purplelara

india redux: safari!!!!!

“Perhaps I could interest you in a Mango barfi as you head out on your (fuckin’ wicked) Indian safari? You’ll want to keep up your strength, as I hear the lions and tigers are quite ferocious here in India.”

help!

I need help! I’m sure that’s not news to many of you, but this time I’m serious.

I’ve password protected the post below, for reasons that will become apparent when you read it, but I would really, really, really like to hear your opinion.

Please either email me (purplelara / gmail) or leave a comment and I’ll send the password to you. I know I never do that when I come across password protected posts, but trust me when I say I WANT YOU TO. I NEED YOU TO. I’M SERIOUS.

Edited to add: Oh man, you guys are awesome! I’ve received such great comments and emails about this. I really appreciate your help, thank you!

Edited, part 2: He loved the ski pass, thanks for the input! I’m still keeping the post locked since some of the other things mentioned may be Christmas presents. Thanks again for your help!

protected

I need your help. As you may know, my birthday and Andrew’s are only days apart, which means he turns 40, three days ahead of me, in about a week.

I need advice on a present for him. The first year we were together, I gave him a day pass to Whistler.  I came up with the idea myself, he hadn’t hinted at it, and I wrapped it up with a card that said something like “What I want to give you more than anything is happiness, and I know how happy being on the mountain makes you. I hope that when you use this pass you are filled with happiness and maybe, just maybe, think of me.”

I’m awesome.

It was such a big hit that I gave him the same gift last year, even though it felt like a bit of a cop-out to get him the same gift two years in a row. But he loved it.

And so now, it’s his birthday in a week again. His 40th birthday. I’ve asked him what he wants and he said, unsurprisingly, “ski passes”. I want to get him what he wants, but I also want to make this birthday special, and I don’t want to give him the same present every year for the rest of his life.

Another idea I had was to get him a Bluetooth headset for his phone. He is in his truck, speaking to clients, all day long. Early next year a law will come into affect making cell phone use illegal while driving, except with a headset.

I know this would make a crazily un-sexy gift, but I also know he will HATE to part with the money to buy one himself.

If I was a lesbian and had a girlfriend, I would know, for certain, not to buy this for my partner as a birthday gift. Practical is not what we chicks want in a birthday present.

But what about men? Would he appreciate not having to spend his own money on a head-set? Could it be seen as a new toy? What about the fact that I’d be buying him the gift of “No Tickets” and “No Jail” and maybe even “Not Dying”?

As I write this, I’m leaning towards maybe giving him this as a Christmas present, instead of a 40th birthday present. But that leaves the question of what to get him for his birthday open.

Help me! Men – are practical gifts appreciated or lame? Women – what have you bought your significant others lately that they really loved?

Any help would be appreciated – thank you in advance!

OMG PIZZA

At IGA right now they have a stamp saving promotion where you can collect bakeware after collecting x number of stamps. I spent $350 there in a few weeks, so I got *free* pizza pan the other day. Really, it’s for making homemade pizza and we wimped out and used Boboli crusts, but still. Free! (ish).

We headed down to IGA to pick up the pizza fixins and while we were in the checkout line a young guy behind us was ordering pizza on his cell. He turned to his girlfriend and said “Sweet! On sale for $9.99!!!” Andrew and I looked at our bill for $49 and wondered how Domino’s stays in business. Oh right, their pizza sucks. Suck = cheap.

Anyways, Andrew was in charge of a classic pizza, and I attempted to rip off Earl’s California pizza and came pretty close.

California pizza

• Boboli crust (or make your own if you are not lazy and more interested in spending your Friday night drinking wine and not rising and kneading and rising and kneading and throwