor to treat her Leukemia or it will be too late :´(

3. What is your favorite food EVAR? BREAD! I love olive bread, sourdough, cheese bread, french bread, ciabatta, focaccia, naan, etc...

4. Cats or dogs? Dogs

5. How dependent on your mobile phone do you consider yourself to be? Not at all. Drives hubby crazy I leave it at home, let the battery die, forget to disable call forwarding to the house so when he calls me and I'm out the phone rings at home. LOL

6. Coffee or tea? Tea, particularly Samovar's Ryokucha green tea.

7. What is your favorite flower and why? I love wisteria because it's so beautiful.

8. What is your favorite song? The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley

9. Are you married? If not, do you want to get married someday? Yes I am married.

10. Do you write in cursive at all? Yes

11. Do you keep a journal on paper? No

The 11 Bloggers I am tagging are:

Robbie - Magnolia Jazz Blog
Roger - Born Chris
Carl - I MC Events
Dana - Stone Griffin Gallery
Gail - Louisiana Belle
Kim - Parisian Party
Koci - La Kocinera
Michelle - In the Kitchen with Michelle
Tiffanie - Corner Blog Mom
Tiffany - The Fancy Farm Girl

Your Mission, should you choose to accept it, is to answer the following 11 questions:
1. Your favorite blog or vlog post you've ever written or recorded (share the link):
2. Favorite flavor of ice cream?
3. Do you dress up for Halloween?
4. Night owl or early riser?
5. Favorite movie genre (i.e. classic, action, horror, drama, comedy, romance. etc.):
6. Have you ever met any of your blog readers in real life?
7. Banana Slugs creepy or cool?
8. Which do you love more? Books printed on paper or eBooks?
9. Most favorite city you've ever visited:
10. Did you think donating bone marrow is painful because it comes from your spine? (It's not painful and it doesn't come from your spine.):
11. Which is your favorite social media website: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Google Plus, other?

Something extra I'm adding myself: If you're reading this post and would like to play feel free to copy the questions, paste them into a comment and answer them there or post them on your blog and come back and leave a link to your post. I'd love to hear your answers too :D

A Web Badge to Help Janet Find Her Marrow Match

2012-01-25T08:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I posted about wanting to desperately help my friend, 24 year old Janet Liang, find a bone marrow match in time to save her life. Last night I couldn't sleep at all. In fact I was up until 6:00 AM. That's what happens when I get upset. So I made this mini-slideshow web badge in the hopes that any of you with a blog or website sidebar might add it there until Janet finds the marrow match she needs.

Watch Janet's Video on Youtube

Click on the badge and it will take you to Janet's video. Copy and paste the code below to share it, and the link to Janet's video, on your blog or website. Thanks for any help!

<div align="center"><a href="http://youtu.be/qSCyz8F_kuo" target="_blank"><img height="200" src="http://marrowdrives.org/patients/janet_liang/web_badges/janet-bone-marrow-drive-web-badge.gif" target="_blank" width="250" /></a><br /><a href="http://youtu.be/qSCyz8F_kuo" target="_blank">Watch Janet's Video on Youtube</a></div>

By request I also created a Canadian version of Janet's PDF Flyer listing OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network and the Héma-Quebec Stem Cell Registry in place of Be The Match here in the United States. Thank you Tamu at Heal Emru for offering to get them posted in Toronto, Quebec and Vancouver.

CLICK HERE to download the high resolution Canadian Flyer to Help Janet.

CLICK HERE to download the tear away tabs to add to the Flyer.

Or if you live in the United States CLICK HERE for the high resolution U.S. version of the Flyer.

I Am Desperate for Help

2012-01-24T09:41:00.000-08:00

I was stunned this morning to discover that Janet Liang, a 24 year old Leukemia patient I became friends with two years ago, had posted a new video on Youtube saying her doctors have told her she only has two months left to find a bone marrow match or it will be too late.

Janet in remission last year and this week after being told she's running out of time.

How can you help?

1. If you aren't already in the bone marrow registry please JOIN NOW. Registering is pain free and donating almost is.

2. If you are in the registry and are contacted please donate. A shocking percentage of those contacted decline to donate when told they are a patient's best match.

3. I know a lot of times we look away because a problem feels too immense or we feel too helpless to do anything about it but there are lots of things you can do to help Janet:

Email the link to this video http://youtu.be/qSCyz8F_kuo to everyone you know or add it to your email signature.
Blog about her. To learn more about Janet visit her website at: http://www.helpingjanet.com/
Tweet about or retweet this post
Join her Facebook Group for her latest updates: http://www.facebook.com/helpingjanet
Print and post the PDF Flyer and tear away tags to help motivate others to help
Print, post and share the QR code to this video <img src="http://qrcode.kaywa.com/img.php?s=8&d=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FqSCyz8F_kuo" alt="qrcode" />

Janet desperately needs her story to go viral. Please help me share it to save her life.

Please watch this Youtube video titled "Finding a Perfect Match for Janet - Her Personal Plea." While she says she hasn't lost hope she tearfully opens with her fear of dying and that she doesn't have much time left. Janet was first diagnosed with Leukemia in 2009, achieved remission in 2010 and relapsed just before Christmas in 2011. I try to imagine how that would feel and it makes me want to help as much as I can, any way that I can, so I am reaching out to you hoping you will help me, help Janet.

This is Janet's Flyer. Please print and hang it where ever you can.

Print and post the United States PDF Flyer and tear away tags to help motivate others to join the registry.

If you live in Canada there is a new, high resolution, Canadian Flyer you can download to Help Janet.

Copy and paste the code below to share this mini-slideshow web badge, and the link to Janet's video, on your blog or website:

<div align="center"><a href="http://youtu.be/qSCyz8F_kuo" target="_blank"><img height="200" src="http://marrowdrives.org/patients/janet_liang/web_badges/janet-bone-marrow-drive-web-badge.gif" target="_blank" width="250" /></a><br /><a href="http://youtu.be/qSCyz8F_kuo" target="_blank">Watch Janet's Video on Youtube</a></div>

Watch Janet's Video on Youtube

Where to find Banana Slugs in the Santa Cruz Mountains

2012-01-23T08:15:00.000-08:00

Until two days ago I had never seen a banana slug even though I've lived in Northern, CA for over two decades. So hubby and I headed out with my friend Carl and his family to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in search of banana slugs.

The Anatomy of a Banana Slug

The weather couldn't have been better for slug hunting. It had been raining in the Bay Area for several days which all but guaranteed we would see the large, bright yellow slugs on our morning hike.

The rain did necessitate making a DIY rain cover for my camera. It was a good thing I did because it sporadically sprinkled throughout the morning and the cover kept my camera nice and dry. On a budget? CLICK HERE for the tutorial about how to make this inexpensive cover for your camera.

We entered though the South Border in Santa Cruz (the main entrance is in Felton) off Graham Hill Road. Parking is free. To get there just take the Graham Hill/Sims Road Exit off HWY 17. We then headed down the south leg of the Powder Mill Trail that runs along Powder Mill Creek.

We chose Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park because I'd learned from friends that the best place to see the slugs is hiking in a redwood forest.

Aperture 4.1 - Shutter Speed 1/30

We had barely walked 30 feet into the park when hubby spotted our first banana slug of the day!

Aperture 4.0 - Shutter Speed 1/40th of a second

It was also the largest one we saw all day. I'm guessing it was at least 8" long. YAY!

Can you see the slug's teeny tiny eyes? They sense light and darkness.

It was larger and more yellow than I thought it would be. I was so excited and hoped it would be the first of many. Here's the thing, I love snails and slugs. I think they're super cool. In fact, I think they're pretty darn amazing. With such soft bodies and tiny eyes that sense light and movement on the ends of their long, flexible, optical tentacles they just seem too fragile to be able to survive. But somehow they do.

Aperture 5.8 - Shutter Speed 1/15th of a second

We knew it would be wet so both Carl and I wore rubber boots we thought would be waterproof. The thing is neither of us had worn them in years. . .

So imagine our surprise when we both split our boots open on the hike! Carl's was worse than mine. Not only did the leather split from the lower section of rubber on the upper, his rubber sole fell straight off! My upper cracked near the left ankle. Pitiful. LOL

Aperture 5 - Shutter Speed 1/60th of a second

We followed the Powder Mll Trail walking deeper into the forest. Photographing in a redwood forest is an exercise in constantly resetting your ISO, aperture and shutter speed. It's dark with small areas where light filters through the trees. But just inches or feet away nearby spaces are recessed in shadow. I often had to reset my camera even if I moved just a few inches in a different direction.

When we arrived at the creek the water was a bit more deep than ankle high so we turned back.

On our way back up we spotted banana slug #2. It was much smaller than the first one and very shy. It kept it's body contracted and kept drawing it's retractable, light sensing eyes back beneath its mantle.

As we walked along I couldn't stop taking pictures of everything. There were lichens, moss and mushroom growing everywhere.

This beautiful Eurhynchium oreganum moss was vibrantly green because it was soaking wet from the rain showers earlier that morning.

Every now and then I'll read something that uses the word "verdant" to describe lush greenery. It was the only word I could think of while walking through the park.

Aperture 4 - Shutter Speed 1/80th of a second

I love this picture. I'm not sure what causes lens flare but the emerald shades of the sun spots were unique (to me).

After arriving back at the trailhead, Carl and his family departed and hubby and I continued on exploring the northern leg of the Powder Mill Trail.

There was also an abundance of powdered ruffle lichen.

Aperture 2.8 - Shutter Speed 1/40th of a second

This was the fourth banana slug I saw. It was a beauty. In this photo you can see the breathing hole on its mantle which connects to a single, primitive lung. The hole, called the pneumostome, is also used for going to the bathroom and reproductive access. Talk about multi-tasking!

Aperture 2.8 - Shutter Speed 1/60th of a second

This slug wasn't shy and didn't seem to mind at all that I was only inches from its face using my macro lens to capture these close ups.

The challenging thing about slug photography is that the forest is dark and they are covered in mucus that creates shiny highlights along their bodies. Set your camera settings too bright and you'll get white "blown out" areas. Too dark, and you lose the vibrancy of their unique yellow color so even when photographing the same slug for just a few minutes I was constantly making small shutter adjustments as it moved along.

Aperture 2.8 - Shutter Speed 1/50th of a second

The optic (eye) tentacles and mantle.

Aperture 2.8 - Shutter Speed 1/50th of a second

Here you can see the striped "skirt" also known as the "fringe" that runs along the bottom length of the slug. It helps to propel it forward as it's foot, the back section of it's body, contracts and ripples. Though covered in mucus, I didn't notice any visible slime trail while watching the slugs move across the forest floor.

Aperture 2.8 - Shutter Speed 1/60th of a second

Here you can clearly see the sensory tentacles (below the eye tentacles) pointing forward towards the camera. They are used for feeling and tasting. The mouth is on the underside of the slug and isn't visible when the slug is upright.

If you look closely as you walk along the trail you can see a multitude of mushrooms both on the ground and growing off the sides of trees and stumps.

At times it seemed more like we were walking through a tropical rain forest than a redwood forest in Santa Cruz. I kept imagining this must be what Costa Rica looks like, only it would be much warmer and more colorful. The sound of running water breaking the quiet and solitude made me get why people like to hike. I just wish I enjoyed the process more. I couldn't stop worrying about twisting my ankle and picking up ticks. LOL

Here you can see the slug's "keel," the ridge going down the center of its back.

This was the seventh slug. He was curled up on a bed of redwood pine needles. I say he but really should say he/she because slugs are hermaphrodites meaning they carry the sexual reproduction organs of both the male and female. The odd thing is they are able to self fertilize and mate in pairs. Sometimes the slugs are unable to separate leading to a process known as "apophallation" the amputation of the male sex organ, which is large and resembles a ruffled jelly fish tendril. After apophallation the slug becomes a "female" for the rest of its reproductive life.

More than the typical ground mushrooms, I really thought the bracket mushrooms growing off the sides of trees and stumps were stunning. They reminded me of corals growing off rocks in the ocean.

Aperture 5.8 - Shutter Speed 1/60th of a second

I couldn't resist photographing this fallen branch covered with beard and powdered ruffle lichen. So gorgeous!

The striped fringe (aka skirt) is clearly visible along the bottom of this slug.

And this was the last slug I saw. Number eleven. It kind of looks like I used a flash to take this picture but I didn't.

We were there for around four hours and I can't wait to go back again. If you've never seen a banana slug and live in the Bay Area you should go too. Just remember the slugs are nocturnal and need moisture so they're most likely to be out after it rains and/or early in the morning just after daybreak before the morning mist and dew evaporate.

Hubby was hungry so we headed back to the car to have lunch in downtown Santa Cruz.

There were a few traumas that day, like the tick I spotted crawling on my bare wrist and I think I pulled a groin muscle when my back foot slipped as I was crouching on an incline to photograph one of the slugs. My right leg hurt the rest of the day but was fine the following morning.

Huevo's Rancheros for Brunch at Saturn Cafe

I really wanted to go to the Saturn Cafe for lunch. It's a vegetarian and vegan diner. Hubby wanted to go to a place across the street called Surf Dog so he could get a beef hamburger. So, at his suggestion, I went to the Saturn Cafe and he went to Surf Dog and we met up again after lunch and walked down the street until it was time for hubby's afternoon, cafe mocha break.

Cafe Mocha with Soy Milk at Hoffman's

We decided to try the mochas at Hoffman's Bistro and Patisserie on Pacific Ave. because we'd just seen them on an episode of Chef Robert Irvine's Restaurant Impossible. I'm happy to report that we received very good customer service, the mocha's were delicious and I got an apple strudel made from scratch. It was definitely the best strudel I've ever had! I want to go back and try out the restaurant for lunch sometime soon.

Henry Cowells Redwoods State Park
Operating Hours
Day Use Area
Sunrise to Sunset

Day Use (Main) Entrance Address
101 North Big Trees Park Road
Felton, CA 95018

South Boundary Entrance
Graham Hill Road at Nepenthe Drive
Santa Cruz, CA

Saturn Cafe
145 Laurel St
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Hoffman's Bistro and Patisserie
1102 Pacific Ave
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Technical Photography Details: I was shooting with my Lumix GF2 camera body and had brought along the LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm / F4.0-5.8 (zoom lens) and LEICA DG MACRO-ELMARIT 45mm / F2.8 (macro lens). By the end of the day I realized I need to get a small monopod. There was no way I was going to lug around a tripod in the rain while hiking but shooting freehand in an area with as much shade as a redwood forest, that requires longer shutter speeds than normal, made it ultra challenging to take clear shots without any sort of support to steady the camera against. Most of these images were shot using ISO's of 400 and 800.

An inexpensive, diy, easy to make, camera rain cover

2012-01-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

That's me getting ready to spend a day out in the rain taking pictures on my expedition to find banana slugs. But how to keep my camera dry without buying a camera rain cover at retail prices? I found a tutorial online at Purple Summit Photography and modified their design just a bit.

This is all you'll need. A plastic bag, your lens hood, a Sharpie, a pair of scissors and some electrical tape. I used red for this tutorial so it would have better contrast than black tape. The entire process should take less than five minutes to complete.

Step 1: Begin by folding the bag down half way so you can flatten the bottom against your table or countertop and reach inside easily.

Step 2: Align the lens hood so that the center bottom seam of the plastic bag is right in the middle of your lens hood.

Step 3: Use the Sharpie to create an outline around the opening of the lens hood drawing around the inner edge that snaps onto the camera, not the outer edge, as your guide.

Step 4: Your plastic bag should look like this. Cut the circle out with a small pair of scissors.

Like this.

Step 5: Slip the lens hood into the bag with the side that fits to your camera inside the bag so that when you attach your camera to the hood it'll be inside the bag. Begin taping the plastic bag to the hood. Whatever the thickness of your electrical tape space the bag and lens hood so that half the tape is covering the plastic and half is on the lens hood.

Step 6: If your lens hood is round this step is not necessary, but my macro lens is rectangular so I wanted to be sure to align it with the bag:

Now slide your camera, with the lens attached into the plastic bag and snap it to the lens hood making sure to align the camera and plastic bag before taping the rest of the bag down. Push the lens through the opening and continue easing the plastic bag around the hood as you tape it into place. It will be snug so you'll have to stretch the plastic just a tiny bit to get it to fit properly.

Step 7: Once the plastic bag is taped down to the hood cut the electrical tape and you're done!

It folds up small so drop it in your camera bag and bring it out as needed. Just slide your camera into the bag when the rain starts. It'll keep it nice and dry. Just be sure to protect your camera and lens from stray drops of water when switching lenses in the rain.

After, be sure to remove the tape asap so that the adhesive doesn't get stuck to your lens hood. I took mine off and saved the bag so the next time I need a rain cover all I'll need is a few inches of tape to reuse it.

And thanks to hubby for taking the picture of me!

Success!

You can see lots of pictures of the park and slugs at this link: Where to find Banana Slugs in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

2012-01-21T18:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I want to see the movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close based on the novel by author Jonathan Safran Foer. I'd heard on tv that even though the events of 9/11 are part of the story line, it isn't a movie about that day but rather the healing process a young boy creates for himself after losing his dad (played by Tom Hanks) in the World Trade Center.

This review contains no spoilers.

I loved this movie. Aspects of the lead character's quirkiness reminded me of my husband and his fearfulness reminded me of myself as a child. From a technical standpoint the way the movie was shot is very pleasing. In particular I really appreciated the focus on tiny details, small actions and the ability of the movie to draw out (of me) all encompassing emotions. There were moments where feelings were depicted and conveyed so strongly, like when Oskar felt small, alone and fearful, that I was absolutely able to identify with him. Some of the lighting and lens effects were beautiful. That said, I don't think this is a movie for everyone.

I think this is the kind of movie that people will either love or hate.

I thought the events of 9/11 would be included at the beginning of the movie to set the stage for all that happens after. But instead, what happened that day is carried throughout the film revisited from the perspectives of Oskar and his mother. So I don't know if it's fair to say the movie isn't about the day itself because the day is featured throughout the film from the beginning to almost the very end.

Why some will love or hate the film is because I think there's always a danger when one uses a real life tragedy in a story of fiction. Some events, like 9/11, call for such reverence that for many, to use them in a movie (at all) feels exploitive and opportunistic. For me, if done respectfully, it feels like a way to bear witness so that those lost are never forgotten.

Surprisingly, I think the film's biggest challenge is the audience's reaction to its lead character, nine year old Oskar who struck me as a combination of Dustin Hoffman's character in "Rain Man" and little Brick Heck from the tv sitcom "The Middle." There are two ways to take him. On the surface, he's bossy, angry, loses control of his emotions, is neurotic and speaks with no filter saying hurtful and cruel things just because he thinks them. He says he was tested for Autism but the results were inconclusive. If you can't get past his unlikable persona you probably won't like the movie. But he is also fearless, tenacious, loving in his own way, incredibly intelligent, wounded and struggling to overcome the guilt he feels related to the loss of his father. If you can empathize with his personality beyond his abrasive qualities I think you'll be deeply moved by his experience.

Oskar's mom is portrayed by Sandra Bullock. She offers an authenticity that makes her grief, vulnerability and loneliness convincing and consistent throughout the film. Tom Hanks as his father is the yin to Oskar's yang. You get the feeling that with his dad beside him he "fit" into his family and the world better than without him. His dad was kind, fun, creative and adventurous and brought out the best in Oskar as he encouraged him to expand his imagination, resourcefulness and ability to love. Most of the other people he meets along the way might best be described as character vignettes with little development. But each conveys a strong personality trait or sense of emotion (rather than self) ranging from kindness, sadness, altruism, anger, hope, love, or compassion that adds to the emotional momentum of the movie from beginning to end.

If I had to describe Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close in a single word it would be poignant. Often, overwhelmingly so. It is raw and emotionally wrenching with a fairly constant sense of sadness coming like waves throughout the film. The culmination is profound and not what I had anticipated it would be. For some the strength of the ending won't be enough to overcome the sadness that came before but for me it did.

If you forget to bring Kleenex to a tear jerker movie a tp mitten is a quick fix.

Two tips about this movie:

If you enjoy quirky characters and dramatic movies that contain a lot of sadness but are ultimately uplifting, you will probably enjoy Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close as much as I did.
If you go, bring Kleenex with you. And make sure it's the kind with lotion in it so that your nose doesn't chafe or turn red by the end of the film. If you forget to bring Kleenex make sure you stop by the restroom on the way in and roll yourself a toilet paper mitten so you'll have an endless supply of tissue during the show. I'd say on the safe side to make sure you take at least 12 squares of toilet paper to EL&IC.

Jonathan Safran Foer also wrote the (non-fiction) book Eating Animals that I reviewed here on the blog back in 2010. Before Eating Animals he also wrote the fiction novel: Everything is Illuminated.

Blog Post Titles, leads and RSS feeds

2012-01-20T01:10:00.000-08:00

"Don't bury the lead" is a journalistic expression bloggers would be well advised to follow. It means put the strongest and most compelling points of your story at the beginning of your posts, the who, what, why, where and when. Why? Because RSS feeds put a premium on your post title and opening sentences.

RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and can be used to effortlessly republish your blog posts to multiple websites across the internet.

So, why do I feel your post titles and opening sentences are important enough to blog about them? Because if you use an RSS feed to share your blog (on twitter Facebook, Linked In, etc. or even if you don't, your fans might) what those feeds republish are your post titles and a snippet from the beginning of the post itself. You usually have no (or very little) control over which part of the post is republished so you need to make sure what you're leading with is interesting enough to pique the curiosity of readers enough that they'll click over and read the post in its entirety on your blog.

Feed Informer on the sidebar of The Flirty Blog

For instance, I use the free Feed Informer RSS feed on the sidebar of this blog so that when people arrive at the site through a shared link or a search engine (not through the home page) they can see samples from my five most recent posts. Here is what a feed snippet looks like in the sidebar of my blog:

An impressive and delicious DIY antipasto appetizer
17/01/12 15:00 from The Flirty Blog • A Wedding & Lifestyle Resource
Check it out. Over on The Flirty Guide avid foodie, Wedding DJ and MC Carl Mindling shows you how to make this bright and colorful antipasto...

Now I could have titled the post "My friend Carl knows how to cook." Even though it's true, unless you know Carl it might not be as interesting as the title I chose. Plus the search engines wouldn't ever refer anyone to the post unless someone searched for those specific words and the chances of that would be very slim.

BTW Feed Informer is great to add to your website home page so visitors there can see and be tempted to read your most recent blog posts.

I use Networked Blogs over on Facebook to republish my posts on the official The Flirty Guide Facebook business page. The snippet that gets published includes a thumbnail image. The text looks like this:

The year I broke my feet running Bloomsday
Yup, that's me in a bikini, lounging near a swimming pool, while reading Fatal Attraction. If you want to know why read on. . .It all began in 1989 when I went to Spokane, Washington to run in the annual Bloomsday run. It's a 12km, timed road race for professional and novice runn
source: The Flirty Blog
link: Full Article...

Is this making sense? I think you can see how important it is for those first few sentences to really draw your readers into the story. If I'd titled the post "You won't believe what happened to me" and led with "It all begain in 1989 when I went to..." I don't think the message would be as compelling as creating a dramatic headline that I "broke my feet" and leading with an intriguing teaser about reading Fatal Attraction, poolside in a bikini.

On Twitter the feed is short, 140 characters to be exact. So you have to very brief and get your main points right in there:

TheFlirtyGirl Stacie Tamaki
How to cut crabs from a carrot: What's not to love about carrot crabs? Aside from being more affordable than cra... bit.ly/wb5lDL

I think that was enough. I immediately shared that the post is a tutorial, that carrot crabs are lovable and inexpensive to make. Hopefully it was intriguing enough for people to click on the link at the end.

On Linkedin the feed is longer than Twitter but the same principles apply... A headline that catches a reader's attention followed by a call-to-action or reason to come read the post.

Stacie Tamaki via Twitter
Are you a blogger too?
theflirtyguide.blogspot.com
First let me say thanks for being here and reading The Flirty Blog! Sometimes I wonder how many of you have blogs too? Then it dawned on me I should just ask! So today, instead of writing about me, I'd like to ask any of you...

And this is really neat. The author of the Art Evolve blog has kindly added my blog feed to the list on her sidebar of "Wonderful Blogs." So every time I publish a new post the title shows up on her blog as a link that people can click on to come read the entire post.

The Flirty Blog • A Fun and Fearless Lifestyle Resource
The benefits of being alone

The thing is, writing a blog post isn't the same as writing a novel or an email. There are definite best practices to use to make your post as reader and RSS friendly as possible. Unless you've ever been a journalist these things are not something you would be aware of or know how to do naturally. You have to learn why they matter, understand how RSS feeds work then practice, practice, practice. Once you've done it enough writing effective post titles and leading paragraphs will become second nature.

Losing my 20/20 vision and too many pairs of reading glasses

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

With age two things happen simultaneously: You see things more clearly and you don't.

What I mean is with age comes wisdom and the ability to look at life, even your own, more clearly, objectively and honestly. Sadly, as my mental clarity has improved my visual acuity has diminished.

Which brings me to reading glasses. I'm not one who loses things. I've never lost a cell phone, wallet or any of the other things people often lose. Yet I somehow managed to lose 2 pairs of reading glasses in the past year and a half.

My third pair of reading glasses

Up until a few years ago I had 20/20 vision. I first noticed that I was losing my ability to see things close up when I wasn't able to thread a needle. Since then my near vision has gradually become blurrier and blurrier. Laminated menus with a small font in a dimly lit restaurant for dinner? Forget it. I won't be able to read it all. What is most annoying is I need them to read the settings on the back of my camera.

My iPhone used to look like this.

Now, It looks like this.

My optometrist said I needed reading glasses. I use the +125 strength. I ordered a nice fancy pair and lost them on an airplane a few months later by hooking them to the neckline of my shirt. I got a cheaper pair at the drug store and (I think) lost them in a restaurant. I have a new pair but don't want to lose them so I decided I needed one of those eyeglass leashes to keep track of them. But not the kind that loop to each arm of the glasses so you can hang them around your neck. I wanted something more stylish and a lot more convenient.

The other day I remembered I had some really cute silver pendents that were essentially rings that I could slide the glasses onto to hold them at the ready. So I strung some Blue Apatite semi-precious gemstones with tiny, vintage nail head beads as spacers and used two Iolite stones on either side of the silver ring and strung together a very special necklace.

It's dual purpose! I can wear the piece as a necklace and turn it into my reading glasses holder as needed.

Turns out this isn't an original idea. I popped on over to Etsy and found many designers offering both the traditional two rubber loop style leashes and necklace eyeglass holders.

So you can buy them or make then. I'm guessing some of you might want to learn how to make your own eyeglass holder necklace. If you do, let me know and I will create a tutorial for this idea and drop it into the idea gallery over on The Flirty Guide.

And wish me luck. I'm hoping this pair makes it through the end of the year :)

The benefits of being alone

2012-01-18T00:23:00.000-08:00

Recently I read a blog post titled: "Continuing the Conversation" leaving fear behind. It really resonated with me. Author Debbi said:

"Everything I wrote yesterday could have been summed up by simply stating I was afraid to be alone. I guess the deeper lesson I learned from my female forebears is that no matter how bad it is, it's better to be with someone than to be by yourself, to be dependent instead of independent.

So. Not. True."

I couldn't agree more. I'd rather be alone and happy than with someone and miserable.

I love to travel, go to special events and dine out alone.

At the risk of sounding anti-social I will share that embracing aloneness is something I mastered fairly early in life. There are so many benefits and very few drawbacks. What's the downside? That people, complete strangers, think you don't have any friends? Who cares what they think? You shouldn't.

Dinner: Table for one? That would be me, eating where I want at the time I want enjoying my meal with some quiet time to reflect.
Movies: I love seeing movies with friends but I also love seeing them alone. I can see the show I want at my favorite time of day (weekday matinees) when the theater is less crowded and tickets are cheaper.
Shopping: I'm not much of a shopper so I love shopping alone. I can go exactly where I need to go and get out.
Travel: One of the best times I've had in my entire life was the week I spent touring Paris, France all by my lonesome. I'd flown over with a friend who was there on business but during the day when she was in meetings I was on my own from breakfast to dinner. I loved it so much I think it may have ruined traveling to Paris again with anyone else because the experience was so great I can't help but feel at your own pace is the best way to see the city. I've told hubby if we ever go we can spend alternate days together. LOL. I want the best of both worlds.
Concerts: In 1995 I flew to Tacoma, Washington to see the Eagles in concert. . . Alone. That night I was only able to get one ticket with a halfway decent location so I went and it was great. I mean at a concert you're not talking during the show anyways.
Museums: I think viewing art at your own pace, is the best way to enjoy a museum. I can spend a minute or an hour in front of a single piece and it effects no one. I hate feeling rushed or guilty which are usually the two options if you try to walk through a museum with another person.
Ballet: Last year I went to the ballet for the first time, alone. Because I was a by myself I was able to get a much better seat than if I had to find two seats together. Plus why make hubby suffer and go with me to something he has no interest in seeing?
Networking: Going to a business networking event alone is no problem. I'm guaranteed to meet more new people than if I were to go with a friend.

So you can see, there really isn't a downside to going out and doing things alone. In fact there are a lot of bonuses. Perhaps the biggie of aloneness though is living alone. . . Well, I've always loved that too. Everything is where you last put it. Nobody is making a mess, your food doesn't disappear, if you want quiet you have quiet but if you want company you can always invite someone over or go out. I've also loved having roommates and being married but the point is it's possible to also equally love living alone just as much. One isn't better than the other, they're just different.

Perhaps the scariest part of being alone is that you don't have a second income to fall back on, but money comes and goes and being with someone is no guarantee you'll be more financially secure than if you're by yourself. A fiscally irresponsible roommate, partner, or spouse can cause you more financial headaches than they solve.

So why are people so afraid to be alone? And more importantly why do we let being afraid of doing things alone hold us back? If there's something you want to do and nobody else you know wants to do it, go do it by yourself. Focus on the experience and it won't matter if you're there alone. You'll enjoy being there and that's all that really matters.

An impressive and delicious DIY antipasto appetizer

2012-01-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

Check it out. Over on The Flirty Guide avid foodie, Wedding DJ and MC Carl Mindling shows you how to make this bright and colorful antipasto just in time for Superbowl Sunday! It's also great during the summertime or anytime for that matter.

You can make it with or without meat, simple or gourmet.

Use the ingredients Carl suggests or switch them out and add your own favorite bites.

It's so easy. Just cut the big things into bite sized pieces and add the little things. . .

Add homemade or bottled salad dressing. . .

Dust with freshly grated parmesan cheese, toss, chill, plate and serve.

You'll find the recipe details over on The Flirty Guide by CLICKING HERE.

Are you a blogger too?

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

First let me say thanks for being here and reading The Flirty Blog! Sometimes I wonder how many of you have blogs too? Then it dawned on me I should just ask! So today, instead of writing about me, I'd like to ask any of you who have blogs to leave a comment below with a link to your blog.

Feel free to describe why you started blogging, what you love most about it, the toughest challenges you've had to overcome to get into the habit of posting or why you chose the platform you use.

I decided to update this post throughout the day to add all of the blogs left in the comments below:

www.aCookingDad.com
www.DaftMusings.com
www.OrderInTheKitchen.com
www.BloggingCornerBlog.blogspot.com
www.LizardMarsh.net
www.BootsBedouinsAndaBridge.blogspot.com
www.MagnoliaJazz.com/blog
www.StoneGriffin.blogspot.com
www.ImWithHer.blogspot.com
www.ReachCarl.blogspot.com
www.TenderLovingCakes.blogspot.com

Popular platforms pictured above from top left:

Row 1: Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org, Tumblr.com, Blogher.com
Row 2: TypePad.com, Blogger.com, SquareSpace.com
Row 3: MovableType.com, Posterous.com, Drupal.com

The year I broke my feet running Bloomsday

2012-01-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

Yup, that's me in a bikini, lounging near a swimming pool, while reading Fatal Attraction. If you want to know why read on. . .

It all began in 1989 when I went to Spokane, Washington to run in the annual Bloomsday run. It's a 12km, timed road race for professional and novice runners alike. Every person who ran could look at a large digital clock as they crossed the finish line and would receive a postcard in the mail that would tell them their official finishing time and where they finished within their age and gender categories. Every finisher also received a special t-shirt. The design changes each year and 2012 will be the 36th running of Bloomsday!

I trained in Santa Clara, CA which is as flat as a pancake then flew to Spokane, WA for the hill filled big race. I had just passed the second mile mark and was on a downhill trajectory when I felt it, a twinge in both feet right right under the knots of where I'd tied my shoelaces.

It happened right along this rock wall. I stopped and loosened my laces. But it didn't help.

After my feet started hurting I ran five more miles and finished the race. Later that day they still hurt. The next day they hurt even more. By the time I got back to CA I had to go to the doctor.

The podiatrist examined my feet and told me she thought I had a mild case of tendinitis. She said "Take aspirin and use an ice pack, you can even keep working, just take breaks and elevate your feet from time to time."

So I did. For several more days I'd walk into Nordstrom and head to the Ladies Shoe department to sell shoes for eight hours. Until (I think) it was the fourth morning when I realized I simply couldn't do it anymore. My feet hurt too bad. Excruciatingly bad. I walked into the store, called the podiatrist, and scheduled another appointment.

The doctor I saw the first time was on vacation so I saw a different doctor. When the x-rays came back normal he told me to stay off my feet for two weeks. He suspected I had stress (hairline) fractures because they won't show up on a regular x-ray. He said if it was tendinitis there should be improvement by staying off my feet.

Two weeks later they hurt just as bad so he sent me in for a bone scan. Have you ever had a bone scan? They're kind of scary.

It's nuclear medicine. The nurse injected me with radioactive isotopes. She was wearing protective gear like gloves and a lead apron, took the syringe out of what looked like a lead lined tube and injected the radioisotopes straight into my arm. I left and returned a few hours later when the radioactivity had settled into my bones. Then I had to lie still while a big machine slowly passed over me recording all of the bones in my body from head to toe.

Then I went home and had to wait for the results. When I got the phone call the doctor asked if I wanted the good news or bad news first. I said the bad news please. . .

Doctor: Your feet are broken.

Me: Broken? (I'd been walking around on broken feet?)

Doctor: Both of them.

Me: Um, what's the good news?

Doctor: YOU HAVE VERY SPECIAL BROKEN FEET!

Me: (He almost sounded giddy. I'm not kidding!)

Doctor: The radiologist and I couldn't believe it when we saw your scan results. Not only have we never seen anyone break the bone you broke, you broke the exact same bone, in the exact same spot on both feet!!!!!

Me: (The impression I was left with was that that was more rare than winning the lottery or being struck by lightening.)

Doctor: We're going to submit your x-rays to a medical journal. You're feet are going to be published! You're going to have very famous broken feet!!!!!

Me: Yay?

In the picture above the green bones (the second and third metatarsals and navicular bone) are the most frequent sites for stress fractures in the feet. So of course I broke a completely, different bone. I'm not sure exactly which one but it had to be one of the cuneiform bones.

So, did I need casts, crutches a wheelchair or walker for my recovery? Nope. I had to stay off my feet as much as possible for the next six weeks so I crawled around the house and every now and then I would hobble out to the pool.

Before I became "The Flirty Girl" I was the not flirty girl.

To make sure guys wouldn't hit on me I tried to look anti-social by wearing sunglasses, never smiling and would read my paperback copy of Fatal Attraction. It worked. LOL it was the most un-flirty I could make myself.

At the end of six weeks my breaks were healed and I went back to work. A week later I developed tendinitis in the arches of both feet from not walking around for 8 weeks then walking on them too much so I had to take another two or three weeks off.

After that I became a clerical for the Ladies Shoe Department so I wouldn't have to walk at work for the next year.

So why did I bring this up? Because I learned last week that Be The Match (aka The National Marrow Donor Program) is going to have a 5 km "Be The One Run" fundraising run right here in San Jose! It made me want to run again. But now, after reliving my traumatic ordeal through the process of making cartoons for this post I'm thinking I should register to walk or volunteer :)

But if you have good, strong, ordinary feet that have never been stress fractured and published in a medical journal, I'm thinking you might want to run if there's going to be a "Be The One Run" in your city!

Atlanta, GA
Charlotte, NC
Columbus, OH
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Houston, TX
Long Beach, CA
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Phoenix, AZ
Portland, OR
Richmond, VA
San Jose, CA
St. Louis, MO
Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL

CLICK HERE to learn all the details.

How to cut crabs from a carrot

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

What's not to love about carrot crabs? Aside from being more affordable than crab meat, carrot crabs are far more impressive when served to guests. After all, these days canned and fresh crab meat are readily available at most grocery stores. But crabs hand cut from carrots with an xacto-knife, that says "I care about you and want you to have a unique and special dining experience at my house."

I've made so many it only takes me about a minute to cut each crab by hand.

Though I tried the method described in the book "More Japanese Garnishes" I found that cutting the crabs individually with an xacto-knife yielded far superior results than the book's instructions of using a kitchen knife. For tiny details like this I need to use a tiny knife.

The book also says to cut a thick block of carrot into the crab shape. . .

Like this.

You then have to use a very thin, incredibly sharp knife to cut the crabs as slices from the block. Even then the number of legs that would break off is what convinced me it was more efficient to simply cut them one by one.

See how the larger crab cut from the block is bulkier looking? That's because the thicker the block of carrot the more difficult it is to make smooth, curved cuts.

Plus when you cut them individually it makes each crab unique. Like little, orange snowflakes :)

You can add them to salads, soups or anywhere you normally use sliced rounds of carrots. In the past I've added them to Japanese style cucumber salads. The one pictured here also contained real crab meat. I used a special decorative garnishing tool to cut cucumber skins into seaweed like tendrils to add contrast and a more sea-like environment for the crabs.

If you don't have the patience to cut them by hand you can always watch for a metal cutter like this one. You may recall I used it to make my Traditional, Japanese, New Year's Day Ozoni Soup just a few weeks ago.

Plus if you're vegetarian or vegan this is one way you can enjoy a delicious and super cute crab salad!

Photo Tip: Don't miss a great photo op

2012-01-13T00:37:00.000-08:00

As a blogger, here's how I never miss a photo opportunity: I always carry my camera with me. Always.

My former Lumix DMC-LX3 point and shoot camera.

When I carried a smaller point and shoot it was really easy to do. I kept my little camera (and a spare battery) in a little camera bag and would throw it in my purse or jacket pocket.

The Panasonic Lumix GF2 micro four thirds camera system.

Because it's much smaller than a DSLR I thought switching to the GF2 micro four thirds camera system would allow me to upgrade the quality of photos I take and would continue to allow me to bring the camera with me everywhere I go.

Guess what? My new four thirds system fits in this 7.5" x 10" bag . It holds the camera body, zoom lens, macro lens and a spare battery.

Just like that.

And the pouch fits in my purse. Just like this.

Unfortunately you can't do this with a DSLR. I know. I bought one, took it out once and never used it again. It was too heavy and cumbersome for everyday schlepping around.

So if you're like me, a blogger who wants better pictures, or you're someone on the fence about upgrading your hobby camera from a point and shoot to a DSLR, take a look at the micro four thirds systems before you make the leap to a full sized DSLR.

Having a camera small enough to keep with me at all times is my best tip on how I avoid missing out on photographing great bloggable moments :)

Photo Tip: How to create a bright white background

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

People are always asking me what kind of light box (aka shooting tent/cubelight kit) do I use to create the all white background photos they see here on The Flirty Blog. I thought I'd post a tutorial to show you how I do it. It's not glamorous. In fact it may be shockingly simple.

Technically speaking, I don't use a light box, I use a sheet of 24" x 47" piece of white, flexible, high density, polyethylene plastic Carl picked up for me when he saw it at Tap Plastics because he knew at $7.55 it was a better, more affordable and eco-friendly solution than the paper poster board I'd been using for years. The paper would eventually get dirty and need to be replaced. The plastic I can wipe clean.

Combined with the skylight over my kitchen table, the correct white balance, exposure setting and just a touch of Adobe Photoshop. . .

And I can take pictures that look like this. . .

And this. . .

And this.

To shoot the cupcake I propped up the far end of the plastic, rather inelegantly in this instance, on an empty box and a piece of styrofoam packing set on a dining chair. If I were photographing something taller I would have put the box on the table top and draped the end of the plastic over it.

In three steps:

Because the cupcake was cut and would dirty the plastic I placed it on a single white kitchen tile placed upon the plastic sheet. Note in the first row you can see the three edges of the tile. I marked them with red dots to the right. There's also a slight grey cast to the background.
In the second row I used the "Level's" option in Photoshop to brighten the exposure blowing out the tile edges behind and to the right of the tile. It also gets rid of all of the grey in the background.
To remove the tile edge along the front I used the erase tool in Photoshop and ran it over the tile edge with the background set to white.

It's that easy! The editing literally took less than a minute to execute.

When not in use I store the sheet of white plastic right next to the kitchen table behind this display case where I keep my baking equipment. Oh, hi Kitai!

I just slide it behind the case until I need to use it again.

If the cupcake looks irresistible you'll find it at Frost Cupcake Factory in Downtown Campbell, CA.

It's their newest and most popular flavor. Mississippi Mud is a rich and moist chocolate cupcake filled with chocolate ganache, topped with coffee infused marshmallow frosting that's then completely coated in oreo cookie crumbs. Don't wait or go late because they sell out of them every day!

Photo Tip: Take a second look from a new perspective

2012-01-11T00:13:00.000-08:00

There it was. A big, beautiful oak tree in a parking lot. I took a picture of it. Then, just to see what it would look like photographed from the other side I walked around and took a photo of the same tree from "behind" now backlit from the setting sun.

WOW!

The image was dramatic and (imo) much more striking than the original shot with the tree facing the sun. Each picture could serve a different purpose but I wanted to share the tip with you that taking a second look by simply walking around to the other side of an object can yield a dramatically different result.

The same oak tree photographed from the "front."

Photo Tip: A better background - selective coloring

2012-01-10T06:26:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I read a blog post about The Importance of Toning Your Images by my friend and photographer Mark Stagi author of the Digital Photo Buzz website. It inspired me to create an image using a black and white mask transparency and selective spot color. . . Say what? Read on, it's a handy tip that isn't nearly as confusing as it sounds :)

A photo of an apple I took at a Panera Bread restaurant.

As you can see there wasn't enough contrast in the original image on the left. Converting to black and white looked really boring to me. But I loved the shallow depth of field with that blurred background so I wanted to find a way to make the image work.

Here I took the intensity out of the background. I like it. I think it works. It allows the vividness of the red apple to really pop against the more neutral backdrop. This way the apple doesn't have to compete with the very bright light fixture behind it.

You can see the two layers in the layers menu on the right above.

How I did this using Adobe Photoshop:

Opened the file in Adobe Photoshop
I made a copy of the image in black and white by creating a duplicate layer from the layer menu
Next I used the image menu and chose desaturate to turn the duplicate layer to black and white. If your editing program doesn't have a desaturation option but does allow layers, simply create a copy of your original image, convert to greyscale then drop the layer on top of the original color file and proceed.
I then used the erase tool to remove the black and white from over the apple. I chose a large brush for the expansive interior and a smaller soft brush for along the edge.
I then reduced the opacity of the black and white layer to 61% to allow muted tones of color to show through the B&W
I saved my original file as a PSD (Photoshop Document) file in layers and created a flattened .JPG file for the blog

Here is the same image with the black and white layer's opacity set to 100%. This traditional selective coloring version is dramatic but more harsh than I wanted so that's why I thought to decrease the opacity of the B&W layer, making it semi-transparent.

I hope you found this tip helpful. Beginning to understand both your camera and how to use an editing program to customize your pictures can definitely help you to create more artful images.

My thanks to Mark Stagi for sending me the correct terminology for the "selective coloring" technique. I knew there had to be a proper name, I just didn't know what it was.

Edited to Add: Reader Kate shared a great tutorial of her own in the comments about using a Layer Mask to erase the apple from the black and white image:

With the black and white layer selected in your list of layers, click the button at the bottom of the list that looks like a grey box with a white circle in it.
Now in your layers list, the black and white layer will have a white box next to it. When you click in that white box, the layer mask is active.
Select a brush and set your paint color to black and as you paint on your image, it will hide (or mask out) the sections of the layer where you're painting.
If you slip or change your mind, you can switch the paint color back to white and "paint" (that part of) the image back in.

This makes so much sense! With an erase tool the part you've erased is gone and even though you can "undo" your last action, it will undo everything the good and bad parts of your last action. With a layer mask you can follow through erasing the portions you wanted to get rid of then, with the white paint brush, add back in only the part where you over-erased. It's brilliant and will save me some extra time in the future on projects like this! Thanks so much for sharing this with us Kate.

Attend the 2012 San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade

2012-01-09T00:10:00.000-08:00

Are you attending San Francisco's Chinese New Year Parade this year?

It's sponsored by Southwest Airlines.

I attended the Lunar New Year parade once, years ago, and took these photos with my old *gasp* film camera! Wow. That was a long time ago. There is so much to photograph at this parade. Their website says it is one of the few, night, illuminated parades left in the country.

You'll see dragons, lions, floats, dancers, and the newly crowned Miss Chinatown U.S.A. and her court. Depending where you sit there are also lots of fire crackers. There are so many my friend Judy warned me to bring ear plugs when I went in 2001 during the Year of the Snake. I'd advise you to be sure you bring ear plugs if you go. It can get very loud.

And I think you should go. It's a unique cultural celebration and though I didn't understand much of any of it, I did have a fantastic time! This year I'll do some research and give explanations in my recap post.

Southwest Airlines 2012 Chinese New Year Parade

Date: Saturday February 11, 2012
Time: 5:15 - 8:00 PM
Location: Market and Second Street to Kearny and Jackson
Website: http://www.chineseparade.com
Contact: 415 986-1370 or 415 982-3071

In search of the Falcated Duck at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

2012-01-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

A few days ago on the news there was a story about an extremely rare Asian duck that showed up at a wildlife refuge in Colusa, CA. Normally the Falcated Duck is found in China, North Korea, Russia and Japan, but one was spotted in Northern California back in December. Since then bird enthusiasts from as far away as the East Coast have flocked to Colusa in the hopes of seeing this one duck out of the quarter of a million birds that winter at the refuge. This is only the fourth time this species of duck has been seen in California (in the wild). It's unknown if it somehow migrated here or perhaps escaped from a private collection.

We didn't see the Falcated Duck but we did see a Cinnamon Teal

So hubby and I drove up to Colusa in the wee hours of the morning in the hopes of photographing this unique bird. After all, the news said it was seen almost every day near Refuge's observation platform. I was a little bummed that it didn't make an appearance while we were there but I can't say I was disappointed because we did see a Cinnamon Teal. It was gorgeous. I thought it was even prettier than the Falcated Duck. I took plenty of pictures so you be the judge.

Pictures from our road trip.

And when I said wee hours of the morning I meant before the break of dawn. That's right hubby and I drug ourselves out of the house at 6:30 AM on a Saturday morning to drive to Colusa, 2.5 hours north of San Jose.

We arrived at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge at 9:00 AM.

Entering the Refuge is free, as is parking. Once there you park and walk a very short distance to the observation deck.

This is where I took pictures using my 14-140mm zoom lens.

For the most part I spent the morning to the right of the deck, along the road that leads to it. I thought it was a better location that allowed for nicer close up shots of some of the birds with a very nice backdrop.

While we hoped we would be able to see Mr. Celebrity Duck, he was not around. Probably because though the weather report said it would be 61º that day, it felt like it was 35º with 40 mph gale force winds. It was sooooooo cold and windy most of the birds laid low for the day. I had to put Kleenex in my ears and thank goodness my Yeti hat was in hubby's trunk because I would have ended up with a bad ear ache for sure had I not been able to stop the wind from blowing into my ears.

It was so neat being at the Refuge. I'd never seen Pintailed Ducks before. Here, two pairs of Northern Pintails greet an American Coot. There were lots of coots. They're like the pigeons of the marsh. They were everywhere!

The Pintails were lovely.

The male Northern Pintails have a beautiful blue and black beak.

There were also plenty of Northern Shovelers. They look similar to Mallards but I think they are larger and the males have more white on their breasts and bodies.

There were many pictures I wanted to take but at this point I was so FROZEN I had to stop. I had to get out of the wind so I decided to check out the 1 mile Hiking Trail behind a windbreak of trees.

This is where I photographed all of the ducks you see in this post.

It was a great idea. The moment I stepped onto the trail there was no wind. And with no wind it was actually rather warm. It was amazing how different the temperature felt just a few yards away.

Dogs are welcome to walk on the one mile trail as long as they're kept on leashes.

After warming up during my short walk I headed back to the marsh shoreline and immediately noticed a new bird. . .

What a surprise to see the pale blue feathers on this teal's forewing.

He was small but hard to miss because he was STUNNING. I asked a lady (with a big camera surmising she must be a bird person to have that nice of a camera) nearby if she knew what kind of bird he was and she said he was a Cinnamon Teal. She pointed out that he had a mate and chatted with me about the birds. The male (or drake) was the most beautiful and vivid cinnamon color you can imagine with eyes as bright red as red can be. He alone made the trip worthwhile.

Their large bills are used for skimming the surface of the water for bugs.

His mate was drab, just like a female Mallard Duck but perhaps even a bit more plain. The lady I spoke with is a regular at the refuge and said while the Cinnamon Teal is not an uncommon bird to see there, she and another man were shocked that this pair had come in and lingered so close to shore. They said it almost never happens. Lucky us!

BTW bird people are some of the nicest people around. All day I chatted up whoever was nearby for help identifying the species I was looking at to save me from having to Google for them later on and they were all so nice and helpful.

What do you think? I think while the Falcated Duck might be more rare, the Cinnamon Teal is more beautiful so I wasn't disappointed at all that we didn't see the duck we came to see.

I read teal rarely "tip up," but this pair doesn't seem to know that.

When I Googled to find out the difference between a teal and a duck I learned there are two types of ducks: Divers and dabblers. Teal (along with the well known Mallard) are dabbling ducks meaning they will skim the pond surface or duck their heads just below to forage for food. Particularly the Cinnamon Teal are said to be "skimmers" who don't put their entire heads beneath the surface of the water to feed and don't "tip up." Clearly this pair didn't get that memo. LOL

The diving ducks are larger than dabblers using their extra weight to literally dive deeply beneath the water's surface which means they also have larger feet to propel themselves underwater.

A quick action shot of a duck taking off right in front of me with lots of geese in the background. Oh my gosh there were so many geese. Literally there were thousands of them!

We were cold again and giving up on the Falcated Duck so we decided to hop in the car and take the 3 mile auto tour. At first we didn't realize that you aren't supposed to park and get out of your car. You can park, you're just not supposed to get out. A very nice game warden stopped and told us so the rest of the time I shot photos from the passenger seat and through the sunroof of hubby's car.

This was amazing. I've always wanted to see an egret with its breeding plumage and there it was, a Great Egret standing along the shoreline. He was beautiful! I only wish I had a stronger zoom lens for my camera so I could have captured more details of his showy, plumes.

As we drove along the marshes you could see the Sutter Buttes in the distance. I didn't realize it at the time but they are old, eroded volcanoes.

As we continued along the loop we spotted a huge gathering of white geese. They could have been Ross or Snow Geese. Unfortunately they were too far away for me to be able to distinguish between the two.

And then I spotted the cutest little bird. It was a Pied-billed Grebe that looked like a teeny, tiny duck. But it was so small, like a quarter the size of a Mallard Duck or even smaller. It was floating amongst some vegetation. Soon I spotted another, but the next one wasn't nearly as cute as the first. . .

In fact the next one had caught a fish! And was trying to swallow it whole! Oh my word. It was straight out of Wild Kingdom. I can't believe I was able to grab these photos from the passenger seat of our car!

It was like watching a snake swallow its prey whole only the Grebe eats a lot faster. The poor fish didn't appear to stand a chance of escaping.

Hard to believe I thought these were super cute miniature ducks! By the time this Grebe finished its meal I was thinking they were more like teeny, tiny, velociraptors with feathers!

Not all of the birds were easy to photograph. We saw several Red-tailed Hawks but they were usually obscured by tree branches like this one.

This was another very exciting bird to photograph mostly because it was so camouflaged when I first spotted it I still can't believe I saw it! It's an American Bittern. It was standing in some tall marsh plants with it's beak pointed almost straight up towards the sky making it very thin looking. I'm sure they must hang out near the shoreline around plants like cat tails and reeds which would make the vertical stripe pattern on its neck blend in perfectly with their surroundings.

As we neared the end of the auto tour we also spotted a large bank of bushes, and nestled among them were approximately 30 of these Black-crowned Night Heron. Just like the Cinnamon Teal and the American Coot the Night Heron's also has bright red eyes. I'd seen one before in San Jose but I'd never seen another, let alone dozens all together.

The last bird we spotted on our way out was this juvenile Great Egret just strolling along. I'm guessing its a juvenile because it lacked the elegant and showy plumage the earlier bird had.

After that we swung by the observation deck but still no Falcated Duck so we decided to call it a day.

We drove into town and had lunch at Tommy's Market Grill. I had a delicious vegetarian deli-style sandwich. It was the best veggie sandwich I'd had in a long time. I'd recommend it for sure! I was lucky to be able to take a picture of the interior with no people in it. Just a few minutes later the place was so packed there were people everywhere.

View Larger Map

If you want to visit the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge here's how you get there from San Jose.

Their website describes the refuge this way:

"The 4,507-acre refuge primarily consists of intensively managed wetland impoundments, with some grassland and riparian habitat. The Sacramento Valley is one of the most important wintering areas for waterfowl in North America. Colusa Refuge typically supports wintering populations of more than 200,000 ducks and 50,000 geese."

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge - Visit their website by CLICKING HERE

The best wildlife viewing time is in the early morning and late afternoon
Wildlife observation is best during mid-November - January
The refuge is open one-hour before sunrise to one-hour after sunset year-round
4,567 acres, including seasonal marsh, permanent ponds, and uplands
CLICK HERE for a list of abundant, common, uncommon and rare wildlife sightings
Restrooms are available near the parking lot
In the winter dress in layers and bring a warm hat and gloves
How to get there from San Jose: Take I-5 to the “Highway 20, Colusa” exit. Turn east on Highway 20. The Refuge is about 6.5 miles on the right. (Note: you will pass the Colusa Hunter Check Station turnoff a few miles before the Refuge.)

Hubby took this picture of me on the Hiking Trail

Frost Cupcake Factory: My new favorite cupcake

2012-01-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

You may recall I did a review of the Frost Cupcake Factory located in downtown Campbell, CA last summer. A few days ago I found myself across the street so I stopped in.

I decided to try one white cake cupcake and one chocolate so I chose the Lemon Meringue ($3.25) and the Salt n' Sweet ($3.25) cupcakes.

Just look at how that chocolate glaze filled the fluted edges of the paper cup.

If you like your cupcakes moist and decadent this is the flavor for you. The Salt n' Sweet had a perfect balance of sweetness, rich chocolate, a bit of caramel and a sparing but bold salt flavor. The cake was soooooo moist. I could tell it was freshly baked.

Yum!

When cut you can see the creamy caramel filling. A tip: On both visits the chocolate cakes have been more moist than the white cakes so if moist is your thing, stick with the chocolate cupcakes. On my last visit the Mocha Java and Rose Velvet were also more moist than the white-based cakes.

The Lemon Meringue I had to try because the last time the Key Lime cupcake, topped with a burnt meringue was my favorite.

The lemon curd was perfect. This cake itself had a nice denseness and was just moist enough to not be dry. The white cake has a texture I can only describe as being more dense than the chocolate, kind of like a pound cake, but not as dense as a pound cake. I've always loved white cake. Can you believe as a child I actually hated *gasp* chocolate cake! Duncan Hines cherry chip and white cakes were my flavors of choice.

The combination of the simple cake, tangy curd and ultra-light and sweet meringue is the best. For years Kara's Fleur de Sel was my favorite cupcake but I have to say that now Frost's Key Lime and Lemon Meringue cupcakes are my new favorites. The next time I want a sweet pick-me-up I'll be heading to Frost.

Or maybe it's the Salt n' Sweet. It's a tough call. Can I have three favorites?

Frost Cupcake Factory
199 E. Campbell Ave.
Campbell, CA 95008
408-866-9866

If you think donating bone marrow is extremely painful, guess what? It's not.

2012-01-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

Before you read any further please know this:

Registering to join the National Marrow Donor Program is pain free
For most people, donating is almost pain free. 80% of donations are done using a method called PBSC. The worst after effects I've read about, by actual donors, are tiredness or mild flu-like nausea that usually pass quickly.
It doesn't matter where you join. Just join. In the U.S., Canada or 33 other countries you will be added to the cooperative international registry giving you the opportunity to help patients in the U.S. and all around the world.
You can CLICK HERE to learn how to register to become a donor.

I'm writing this post because the end of the year brought plenty of bad news. I learned three Leukemia patients who had all achieved remission, had all relapsed, and about a little boy with Aplastic Anemia. All are in urgent need of an adult stem cell or bone marrow transplant.

Four patients, fighting for their lives. All need to find a marrow match.

Janet beat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia last year attaining remission after many rounds of intensive chemotherapy. But the week before Christmas the 23 year old relapsed and now her doctors tell her she needs a bone marrow transplant. Her match could be anyone but will most likely come from someone of Chinese descent. CLICK HERE to learn why race matters.

Linda is the mother of one of my friends. Initially diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia the weekend before Thanksgiving 2010, she spent seven months in and out of the hospital, and underwent chemotherapy treatments to acheive remission in June 2011. But just a day after Christmas she had relapsed and now needs a marrow transplant to save her life.

Kyle is four years old and needs a transplant because of Aplastic Anemia. Of the nine million potential donors in the national registry, none are a match for Kyle who is half asian half caucasian. His best chance of finding a match will be from someone who is also half asian and half caucasian.

Judy is a 22 year old Chinese Canadian suffering from her third diagnosis of Leukemia. She was first diagnosed at 9 years old, then again at age 13. Now at 22 years old, her doctors have told her the only treatment left is a bone marrow transplant because chemotherapy will no longer help her.

When I say you could save a life, you could be the match for one of these patients or someone else in need, does it make you feel like you want to try? Would you feel amazing if you were the one? I would feel happy and grateful that I could help. In fact I've been waiting to be a match since 1995 when I joined the registry. So far my phone hasn't rung but I'm hoping it will someday soon.

As you can see, Scott was is in no pain giving his PBSC donation.

So please, if you aren't in the registry will you consider joining? The process to join is so easy! Just 4 cotton swabs to brush on the inside of your cheeks and a short registration form.

1. You can CLICK HERE to order a test kit online. It will be mailed to you and you mail it back.

2. Or locate a live drive using your Zip Code by CLICKING HERE

Only 70% of patients in need will find a match in time. The thing is it doesn't have to be this way. If more people would join the registry now, more patients could receive transplants immediately. That's my hope and goal in every effort I make to help raise awareness about the need for more people to join Be The Match, also known as the National Marrow Donor Program.

Most people don't realize it can take weeks to months to have your sample entered into the registry once you do send in a test kit. When you're helping a stranger, urgency may not be a huge priority. But when someone you love is diagnosed, and unfortunately the odds are someday someone you know will be, you will wish you had joined the registry sooner so that your sample could be available to them immediately.

Are you're already in the donor program? Does your age or health conditions prohibit you from becoming a donor? If the answer is yes but you still want to help please download, print and post this Helping Janet flyer with tear-away tabs on a public bulletin board at work, a grocery store, your local coffee shop, anywhere they'll let you. Today is also the last day of Be The Match's holiday fundraiser. You can donate dollars to help patients and researchers.

Download the high resolution, printable Flyer by CLICKING HERE

Download the Tear-away Tabs by CLICKING HERE

In her own words. Janet, who recently relapsed just made this video while receiving treatment at the hospital I wanted to share with you: Follow Janet on her journey of battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia in this "Day in the Life" (potentially could turn into a series!) homemade video. This is a real glimpse into her life and all she asks for is a simple request -- register to be a marrow donor

This is how PBSC works.

I searched for years for a book Google knew in an instant

2012-01-05T00:49:00.000-08:00

In the beginning I read. A lot. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am certain that reading is what released my imagination and creativity from a young age showing me many more possibilities in life beyond what I knew to be true from my own, very limited experience.

While in elementary school I became a voracious reader. I remember bringing home piles of books (almost all about animals) and reading them over and over again. Because of this my reading level advanced by years and I was soon reading books that were meant for much older students and even adults.

Blanca and Lobo

The other night I started thinking about one book in particular I read while still in elementary school. It had a grey fabric cover with the title embossed on the front cover along with a trail of paw prints along the left side and a wolf's head on the spine. I was actually probably too young for this book when I read it. The story that resonated with me most was about hate, despair, love and the death of a pair of wolves hunted by local ranchers and bounty hunters. The wolf's mate Blanca was ultimately killed in a brutal fashion. Soon after, Lobo is also captured, because of his devotion to Blanca, and dies in captivity of a broken heart.

Um, probably not really appropriate for fourth grade reading but I doubt my parents even realized I'd read it. Inexplicably this book disappeared from our family bookshelf by the time I'd reached the sixth grade, never to be seen again.

Realizing I could stumble upon a used copy, whenever I've walked into shops with old books I've always looked for it, quickly scanning for that grey cover with a wolf stamped along the spine. I had no idea what the book was called or who the author was.

The other night it occurred to me that Google might hold the answer to the question I'd been carrying around most of my life: Who wrote that book? I Googled Lobo+Blanca+Wolf Story and there it was. . .

Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton

It was exactly as I'd remembered it. I also found this video, Lobo - The Wolf that changed America. I watched it and learned, to my shock, that "Lobo the King of Currumpaw" was not a complete story of fiction. Seton was an actual wolf bounty hunter who, in 1893, was hired to come out west and kill Lobo. The longer it took, the greater appreciation Seton developed for the wolves when he realized that the reason they were hunting the racher's livestock was because humans had needlessly decimated the great herds of buffalo. The wolves had no choice but to hunt the rancher's herds which were easy prey compared to wild buffalo.

Watch The Wolf That Changed America on PBS. See more from Nature.

The transformation of Seton's own views about Lobo and his realization that the settlers created the "wolf problem" show that he wasn't a man with a closed mind. He allowed himself to learn to respect and care about the very wolves he had been sent to kill.

According to the video, Seton wrote that he regretted the deaths of Blanca and Lobo. After Lobo died in captivity the night he was captured, Seton never killed another wolf. In fact, the collection of stories he wrote "Wild Animals I Have Known" which included the story I remembered "Lobo the King of Currumpaw" became a foundation stone in our nation's conservation movement. From hunter to naturalist to environmentalist, Seton spent the rest of his life protecting the wilderness and wildlife through legislation and educating the public that as stewards of the land we had claimed, we didn't have to kill everything. He felt it was our responsibility to protect and co-exist with the wildlife around us. He is also credited with founding the Boy Scouts of America.

This is a photo (from the video) Seton took of Lobo with his legs caught in his traps.

Fortunately, it didn't take being a regretful wolf hunter to teach me empathy (the ability to understand and share the feelings of another). Simply reading about one did. "Lobo the King of Currumpaw" made me want to treat animals with the utmost respect and kindness because in my, impressionable, eyes their ability to feel pain, both emotional and physical, was equal to my own.

This got me to wondering. . . Can reading at a young age be formative in what personality traits a child develops? For instance: If I hadn't read as a child would I still be who I am today? Or would I be different? Are personality traits innate or learned?

This whole exercise made me reach waaaaaaaaaaay back for long forgotten memories. What books did I read that I now feel shaped my character? What books, along with my parents, taught me respect, compassion, honor, courage, personal responsibility and empathy? Below are the titles I could recall. I've placed an * next to my favorites. I'm tempted to read all of them again as they were great stories that I'm sure I'd enjoy just as much today as I did many years ago.

HORSE BOOKS

* Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
* Broomtail - Miriam E. Mason
Flip - Wesley Dennis
* Indian Paint - Glenn Balch
My Friend Flicka - Mary O'Hara
National Velvet - Bagnold, Enid
The Red Pony - John Steinbeck

Album of Horses- Marguerite Henry
Black Gold- Marguerite Henry
Born to Trot- Marguerite Henry
* Brighty Of The Grand Canyon- Marguerite Henry
Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox- Marguerite Henry
Five O'Clock Charlie- Marguerite Henry
Justin Morgan Had a Horse- Marguerite Henry
* King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian- Marguerite Henry
* Misty of Chincoteague - Marguerite Henry
• Mustang: Wild Spirit Of The West- Marguerite Henry
Stormy, Misty's Foal- Marguerite Henry
The Little Fellow- Marguerite Henry
The Sultan's Gift - Marguerite Henry, Joan Kane Nichols

* The Black Stallion - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion Returns - Walter Farley
Son of the Black Stallion - Walter Farley
The Island Stallion - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion and Satan - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion's Blood Bay Colt - Walter Farley
The Island Stallion's Fury - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion's Filly - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion Revolts - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion's Sulky Colt - Walter Farley
The Island Stallion Races - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion's Courage - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion Mystery - Walter Farley
The Horse-Tamer - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion and Flame - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion Challenged - Walter Farley
The Black Stallion's Ghost - Walter Farley

DOG BOOKS

Algonquin - Dion Henderson
* Big Red - Jim Kjelgaard
Bruce - Albert Payson Terhune
* Call of the Wild (Get the free eBook) - Jack London
Gabriel - Jean Slaughter Doty
Grey Dawn - Albert Payson Terhune
• Irish Red - Jim Kjelgaard
* Kävik the Wolf Dog - Walt Morey
* Lad: A Dog - Albert Payson Terhune
* Lad of Sunnybank - Albert Payson Terhune
Lochinvar Luck - Albert Payson Terhune
Old Yeller - Fred Gipson
Outlaw Red - Jim Kjelgaard
Sounder - William H. Armstrong
* Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls
* White Fang (Get the free eBook) - Jack London

OTHER ANIMALS

* All Creatures Great and Small - James Herriot
* All Things Bright and Beautiful - James Herriot
* All Things Wise and Wonderful - James Herriot
Charlotte's Web - E. B. White
Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach
Stuart Little - E.B. White
* The Lord God Made Them All - James Herriot
The Trumpet of the Swan - E. B. White
* Watership Down - Richard Adams
* Wild Animals I Have Known (Get the free eBook) - Ernest Thompson Seton

About Blog Traffic Counters: Pageviews

2012-01-04T00:44:00.000-08:00

When I first started blogging back in 2006 I had no expectations about how many people would read my blog on any given day. Looking back I think my lack of interest was a blessing because all too often I talk to new bloggers who are frustrated by how long it takes to grow their readership. They want immediate gratification and when that doesn't happen they give up and quit blogging.

Hyperbole and a Half receives millions of pageviews each time author Allie posts, which is only about once every other month or so. But her fan base is so strong that on her last post, a sad/funny one about depression she received 4264 comments. Those are stunning numbers. But you can look back in her archive and see that early on, she was building her blog slowly and steadily, post by post before Hyperbole and a Half went viral.

There are exceptions to the rule, people who are able to gain a huge audience to a new blog are kind of like Rock Stars, Movie Stars and Super Models. It can happen but most people have to work their way up. I can only say that (imo) for most bloggers it takes several things to grow your readership:

Writing quality posts that are informative and/or entertaining
Frequent posting
Consistent posting
Good SEO (search engine optimization)
Time

Though I started blogging in 2006 I didn't add a traffic counter until 2008. Then I added the free version of Statcounter and began tracking my blog traffic. This graph shows the growth The Flirty Blog has experienced between 2008 and 2011. Four years is what it's taken to grow my readership six times over and my pageviews almost seven times over.

But here's the thing. While milestones are always fun to hit I don't get too hung up on what the totals are mainly because different traffic counters can give you vastly different results. For instance while Statcounter shows my pageviews for December 2011 at 22,087, for the same time period the Blogger traffic counter shows my pageviews to be 64,720.

The same month, two very different pageview totals.

What? How can the pageview totals vary so widely between two different traffic counters and which is right? Simple answer: I have no idea. Each company uses their own algorithm and all keep their algorithms secret. So I don't get too wrapped up in what the totals are.

The thing I enjoy most about using a counter is if you stick with the same one, over time, you can see the relative growth your blog is experiencing. Since I started with Statcounter it's the one I use even though the Blogger numbers are more impressive. I suspect the actual count is somewhere inbetween.

In 2011 more people read my blog when it was cold outside.

Using Statcounter has also shown me some interesting information. For instance my blog receives the least amount of traffic during the summer and on Saturdays. And every year October is my heaviest month for traffic because of my dog Kitai's Halloween costume post. People love funny dog costumes.

If you haven't added a counter to your blog I'd recommend Google Analytics or Statcounter. Don't check it every day. You'll get too preoccupied with it. I'd say to initially check it once a week or month to see how things are growing. A cool thing is you can see who's linking to your blog and leave a comment or send them a thank you for helping to share you with their readers.

But most of all I use the traffic counter as a guide, not the measure of my blog's success. You will most likely find your readers will reward you when they reach out to you to let you know how something you wrote helped them, made them feel better or inspired them to do something new. At least that's what means the most to me :)

While you wait photo tips: Coffee at Roy's Station

2012-01-03T00:09:00.000-08:00

I've decided the best way to learn photography is to carry my camera with me at all times and whenever I'm sitting anywhere, waiting for something, I play with my camera settings and take test shots. I'm gradually beginning to understand both the principals of photography and how my particular camera and lenses work.

Results that were too dark, bright and blurry

For instance I did this exercise at Roy's Station in San Jose's Japantown to continue learning how to shoot in manual mode customizing my shutter speed and aperture settings. In total I took a couple dozen photos in less than 5 minutes while I waited for my peppermint mocha to cool a bit. Most weren't winners. But that's ok.

This was my best result: F-stop of 2.8, Shutter Speed of 1/10 and ISO 100

At first the whole manual thing just turned my brain to mush but now it's making sense.

Have you tried to shoot using your camera's manual settings before? Give it a try and don't worry if your attempts look bad. Unlike film (with digital) it costs nothing to experiment so go for it!

The key confusing thing I've finally figured out is:

Shutter Speed: Your shutter speed runs from full seconds to fractions of seconds. This used to confuse me more than anything else because the number 1 means longer/slower and a number like 250 is shorter/faster. Don't think smaller bigger, it's shorter/faster and longer/slower. The reason the larger number means less is because it's actually a fraction of a second so 250 really means 1/250th of a second. Does that make sense?

Left: Too fast of a shutter speed and/or narrow aperture

Right: Too slow shutter speed and/or wide aperture

So a faster setting where the shutter opens and closes more quickly means your camera receives less light so if your picture looks like the one on the left above you need to slow down your shutter speed leaving the shutter open longer to let more light in. But not so long that you let in too much light and it looks like the close up on the right. Somewhere between the two is a happy medium.

I'm also beginning to get a grasp on F-stop, also known as your Aperture setting.

Aperture (aka Fstop): A smaller number means a wider opening to let in light and larger numbers mean a more narrow opening that lets in less light. So if your photo is too dark or too light you'll want to adjust your aperture to make the opening wider or more narrow to control how much light your camera receives.

There are also settings for ISO (which I constantly forget to adjust so I'm usually shooting at 100) and focal length (which I have no clue what that means yet) but I'm not going to worry about them until I really have this shutter speed and aperture stuff down. I'm guessing that'll be in another week or two so I'm getting there and if you want to learn how to maximize your camera's potential, I hope you're coming with me :D

For me it's all about better photos for the blog. For you it could also mean better blog photos, a new hobby or simply better snapshots whenever you take a picture.

BTW the peppermint mocha was good. Really sweet (perhaps a bit too sweet for my taste) but I think too sweet is better than too bitter :P

Vegetarian Ozoni Mochi Soup Recipe

2012-01-02T00:19:00.000-08:00

This year I made a very simple vegetarian version of Ozoni Soup, a traditional Japanese soup made on New Year's Day. While the soup usually calls for meat broth with sliced chicken or pork, steamed fish cake, vegetables and mochi. I used organic vegetable broth and just four more ingredients to create this easy peasy vegetarian/vegan Ozoni Soup.

Thank you to my friend Gordon who kindly gave me a hostess gift of mochi when he recently came by for dinner. It was in a decorative plastic container with a little "Maneki Neko" or beckoning cat ornament that symbolizes good fortune. The presentation was so cute and fancy. It was a "kagami" or double stacked mochi made especially for New Year's Day.

The main ingredients for the soup were napa cabbage, carrot the mochi and vegetable broth.

To the broth I also added a single piece of konbu seaweed. Also known as "sea bones" this particular kind of dried seweed is often used a base for broths and stocks. It is discarded before serving.

I sliced the cabbage and placed in two bowls. The stalk sections I added to the broth first to allow them to cook just a bit longer than the thinner leaves.

And because it was a special occasion I went all out and used a metal vegetable cutter to make my carrots beautiful. The crab shaped veggie cutter was something I picked up years ago (I think) at Sur la Table as part of a set of three decorative shapes. You can also cut them by hand with an xacto knife.

The mochi container had to be torn open. Then I took a sharp knife and cut the section in two.

I put one piece of the mochi on a small baking sheet and popped it in the toaster oven to bake at 350º for a few minutes. As it bakes it softens and begins to puff up and out.

The broth and veggies cooking. I also added some frozen green peas at the last minute. I love their bright color and the extra bit of flavor they add to any soup.

The easiest way to eat the soup and break apart the mochi is with Japanese chopsticks

The finished soup was delicious and so easy to make! Here's a short description of the recipe I used to make this single serving for one:

Vegetarian/Vegan Ozoni Soup Recipe

1 dried or fresh mochi (baked)
3 leaves of napa cabbage (sliced)
1 wide carrot (cut with decorative vegetable cutter)
1/8 cup frozen green peas
1.5 cups vegetable broth (this was how much I had leftover from another recipe)
1 cup water added to broth
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste (freshly ground)

Place mochi in toaster oven at 300º for approximately 5 minutes
Slice cabbage and carrots separating cabbage stalk and leaf sections into two bowls
Heat broth to boiling in pot then reduce heat to medium.
Add carrots and napa cabbage stalks and cook for around 4 minutes
Add cabbage leaves and frozen peas to cook for 2-3 minutes
Ladle soup and veggies into bowl
Add baked mochi and immerse in broth. It will quickly soften in the liquid and become easy to break small sections off

You can add all kinds of veggies to this soup including spinach, mizuna greens, renkon (lotus root) or shitake mushroom. Just remember to cook the thicker, tougher veggies first and add the thinner more delicate ones at the end so they don't over cook.

A Word of Caution: Mochi is cooked sweet rice that is pounded into a sticky mass. The result is that mochi is very sticky and if too big of a bite is swallowed without proper chewing it is very easy to choke, even to death, on a bite of mochi. So eat small bites and chew well.

For my Ozoni Soup recipe with chicken broth, meat and fish cake CLICK HERE

New Year's Resolution: Bon Odori at San Jose Japantown's O Bon Festival

2012-01-01T00:19:00.000-08:00

As a child my parents made me take Japanese dancing lessons the way other kids were forced to take tap dancing or piano lessons. From a child's perspective there were two kinds of dancing:

1. The bon odori (pronounced bone oh-doe-ree rolling the "r") summer dancing for the O Bon festival that meant we would be wearing thin, unlined, comfortable, lightweight kimonos called "Yukata" with soft obi (pronounced oh-bee) sashes around our wasits and dancing outdoors in the parking lot of the buddhist church we didn't attend. In a way, bon odori is the Japanese equivalent to country line dancing. Everyone does the same steps and movements in unison but while walking in a circle around a narrow, central platform which traditionally held live musicians like the drummer whose rhythmic beating set the pace for the dancers below. The bon odori dancing represents simple folk stories told in a simple way.

Mia Hirata (left) and I wearing fancy style kimono and obi sashes

2. The second type was classical Japanese dance. It was much fancier, more formal and focused heavily on technique to tell the story. Hand gestures, head direction, arm movements, and foot placement were all crucial details in performing a classical piece well. Our teacher was kind so the lessons themselves were quite enjoyable and I think I always looked forward to the time spent with her.

Once a year we would perform the dances we'd learned onstage at our church's annual dinner. That night we would have to wear heavy kimonos with thick, formal obis that were hot and hard to breathe in. I can still remember how I often felt like my ribs were going to crack under the tightness of the obi. Sometimes we had to hurriedly do costumes changes and often used props like parasols, fans and baskets.

It also meant my hair would be pulled, by force, into an excruciatingly tight bun, sealed to my skull with liberal dollops of Dippity Do hair styling gel and lots of hair spray. The only hair that escaped this torture were two, long, spiral curl, side burns that would boing like Slinkies as I performed the dance routines. It also meant I would have to wear my mom's lipstick, which had a horrible floral taste to it when first applied. After a few minutes the scent would dissipate but it was all pretty awful to a little kid.

Pigeon toed me, Mia Hirata, Holli Watanabe and her sister Jenna

At the end of the night we would painfully take our buns down which could only be done by "cracking" our hair loose from their Dippity Do helmets. LOL

We would all take classes from our sensei (pronounced sah-n-say meaning teacher), Madame Kanriye Fujima, who I remember as a very graceful and kind woman. She would come to town several times a year to teach us how to be little dancers. For the classical dancing we would go to her home and learn the steps in preparation for our performances. For the bon odori we would all gather in the parking lot at the Buddhist church and learn the steps as a group. I loved these practice sessions because they were always followed by ice cream. . . Creamsicles, Fudgecicles and those little parfait cups of strawberry or chocolate with vanilla ice cream and a tiny wooden spoon.

I scanned these photos the other day and sent them to Mia and Holli, two of the girls I used to dance with. We had a great laugh over our memories of what Mia (who was always my dance partner) aptly called our "good ole times" back when we were just kids and our biggest problems were things like hating Dippity Do and getting too tanned during the summer so that white powder had to be applied (to Holli and Jenna's faces) for this performance.

San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin

So how does this tie into possible New Year's resolutions? Because San Jose's Buddhist Church holds bon odori dance lessons each year in preparation for the two day O Bon festival in San Jose's Japantown each summer where over a thousand people come together with the women wearing kimonos and the men wearing happi coats to perform the traditional dances of Japan. I was thinking it might be neat to revisit the tradition, willingly, as an adult because it was very much a part of my childhood. With time I have a much greater appreciation for holding onto this bit of cultural heritage I had shunned for years.

What are your resolutions this year?

Kitai's Doggie Christmas

2011-12-31T07:07:00.000-08:00

I'm a firm believer that if you have pets (birds, cats, horses, dogs, etc,) who enjoy toys, it's a good thing to give them new ones from time to time to keep them mentally stimulated and occupied. Kitai is a huge toy lover. He loves balls, Nylabones, rubber squeaky toys and plushies. He loves to squeak them, chase them, carry them around and he loves to tear them apart.

Speaking of tearing apart he also knows how to open his presents on Christmas morning. He is such a smart dog though it took me a while to figure out he could do this. Here he demonstrates his gift opening proficiency making short work of the two new toys he received this year. He is so funny!

My 2011 top ten food tour favorites and a big surprise

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

What began as a simple endeavor to track down some San Francisco food trucks turned into a year long quest to discover new restaurants and dishes Bay Area wide.

The photo montage below is the sum total of what my foodie friend Carl Mindling and I ate at 54 restaurants trying 96 entrees, appetizers, desserts and drinks during our 12 months of Northern California food tours.

But here's a big announcement: As much fun as they were we're pretty darn full so we've decided to take 2012 off when it comes to our monthly food tours. We mutually decided there's only so much food we can eat and next year we're moving on to to a new type of adventure: photo tours! We want to go out and photograph all kinds of cool places to visit and things to do. The range will be wide and hopefully interesting to you! They're also bound to include a breakfast, lunch or dinner so we'll share what we ate but it'll be one restaurant at a time instead of 5 places in one day.

I can't believe we ate the whole thing!

To pay tribute to the great dining experiences we shared, Carl suggested we each create a list of our top ten favorite things from our monthly food adventures in 2011. We chose four of the same items for our respective lists. Check out his Top Ten by CLICKING HERE. I knew this wouldn't be easy but here goes. . .

Artichoke Garlic Herb Bread at Norm's Bakery
"A Pescadero Food Tour: Where and What to Eat Off HWY 1"
Pescadero, CA

Green Curry Noodles at Charlie Hong Kong

"Beyond the Beach: A Santa Cruz Food Adventure"
Santa Cruz, CA

Grilled Cheese Sandwich at In-N-Out Burger
"A Bay Area Cheap Eats and Secret Menu Food Adventure"
Mountain View, CA

Oven Roasted Egg, Creamy Leeks, Crescenza Cheese & Truffle Oil Flatbread at Vin Antico

"Cowgirl Creamery: A Northern California Cheese Adventure"

San Rafael, CA

Vegetable Tempura Sushi at Fuki Sushi
"A Palo Alto, Epicurean Food Tour"
Palo Alto, CA

Green Onion Pancakes at O Chamé
"Where to Eat on Fourth Street"
Berkeley, CA

Corkscrew Onion Rings at Corkscrew Cafe
"Eating in the valley or by-the-sea, Carmel is the place to be"
Carmel Valley, CA

Vegetable Gnocchi at Nonni's Bistro
A Surprisingly Delicious Pleasanton Food Tour
Pleasanton, CA

Crimson Rhubarb Tart with Ginger Ice Cream at Chez Panisse Cafe
"Our May, East Bay, Berkeley and Oakland Food Adventure"
Berkeley, CA

Lemon Grass Tofu at Saigon
A Surprisingly Delicious Pleasanton Food Tour
Pleasanton, CA

Honorable Mentions would include:

The Monticello Macaroni & Cheese at Eddie Papas, The Pasta Shop's Cheese Bread, the Bubble and Squeak at Aunt Mary's Cafe, the Molten Chocolate Lava Cake at the Cascade Bar & Grille and the Pumpkin Borani at the Oasis Grille.

The concept was so simple, find new places and things to eat. I think we all get stuck in ruts eating at the same restaurants over and over again. Nothing wrong with that, I have my favorites too, but if you go just a few blocks or cities further, who knows what you'll discover.

In case you missed a few, here is our entire year in review:

January - Gourmet Meat Street Food & Vegetarian Food Truck Favorites

February - Beyond the Beach: A Santa Cruz Food Adventure

March - Cowgirl Creamery: A Northern California Cheese Adventure

April - Beyond Sushi: A South Bay Japanese Food Adventure

May - Our May, East Bay, Berkeley and Oakland Food Adventure

June - A Palo Alto, Epicurean Food Tour

July - A Bay Area Cheap Eats and Secret Menu Food Adventure

August - A Pescadero Food Tour: Where and What to Eat Off HWY 1

September - A Surprisingly Delicious Pleasanton Food Tour

October - Where to Eat: A Willow Glen Food Tour

November - Where to Eat on Fourth Street • Berkeley, CA

December - Eating in the valley or by-the-sea, Carmel is the place to be

Trailing light night photography

2011-12-30T08:16:00.000-08:00

Last night I suggested to hubby we should go out and shoot some night photography. Our original intention was to head to downtown San Jose to take pictures at Christmas in the Park, an annual event full of decorations along Market Street in front of the Fairmont Hotel and the Tech Museum.

F stop 2.5 - Exposure Time 1/5

Once we arrived downtown I realized a much more interesting opportunity would be taking pictures of the carnival rides across the street along Park Ave.

F stop 4.5 - Exposure Time 0.4

I wanted to take photos where the lens was left open for a longer than standard amount of time to create light trails while using a tripod.

F stop 2.5 - Exposure Time 1/4

My ISO was set to 100 then I just played with my aperture and shutter speeds to create different amounts of trailing light and color. I used my pancake lens which, sadly, wasn't wide enough to get a full frame shot of the entire ride once it was in motion.

F stop 3.5 - Exposure Time 0.4

I felt a little motion sick just watching people ride the rides. No way could I do it. Well I could but I'd be crawling off and would have to lay down on the ground for about a half hour after. LOL

F stop 10 - Exposure Time 3.2

At one point I checked in with hubby. He had set his shutter slower than mine, so I left mine open longer and slowed things down to get this photo that looked like his. We got home and he showed me how after that he sped his up and took pictures that looked like mine. I love how the clown's face is peeking out LOL

F stop 3.5 - Exposure Time 0.4

The weird thing is that it was foggy last night in San Jose. Like really misty. So misty it almost felt like it was raining. It made our expedition not as much fun but I felt like it was still a successful outing.

F stop 8 - Exposure Time 1

Before we left we went to shoot a few more rides. This one was called "Foot Loose." When I was a kid I think they called this kind of ride "The Hammer" or something like that.

F stop 8 - Exposure Time 1

There are two cab areas where people sit. I wanted to photograph both at the same time but here's where you can tell I don't have a wide angle lens. And I didn't want to stand in the street to perfectly frame the whole ride because I would have been hit by a car.

F stop 8 - Exposure Time 1

Slowly they begin swinging back and forth like pendulums until they gain enough speed that they spin in complete circles.

F stop 8 - Exposure Time 1

I didn't change my settings at all this time. The ride moved so quickly it created all of the streaming light I wanted with my first attempt.

F stop 8 - Exposure Time 1

Ah, this was what I was after! Circles of light. What I didn't anticipate was how the people standing beneath it would be so sharp. I guess because they were all watching the ride too they didn't move at all which made for cooler pictures for me :)

F stop 8 - Exposure Time 1

I think hubby and I will be doing things like this more often. In so many ways we're so opposite that sometimes people ask me why we're a couple :) As I munched on a soft pretzel (I couldn't resist the corner vendor) I thought how cool it is that we now have photography in common as our first mutual hobby.

Oh and even though we walked past it we didn't take any photos at all of Christmas in the Park. We'll do that next year when the weather is better. You still have two days left to see it though. It's open every day from 9:00 AM. through midnight, until Sunday, January 1, 2012.

Eating in the valley or by-the-sea, Carmel is the place to be

2011-12-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

Carl decided we should end the year with style so for our final food tour of 2011 we headed south to Carmel, CA. We began our day inland in Carmel Valley dining at the Wagon Wheel Coffee Shop, Corkscrew Café and dropping by the Earthbound Farm Stand. Then we headed west towards the water and the oh so very picturesque city Carmel-by-the-Sea. La Bicyclette and the Carmel Bakery and Coffee Co were our stops there.

We headed out bright and early to eat breakfast at the Wagon Wheel Coffee Shop on Carmel Valley Road.

The neat thing when you walk inside is that the Wagon Wheel doesn't have a stylized, wanna be kind of ambiance. You get the feeling that every thing on the walls is there for a reason. Each photograph and object have their own history and story to tell.

We started out ordering an Oatmeal Pancake ($3.50) with fresh bananas ($2.00). Here's the thing. I don't like oatmeal or pancakes, but I thought maybe I'd like them together. If you love pancakes or if you love oatmeal you'll probably think they're great! Turns out I didn't care for them but I kind of thought I wouldn't. But I wanted to give them a try :)

What I did love at the Wagon Wheel was the "Cookout" which consisted of baked beans and three poached eggs. The beans had a bit of bite to them with just a touch of jalapeno/chili heat which was just enough to bring out a flavor to contrast the sweetness of the sauce.

Next we headed further inland to the Corkscrew Café. There are, in total, 8 dining areas here. Two are small, each with a single large table. And a larger L shaped area divides into three areas that are each very quaint and rustic. The two outside sections, one along the entire side of the building and another larger section behind it with a large pond.

The interior is early mission in style. As you walk in you immediately see loaves of freshly baked bread lined up on the counter before you along with standing metal containers that each hold bottles of wine dusted in flour. The walls are painted a warm earthy red mixed with aged, raw, grey wood accented by shutters of turquoise framing a mirrored wood fire oven.

Here's the funny thing. The Corkscrew Café offers not only a cheese sampler, they also offer a bread sampler (available Weds-Sunday for $5.75). Out of curiosity we had to try it. What arrived were two slices each of the four kinds of bread we'd just passed on our way in with fresh butter and the most flavorful olive oil I've ever tasted. Clockwise from top left: Whole Wheat, Rosemary Olive Ciabatta, Sourdough and Baguette. The Rosemary Olive Bread was loaded with tiny bits of kalamata olives (my favorite) so Carl got each of us a loaf to bring home.

Our waiter highly recommended the Corkscrew Onion Rings ($7.00) and once we tried them we understood why. Served haystack style they're thin, crisp, sweet & salty. OMOR. I ate too many, Carl ate too many. We couldn't stop eating them. I would definitely go all the way back to Carmel Valley just to have these onion rings again.

On the way out I spotted this freshly baked, wood fire pizza sitting just outside the oven door.

And of course there had to be a cool corkscrew collection right? I especially loved the little dog shaped corkscrews. There was also a really cute pic one too. You can see them (behind glass) in the first dining area in a large armoire and a built in wall display area.

As we headed back towards the highway to go to Carmel by the Sea, Carl spotted our next stop on the side of the road. We'd noticed this sign on our way out to Corkscrew, but on our way back Carl noticed that earlier we had passed the Earthbound Farm Stand, without noticing it because the sign came after. We made a quick decision and Carl made a u-turn.

This is what we found. A very cute country store full of organic produce, a small coffee and salad bar, fresh meals prepared to go and lots of snack foods and for home chefs, lots of healthy ingredients. I purchased my first bottle of agave syrup to use as a sugar substitute. I found out that Agave Nectar, sweeter than honey and refined sugar, is often used as a honey substitute by vegans as the sweetener comes from a plant.

It was there I spotted the Jimtown Fig & Olive Spread ($4.95). Now remember how earlier I said I don't like oatmeal or pancakes? Well, I love figs and kalamata olives. So I knew this spread would be a winner for me :) We had the bread from our Corkscrew sampler that we'd brought along with us in the car and had an impromptu picnic. Mmmmm hmmmmmm. That's a little spread on a bit of baguette. Yum!

There is so much to do and see at the Earthbound Farm Stand. There are three outdoor seating ares, an herb garden, a play area for kids, a vegetable garden for the cafe inside, and all kinds of things to see like how to compost.

We were, as Carl said, dilly dallying along and had to push ourselves to leave and head over to Carmel-by-the-Sea. It is a beloved tourist destination full of quaint houses, adorable hobbit like architecture, shops, art galleries and restaurants.

A very cute bicycle parked in front of La Bicyclette.

Our first stop was a sister-restaurant to the Corkscrew Café. La Bicyclette is on the corner of Dolores Street at Seventh. Aside from being one of the most wonderful places in California (and probably the world) Carmel-by-the-Sea is unusual in that the houses and shops don't have street number addresses. So you'll see addresses written as cross streets. I've always wondered how the postmen know who to deliver mail to but recently learned that they don't. If you live in Carmel's "village" you have to go to the Post Office to pick up your mail.

The restaurant's sign is so cute!

The restaurant is divided into two areas. On the left is a more modern, bistro looking bar and dining area. On the right is a fanciful, kind of Snow White, cottage'ish dining room which is where we sat.

Nantes Carrot Risotto

I was craving fresh veggies at this point and we found them atop this order of Nantes Carrot Risotto ($14.00) with truffle marinated artichokes, greens, thin strips of peeled carrot and shavings of parmesan cheese. The risotto itself was more flavorful and tangy than creamy. I mean it was creamy, but the flavor was what I noticed first. You can't help it.

Also on the menu that day was a Wood-Fired Quince and Apple Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream ($8.00). Though I'd have to agree with another diner sitting beside us, that because it is a free form crust, it's what most people would recognize as a galette, rather than a tart. No matter what you call it it was warm and delicious. The crust was perfect.

Ah, this picture was taken with my new macro lens hubby got me for Christmas!

The ice cream was served atop a small bed of brown sugar, laid upon thin strands of gooey caramel sauce. Not a lot, just enough of the extra sweetness to make you go ahhhhhhhhh when you eat it.

So was this picture :)

And I'd been craving apple pie since Christmas. This was the perfect treat to satisfy my craving. I wasn't sure what a quince even looks like! Turns out they look like a slightly lumpy pear crossed with a lemon but without the thick peel of a lemon. They are thin skinned like apples and pears and I couldn't tell the difference between the two in our dessert.

Oh we were so full. So for our final stop we headed over to the Carmel Bakery (at Ocean Avenue and LIncoln) for a to-go treat I usually only have every other year or even less frequently.

We had to wait a bit for the looky-loos to stop gazing in the front window so I could show you the exterior unobstructed. LOL. This place is always busy but the line moves quickly.

There are always plates and pedestals piled high with pastries and their house specialty: giant, soft, Bavarian pretzels. Some are savory, others sweet.

And did I forget to mention the cute cookies for both humans and dogs? These are the human gingerbread men, snowmen and Christmas trees above.

But my personal favorite are these Fruit Stick ($2.95) pastries. They're like sugar crusted, rolled up, flakey turnovers filled with raspberry or apricot. I chose raspberry and had it for breakfast the next morning. We kept them in the car instead of the trunk on the way home and they made the entire ride home smell like we were in a bakery.

If you've never been to Carmel-by-the-Sea this is what it looks like. The sidewalks are always full of shoppers and buildings are beyond cute. We were lucky. Often Carmel is overcast and a little chilly so imagine our surprise, no, make that shock, that we were there for an unseasonably warm and sunny 70º day with blue skies in late December!

You can read Carl's recap here. There's a very funny little white lie his parents used to tell him about Carmel when he was a kid so they could have it all to themselves.

Want to go where we went? Here's the way:

View Larger Map

Wagon Wheel Coffee Shop
7156 Carmel Valley Rd
Carmel, CA 93923
831-624-8878

Corkscrew Cafe
55 West Carmel Valley Road
Carmel Valley, CA 93921
Reservations: 831-659-8888

Earthbound Farm Stand
7250 Carmel Valley Road
Carmel, CA 93923
831-625-6219

La Bicyclette
Dolores Street at 7th
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93923
Reservations: 831-622-9899

Carmel Bakery and Coffee Co.
Ocean Ave & Lincoln
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93923
831-626-8885

For the camera curious: Still learning how to use my new camera and lenses. All images were shot RAW (but processed as .JPG's for the blog) in both manual and IA modes with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 camera using the following lenses:

LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm / F4.0-5.8 ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S (zoom lens)
LEICA DG MACRO-ELMARIT 45mm / F2.8 ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S. (macro lens)
LUMIX G 14mm / F2.5 ASPH (pancake lens)

Call Tipsy Tow in Northern, CA, NV and UT if you're too drunk to drive home on NYE

2011-12-29T09:25:00.001-08:00

If you drink, you don't have to drive. Especially on New Year's Eve. This morning I found out about a program called "Tipsy Tow" from my friend Holly. AAA's Tipsy Tow is a free 10 mile tow home after 6:00 PM Dec. 31st until 6:00 AM Jan. 1st. The coolest part? You don't even have to be a member of AAA to use the service so if you're going out to party on NYE load this number into your smart phone right now in case you need a ride this weekend: 800-222-4357 or remember 800-AAA-HELP and ask for a "Tipsy Tow"

To find out if the program is offered in your city in CA, NV or UT CLICK HERE and enter your Zip Code. If the website directs you to the Tipsy Tow page the service is available where you live. If it directs you to the AAA home page it is not offered where you live.

Here in Northern California there's no need to drink and drive. There are several options:

Northern California: (800) 222-4357 AAA's Tipsy Tow Free within 10 miles 6:00 PM December 31, 2011 through 6:00 AM January 1, 2012. The service will provide a one-way ride for the driver and vehicle to the driver's home. If there are additional passengers who need a ride, they will be taken to the driver's home as long is there is sufficient room for them to be transported safely in the tow truck.
Alameda, Berkeley, Oakland: (800) 281-4488 for free Veteran Cab ride cab home within the city limits (up to $35). Rides home can be given from the East Bay to San Francisco, but not from San Francisco to the East Bay. Patrons must pay any remaining balance in cash. Credit cards will not be accepted.
Sacramento: (916) 444-2222 for a free Yellow Cab Company of Sacramento (up to $35). Patrons must be picked up at a restaurant, hotel, or bar within Downtown Sacramento to qualify for a free ride. Rides home must be within Sacramento.
San Francisco For a free ride within the city (up to $35) call Luxor Cab at (415) 282-4141.

The cab rides listed above are Courtesy of Berg Injury Lawyers
They will be offering their Safe and Sober program from 10 p.m. Saturday, January 31, 2011 through 4 a.m. Sunday, January 1, 2012. Due to the program's popularity, a cap of $35 per ride is in place so you'll need to pay the difference over that amount. For a ride home call the appropriate cab company listed above and tell them the ride is on Berg Injury Lawyers. BTW Kudos to Berg Injury Lawyers. I can tell you right now sponsoring a service like this, not everyday TV Commercials, is what has now made your company memorable to me.

There are safe driving programs set up nationwide so even if Tipsy Tow is not available in your area there's a chance another program is. CLICK HERE to view a nationwide list of both free and paid options to get you home safely and keep everyone else on the road safe over New Year's Eve.

AAA Offers Free Tipsy Tow in Northern California, Nevada and Utah on New Year Eve; Other Free Ride Options

Arrested in San Jose? Call Zig Zag Bail Bonds

Recently I watched a tv show about how much it sucks to get arrested for DUI or DWI. First of all it's humiliating. You have to take that field sobriety test on the side of the road. On the show the woman who failed was then arrested, booked, shackled to a metal pipe in a jail cell and had to call a friend for help to be bailed out. It's also expensive. The fines and court costs add up quickly, you'll lose your car for months or a year and possibly go to jail. Like I said, it all sucks.

And that's the good news because if you managed to get yourself arrested without injuring or killing an innocent bystander the amount of fines and jail time will be far lower than if you do. And of course there's always the chance you'll injure or kill yourself. IT IS NOT WORTH IT!

Seriously.

Santa Clara's Main Jail

Even when you're doing everything right life can turn on a dime and everything you have today, your health, your home, your friends, family and job can be gone in an instant so don't tempt fate and take a risk like driving buzzed or drunk. Please, don't do it. Think of everything you have and everyone you love and call for a ride. Not just on NYE, every day of the year.

BTW, I can afford to help friends with no money for a cab who find themselves stranded because they're too buzzed or drunk to drive (or the person you rode with is no longer safe to drive with) by coming to pick you up. I cannot however, afford to bail you out of jail.

New Years Resolutions 2012: Blog more and better!

2011-12-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

My goal has always been about quality vs. quantity when it comes to posting frequency here on The Flirty Blog.

With that in mind I'd recently been wondering if it's possible to publish a post of quality every single day. Then this morning I saw this intriguing post on BlogHer:

Join Us for Daily Blogging with January's NaBloPoMo
"If you've never joined NaBloPoMo, this is the time to do so. It starts January 1st and run until January 30th. Just make the commitment to (1) blog daily for the month (nothing more to it than that!) and (2) to support your fellow NaBloPoMo'ers by reading a handful of the other blogs on the blogroll. Cheer them along and they'll cheer you on too. You can sign up for January's NaBloPoMo until January 5th. You can grab the official badge here and upload a link to the badges you make."

I signed up, then Googled to find out what NaBloPoMo meant. LOL. Turns out it's an acronym for "National Blog Posting Month" which means you are committing to publishing a post a day on your personal or professional blog. NaBloPoMo originally took place in November but is now a year long movement where you can sign up for whichever month appeals to you most.

I'm going to have a go at the January 2012 NaBloPoMo challenge. Let me know if you sign up too and I'll make sure to take a peek at your posts each day :)

Lunch and the Municipal Pier at San Francisco's Aquatic Park

2011-12-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

I'd heard of Aquatic Park before. I knew it was somewhere in San Francisco. Little did I know that I'd been across the street from it on many, many occasions. I also didn't know that San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is SF's Aquatic Park. It encompasses more than just the Maritime Museum and water beside it. It includes everything north of Beach Street between Hyde and (the end of) Van Ness Blvd.

So, hubby and I decided to head up to San Francisco a few days ago to take pictures at Aquatic Park.

First came lunch. While we'd planned to eat at McCormick and Kuleto's, where we'd eaten the past two years on trips to the city, after being kind of snubbed by the hostess and totally snubbed by the waitress we left and walked across the way to Lori's Diner at Ghirardelli Square. They were also busy but we were immediately greeted by a waitress from behind the counter who said she'd be with us in just a minute. In less than a minute she was walking us to a table. It was nice to receive great customer service, especially on a busy day.

Lori's is a very cute, quintessential dine. Our waiter appeared promptly after we were seated and took our orders. I had an ALT (avocado, lettuce and tomato) sandwich loaded with so much avocado it was spilling out of the sides.

The restaurant even has a Bay view. Looking out the window reminded me of this photo I took just last month while attending the Fairmont Hotel's open house at Heritage Place, which is part of Ghirardelli Square.

That's Alcatraz at sunset in the center of the picture and what looks like a pirate's ship in the right foreground. Our destination after lunch was to walk out to the end of the pier you see on the left with the round structure just peeking out from behind the branches. It's San Francisco's Municipal Pier where Van Ness Ave ends and meets McDowell Road.

You reach it by crossing Beach Street in front of Ghirardelli Square and walk westward along the water following Van Ness Ave.

Soon you'll see this building on stilts along the water's edge.

It's the Sea Scout Base for the Maritime Heritage Learning Center. We stopped and took photos of it, hubby from the lawn at street level and me, climbing down onto a plateaued sea wall.

The pilings, water and shadows were fun to photograph.

As we made our way along Van Ness there were plenty of photo opportunities. The large pirate looking ship is a Balclutha. It was launched in 1886 from Scotland. It's a three-masted, steel-hulled, square-rigged cargo ship. It's very picturesque and you can't help but to notice it when you gaze out towards the Bay from Ghirardellli Square.

Turning my camera the opposite direction I spotted this nice bit of architecture. I wanted to photograph it mostly because it was backlit and since learning how to shoot in manual mode I've been very intrigued to learn more about backlit photography. Especially when combined with a hazy kind of day.

Here's a view of the Municipal Pier at the end of Van Ness from the westward side.

It arcs to the right creating a semi-circle shape.

As you enter the gates to the pier you'll see Alcatraz straight ahead.

I love this shot. The small boats lead the viewer's eye towards Coit Tower in the distance creating a nice compositional flow. I especially loved the way the reflection of the closest white boat looks like a water color painted in the waves.

On the other side of the pier you can see Alcatraz in the distance. Due to atmospheric conditions (stagnant air) combined with a lot of people burning wood in their fireplaces over the holiday the haze from air pollution was very noticeable all the way from San Jose to San Francisco.

Playing with my camera I experimented shooting the light posts along the pier. This was facing northward with the sun hitting the post and light. Pretty, but I wanted to try more backlighting so I came up with two variations.

The first, facing south, is of the light with the sun aligned directly behind the glass cover at the top giving it an intense glow.

The second is a different light post with the sun placed directly behind the middle of the post. I like this one better because it shows the transparency of the glass cover.

I thought I'd like this photo as black and white so I converted it using the Image+Mode+Greyscale to turn it into a black and white picture in Adobe Photoshop. I think it looks rather timeless and all of that air pollution haze with just the tiniest rays of lens flare gives the image an ethereal look I really love.

For the curious: All images were shot RAW in manual mode with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 camera and zoom 14-140mm lens. For the blog they were rendered as .JPG files in Photoshop.

How to stop people from stealing your drinks at work

2011-12-26T13:38:00.000-08:00

When it comes to giving hubby gifts I often aim for need, humor or a combination of both. I think we all need to laugh more, especially when it comes to finding ways to laugh at things that annoy us, so this was just a bit of fun to help defuse an unpleasant situation. It's also something that can be done inexpensively.

For Christmas I wanted to help solve a problem hubby recently had at work.

The cans of Coca-Cola and bottles of Simply Lemonade he keeps in the community fridge had disappeared! As he tells it he was tired and parched from working all day. He went to the fridge greatly anticipating a cool sip of lemonade only to discover all of his beverages were gone! Both employees and contractors working in the building have access to the fridge so he doesn't know who took them.

He was upset enough to send an email (building-wide) announcing the disappearance of his drinks. One of his colleagues felt bad for him and even though he wasn't the one who drank hubby's cola, he brought in a 2 liter bottle of Coca-Cola the next day and put it in the fridge with a post it note and hubby's name written on it. LOL. So nice.

So it dawned on me that a funny and practical gift would be to make custom stickers to put on his drinks so other people would realize they shouldn't be drinking them. They had to be clear and to the point, but not threatening, because I didn't want him to get in trouble with his HR department so no threats of death or contamination. Instead of a warning it was really more of a plea but it looked like a warning because of the red, bold font in all capital letters. And the menacing photo of him :) He made that face at me at breakfast one morning when I was taking a picture of him so I cutaway the background and turned it into a bit of hilarity.

I went to the store to purchase a 6-pack of Coke only to discover they no longer sell 6 packs. I had to buy a 12 can box of soda.

I brought it home, carefully opened the box, put a sticker on every can, then glued the box shut again.

When hubby opened his present he was clearly more puzzled than thrilled but did his best to feign appreciation for his 12 cans of Coke.

I told him they were special and to open the box. He did and immediately cracked up.

It took him a minute before he said something along the lines of "Yeah, I might need these for work." To which I replied "You think? Because I got them for you to use here at the house." Which we both had a good laugh over because he could put a Coke in our fridge and it would sit there until he drinks it, or forever. Whichever comes first :)

Merry Christmas from the Flirty Girl

2011-12-25T08:57:00.000-08:00

This Christmas Day I got a bit nostalgic thinking about past Christmases. It started when I decorated my tree for the first time in years. Then I thought about past trees, the places I used to live, friends and family who have passed away and are no longer with us, the bowling alley pizza we'd eat on Christmas Eve (my uncle worked there) and the prime rib dinner my Auntie Mary would serve at her house each Christmas night. I also thought about the 600 cookies I used to bake and ship each year and more recently, Kitai opening his wrapped presents with as much excitement as any human kid ever has :D

I suspect my family loved me more when I sent them cookies boxes. LOL

I think what triggered my nostalgia was seeing all of the holiday photos, fun and goodwill posted on my friend's Facebook walls. I love seeing them and appreciate how much they can make others feel really good. Reading about other people's happiness feels like being wrapped in a cozy blanket of goodwill.

Yesterday my friend Mia posted this quote which I shared on Facebook and received back a large response of likes and comments from other friends letting me know that despite the commercialization of Christmas, when it comes down to it, it's all about what's in our hearts that matters most:

"Christmas gift suggestions: to your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect."

- Oren Arnold

So today I wish you and yours all of the above and more. I hope you and your family have a wonderful day filled with many happy moments that, when you look back on them next year, will become special memories that make you smile :)

Eco-friendly: A fabric gift wrap idea you already have at home

2011-12-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

Here it is: Instead of wrapping our gifts to each other in paper, hubby and I wrap them in pillow cases and bed sheets. I add ribbon for a fancier touch and even reuse the ribbon each year. LOL

To be honest I'm not sure why hubby likes this idea. I like it because it's eco-friendly. I think he likes it because it's less work than wrapping with paper.

Every year I keep saying I'm going to buy some cute holiday fabric and sew a few pillow case style bags in different sizes for small and medium sized items and have a few larger flat sheets for bigger boxes. With holiday fabric they would be so much more festive looking. But I still haven't got around to it so I decided to show them to you as they are.

For the large box I used a flat sheet with three small binder (paper) clips to clip the fabric from two sides together across the top. I created hospital corners with the extra fabric and drew up the other two sides and tied them across the top with a piece of ribbon.

The effect of opening a fabric wrapped gift is the same as a paper wrapped gift. It just takes a little less time and there's nothing to throw away after :)

A great no flash food photography tip for dark restaurants

2011-12-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

I read an article on Sign on San Diego earlier this year about the phenomenon of people photographing their food in restaurants. It was quite surprising. Most of the chefs interviewed said they take it as a compliment when they see diners taking pictures of their food. And many of the chefs and professional foodies in the article admit they do the same when dining out.

The Molten Chocolate Lava Cake at Cascade Bar and Grille

What surprised me most was the gripe other diners have isn't that people taking pictures in restaurants is distracting to them (with the exception of too much flash), their main issue with amateur food photographers is that they feel the pictures won't do justice to the food itself, damaging the reputation of the restaurant when they were share the images with others. I took that to mean if you're going to take food pictures to share you better make darn sure the pictures are good.

While daytime photography can be fairly unobtrusive, night food photography can be far more challenging. There's no arguing using a flash in a dimly lit room is going to be distracting. Not only that but often the photos don't come out very good because the flash is too bright. Take the photo below for example.

Standard flash on left. Flash turned down on right.

Both images are blown out (too bright) but the one on the left is far worse than the one on the right. The cool thing about my point and shoot (Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3) is that it has an adjustable flash where I can lower the intensity of the light often dramatically improving my end result. In this instance the image on the right is still too bright but it's better than the first one and fairly typical of the quality of food shots you'll see online.

Another drawback is that too much flash will create stark areas of contrast, brightly lit subjects next to areas with too much shadow causing the picture to look very flat and the food unappealing.

No supportive light source on the left, with supportive light on the right.

For me, one of the most annoying issues when not using a flash at night is trying to achieve a good white balance (always set your white balance indoors) so your food pictures don't come out with a weird red or yellow cast because of the interior lighting fixtures. If your camera has a Raw file option you can use it, instead of JPEG, and correct your white balance later but many point and shoots and phone cameras don't have the capability to shoot in Raw so how can you get a better picture like the one on the right above?

As it happened my friend Carl figured out this awesome little trick. We were on one of our food tours and I'd mentioned I wanted to get a little LED light pack to carry around with me so that I wouldn't have to use a flash but could instead use an external light source to photograph food in less than optimal conditions.

Just a short time later genius struck Carl! He pulled out his iPhone, turned on the flashlight app he'd installed and lit the dish. It was a HUGE improvement over flash or no flash!

So basically I hold my phone with the flashlight in my left hand and hold and shoot the camera with my right hand. It's not the best way to take a picture but it works :)

Since then I've used this trick several times including last night when Hubby, our friend Harpreet and I went out to dinner at Pacific Catch at the Pruneyard Shopping Center. I thought it was a traditional seafood place but it's actually an Asian fusion restaurant. And when I say fusion I don't mean subtly. It may be the perfect place because I can get some tasty sushi and hubby can get classic fish and chips. This place was made for us!

For instance here's my Agave Lemonade without white balance or flash. I did increase the exposure setting to let in as much light as possible and this was as good as it got.

Bring out my iPhone flashlight and this shot improved immensely. What I love about the flashlight is I can face my phone downward on my lap and raise it up above the table without ever flashing the light at anyone at another table. It's as unobtrusive as you can get adding more light to your shot.

Instead of a basket of bread, your table is given a small dish of shelled edamame and goldfish pretzels to tide yo over while you wait for your food.

While not perfect, the results I achieve using the iPhone flashlight are quite good. While I'd love to spend more time setting up the shot, I don't want to cause a distraction for diners who don't appreciate those of us who can't resist photographing our food. For a quick shot taken at the table with a point and shoot camera I'm pleased with the end result the iPhone flashlight has been producing.

By the way, my vegetarian Sunset sushi roll was really, really good. It's a maki (roll style) filled with tempura sweet tofu, green bean, scallion & carrot, wrapped in an outer layer of avocado, rice & nori and drizzled with teriyaki sauce. And the lemonade was the best I've ever had. It was more tart, less sweet. I will definitely order this meal again.

If you love bread pudding head to Santa Cruz and Nuevo Southwest Grill

2011-12-22T22:43:00.000-08:00

My expectations were sky high. My foodie friend Carl had been raving about Nuevo Southwest Grill's Sweet Potato Bread Pudding for over a year.

I loved the table top as much as the bread pudding!

My friend Orbie also told me, more than once, I had to go try it. Well, today I finally did. And guess what? It was as good as they said it would be. The caramel sauce was spectacular! Really.

For some reason I thought the bread would be orange but it wasn't. There were small bits and pieces of sweet potato in the bread, you could see them, but not nearly as much as I'd expected. Yummy! It was warm, moist and not too sweet to offset the sweetness of the caramel sauce.

The first time I had Saturn Cafe's Jalapeno Burger was March 2011

Thank you to Orbie and Carl for taking me to Nuevo so that I could finally try the bread pudding. It was even better than both of you said it would be :) And lunch at the Saturn Cafe beforehand was delicious as always! I LOVE their spicy, vegetarian, Jalapeno Burger.

Carl just did a blog post about Nuevo this morning so if you want to read about their food and sangrias CLICK HERE. And Orbie raved about their fresh aqua frescas so if you're an aqua fresca fan be sure to order one with your bread pudding :) Today's flavors were watermelon and honey dew.

You'll find them at:

Nuevo Southwest Grill on Yelp
21490 E Cliff Dr
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
(831) 475-2233

The Best Christmas Lights in San Jose, CA

2011-12-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

Well I finally did it. Something I've wanted to do ever since I saw the movie Christmas Vacation. I went and saw some over-the-top Christmas light displays put up by some very nice and community spirited people.

Click on each image to enlarge

I found them by typing "best christmas lights san jose" into Google. Up came the website California Christmas Lights, a resource of the best holiday lights in Silicon Valley.

This is 2474 Schubert Ave, San Jose, CA

Homeowner Dave just happened to step out to walk his dog while hubby and I were out front with our cameras on tripods. We were still there when he got back so he stayed and chatted us up for awhile.

These are all LED lights so he said his electricity usage is surprisingly economical for as many lights as you'll see wrapping his house, shrubs, trees, reindeer and the many other decorations on his lawn, driveway and roof.

Turns out the eight reindeer on his front lawn were garage sale finds. If you ever decide to get rid of your white wire reindeer you might want to swing by and drop them off. Dave will refurbish them with a fresh coat of paint, string new lights through them and either decorate his own home with them or gives them to friends and family so they can decorate their yards like his.

Though I'm sure no one else's yard looks just like his. It's truly a winter wonderland when you stand on the sidewalk and gaze at his masterpiece.

I especially loved this little holiday penguin.

Dave's house is in San Jose near the Cambrian Park area with the closest main arterial being Leigh x Curtner

We then headed west to visit a multiplex at 595 Nido Drive, Campbell, CA

This display in particular focuses on peace as it is a memorial to Christine Noela Orciuch by her niece Debi. A description at the four plex says that the four men responsible for her death were each given life in prison without the possibility of parole. One, received life plus 38 years.

I came home, Googled her name and learned that Christine, a mother of three, wife and all around kind hearted person was holding open the credit union door for a man on crutches, when she became the innocent victim of an armed bank robbery. She had walked into the robbery in progress, turned to run and was shot through the heart just outside the bank as one of her children (her 11 year old son) waited in the car.

Debi single handedly puts up this display each year and was outside putting up more decorations when we arrived so I was able to say hello and chat with her for just a bit. Her lights are more than just a display to view from the sidewalk, there are plenty of signs that invite visitors to step into the courtyard to see the rest of her winter wonderland. There are many smaller vignettes in the courtyard including this lit train set.

And a traditional Christmas tree.

The nearest main arterial is South Winchester Blvd x Budd Ave

Debi and Dave are both really nice people. The kind of friendly people you can sometimes forget exist these days. They both open their hearts to strangers by spreading the Christmas spirit not just for their friends and family or even their neighbors to enjoy as most of us do, they share their love of Christmas with the entire Bay Area. Both Dave and Debi are thrilled when people take the time to come visit their light displays.

There are still a few more locations I'm hoping to visit by Christmas Day. I'll keep you posted if we go. This was a fun way to learn more about night photography still shooting in manual mode using the new camera and a tripod. I think it was pretty successful :)

You can view more locations of great light displays at www.CaliforniaChristmasLights.com

A teeny, tiny Dedo gargoyle statue

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

Need to buy a gift for someone who loves gargoyles but doesn't have a huge mansion, estate or cathedral with towers like Notre Dame? The Stone Griffin Gallery in Historic Downtown Campbell sells tiny Dedo gargoyles. He's one of the cutest gargoyles I've ever seen. I purchased one years ago and still have him perched on a shelf in my house.

Irving gargoyle statue, the Gossip Monger plaque and Tiny Dedo Gargolye

As the story goes. . .

"It all began in Paris when the Notre Dame Cathedral was being built, rising majestically stone by stone towards the heavens. It was custom to top each structure with a menacing gargoyle, who protected the cathedral by warding off evil spirits.

Marie Therese, a nun from a tiny convent in Provence, disliked the evil-looking gargoyles on the new cathedral, sitting so close to the heavens.

Disguised as a man, she trekked on foot to Paris, entered the work site, and quickly carved a small block into a lovable, protective creature. She placed her creature, with its pointy ears and human-like feet, on the highest roof, visible only to God Himself.

It was undiscovered for centuries until a small boy, lost in the labyrinthine structure, stumbled off a ledge and rolled down a roof into the arms of the littlest gargoyle, perched quietly on a ledge. Since that time, Marie Therese's creature was affectionately known as Little Dedo, the gargoyle with the crossed toes."

Tiny Dedo Gargoyle is approximately 3" high
Can be shipped anywhere in the world
Can be displayed indoors / outdoors
Made of stone with fiberglass
Mossy green finish - No two are identical

Also cool, Dedo is:

Made in USA
Purchasing him from the Stone Griffin is supporting a small business

Chester is another cute & tiny gargoyle.

Stone Griffin Gallery
234 E. Campbell Avenue
Campbell, California 95008
Gallery Telephone 408/374-5200
Cell -- Most anytime 408/806-1352
Send an Email

A LYFE Kitchen dinner with celebrity Chef Tal Ronnen

2011-12-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

You know how sometimes kids get to go to a toy store and choose a whole pile of gifts all for themselves? Well, that kind of happened to my friend Carl Mindling and I last week, not at Toys R' Us, at LYFE Kitchen restaurant in Palo Alto, CA. I felt like pinching myself to see if I was dreaming.

I'd received an invitation to a "media" food tasting and gladly accepted. I marked my calendar then patiently waited for the big day to arrive. On the day-of it occurred to me that perhaps I should have mentioned I'm vegetarian. What if all of the dishes we were going to sample were meat based? I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

Each dish is highlighted below.

My fears were wasted energy because as it turned out not only would we be dining on all vegan dishes, one of our dining companions would be none other than Chef Tal Ronnen, one of the two Executive Chef's at LYFE Kitchen!

Chef Tal told us that we were about to enjoy a meal that would be delicious, satisfying and coincidentally, cholesterol free. That's right, zero cholesterol. Every dish would be under 600 calories and each would be packed with flavor.

Part of the reason he became involved with LYFE Kitchen was because he "wants to change the perception (people have) about plant based foods." Through LYFE Kitchen he's been able to reach a much more diverse audience than if he'd chosen to work for a brand that is 100% vegan or vegetarian.

Chef Tal Ronnen at a cooking demo earlier this year.

I'd had the pleasure of meeting him on a couple other occasions. He is great. Seriously. He's low key and very nice and fun to talk to because not only does he know a lot about food, he's always willing to share what he knows. He's perhaps best known as the vegan guru who guided Oprah and her staff through their 21 Day vegan cleanse diet.

Chef Tal is happy to talk about veganism and how to make vegan food.

His approach to promoting veganism is very similar to that of author Jonathan Safran Foer's which is "quiet in an incremental way." This means he doesn't judge, he doesn't try to convince you you're wrong if you mention you eat meat or dairy products nor does he overtly try to convince you that you should even be vegan. I love his style because I don't think attacking, intimidating or guilting people are the most effective ways to help guide them toward a new way of thinking, or in this case eating :)

As we took our seats we were asked "What have you not tried on the Vegan Menu?" I mentioned the Cesar Salad, and Marla and Carissa who'd helped organize the tasting asked if I'd had a Smoothie or the BBQ Pizza. I replied "no" and just like that the order was sent to the kitchen!

Very Berry Smoothie

I'd had a LYFE Kitchen Cooler and a Mocha before but never a Smoothie. Hands down the Smoothies are my favorite drink so far. I had the Very Berry on the right and Carl had the strawberry just behind it.. The Very Berry contains strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, acai, agave nectar, fruit juices and ice.

We began with a dairy free Sweet Corn Chowder. I'd had it once before so I didn't sample it that night. Cashews and water are processed in a Vitamix blender to create the cream base for the chowder. It was amazing to watch the two ingredients be transformed into a new ingredient when I attended a cooking demo earlier this year.

The BBQ Chicken Flatbread.

This is now one of my new favorite menu items. For meat eaters there's the option of free-range grilled chicken and for vegetarians and vegans the Gardein Chicken, sweet corn, roasted onion, cilantro, agave bbq sauce, and a non dairy five-cheese blend.

You cannot imagine how sweet, savory and packed with flavor their house made BBQ sauce is. And the wholegrain crust was thin, crunchy and added more flavor than a traditional white flour crust could. The chopped Gardein chicken was so meat like I seriously think that people could eat this pizza and never realize they didn't just eat real chicken. And the cheese is not soy, it's tapioca based! But it kind of looks, melts and has a cheesy stretchability factor similar to milk based cheese. I can't wait to order this again!

Ancient Grains Bowl

This is Chef Tal's signature dish on the LYFE Kitchen dinner menu. His Ancient Grains Bowl is stir-fried Gardein tips and sauteed vegetables over whole-grain farro and quinoa with a sweet and spicy chile-ginger sauce. It's as delicious as it is colorful! The Gardein tips are a faux beef that is soft and tender not like ground beef, but bite sized cubes of filet mignon.

Art’s Unfried Chicken or Gardein Chicken

And this is Chef Art Smith's unfried chicken, or in this case, Gardein Chicken cutlet served with roasted winter squash, brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, cashew cream, and a dijon vinaigrette. The Brussels sprouts are always perfect. My biggest complaint about Brussels sprouts is that at most other restaurants they tend to be undercooked. I think this was the fifth time I've had them at LYFE Kitchen and they've been perfect every time.

The Cesar Salad

Here's a another new dish I'd been looking forward to trying. Usually Cesar Salad isn't vegetarian because of the anchovies or vegan because of the egg in the dressing. At LYFE Kitchen a combination of capers and miso replace the anchovies creating a dressing that is similar to a traditional cesar but doesn't use any animal products. The salad consists of organic romaine, cherry tomatoes, english cucumbers, shaved parmesan, eggless caesar dressing and multigrain croutons. All I could say as I gobbled it down was WOW. Again, I couldn't believe how flavorful it was and it made me wonder: Why aren't more restaurants doing this?

The Tofu Tacos are a new menu item. I suspect they are the same as the standard two tacos with grilled mahi (fish), chayote slaw, avocado, chipotle aioli, cilantro, and chipotle vinaigrette on warm corn tortillas. But instead of mahi I suspect they use their agave lime grilled tofu. It is the only dish that I could tell I wasn't eating meat but that might be because *and I cringe to say this* I don't really like tofu.

Did I mention I'm kind of a lame vegetarian? The three foods I don't like: Tofu, mushrooms and eggplant are the most common meat substitutions on most restaurant menus and I don't like any of them. I'd rather eat a bowl of Brussels sprouts, a pile of Kale, or beans in any shape or form. I've often joked I should get hypnotized into liking them because if they can teach people not to smoke they can certainly teach a girl how to love portebello mushrooms. It would make eating out even easier if I could learn to love the vegetarian triad of tofu/mushrooms/eggplant.

The Baked Sweet Potato Fries with agave house made ketchup. I'd had them before, twice to be exact. They're always a crowd pleaser. They are a softer fry, not super crisp but very tasty and more nutrient dense than russet potato fries.

Another favorite of mine is the crispy gardein* chicken sandwich with chayote slaw, fresh tomatoes, agave pickles, and garlic aioli on a flat, multigrain bread. The combination of flavors burst in your mouth and the textures are great with the soft bread, crunchy Gardein chicken cutlet, and the crisp veggies combining to create one very satisfying sandwich.

There are certain things LYFE Kitchen doesn't use on their menu, like deep fryers or refined sugar. Their pickles are sweetened with agave nectar. You would never know. They taste just like classic pickles.

I hadn't tried the Grilled Vegetable Sandwich mostly because it contains grilled portobello mushroom, eggplant, and red onion, with fresh english cucumber, tomato, and edamame hummus on multigrain bread. Someday I will order without the mushroom and eggplant because I think a cucumber, onion, tomato, and edamame hummus sandwich sounds grand!

The Banana Rum Cheesecake is a non-dairy cheesecake nestled in a pecan crust and topped with a rum sauce. We had this on the grand opening night and I was shocked at how rich and creamy it was with no dairy in it!

And the vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie was soft and chewy with rich chips of dark chocolate. I guess the term "milk" chocolate led me to the assumption that all chocolate contains milk. Chef Tal said the best chocolates usually don't contain any dairy products like milk or milk powder. Cool, it's nice to know certain brands of fine chocolate are vegan friendly.

Now here's where I got a little stupid. I photographed all of the food, the beverages, the desserts and even the empty table when we all stood up.

Can you believe after spending the evening dining and chatting with him it never occurred to me to ask to take a picture of Chef Tal, or to ask to take a picture with him. Doh! Next time. *Shaking my head here.*

Gift Cards

Looking for a great holiday gift? LYFE KItchen has gift cards available. My hubby gave me one two months ago. I used it to buy lunch and got a super cool water bottle.

Here's how their December through January 31, 2012 promotion works: Buy a $50 gift card at LYFE Kitchen and you'll receive an extra $10 gift card along with it.

Or, buy a $25 gift card and you'll receive an additional $5 gift card.

With the extra cards, you can regift them or use them for yourself. That's what I would do. I would use them for myself. LOL

A HUGE THANK YOU to Chef Tal Ronnen, Marla, Carissa, Restaurant Manager Steve and his staff at LYFE Kitchen for such a delicious and satisfying experience. I'm already planning my next trip back for more pizza!

If you haven't been to LYFE Kitchen yet here's the 411:

www.LyfeKitchen.com
167 N. Hamilton, Palo Alto, CA
650-325-LYFE (5933)

Open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.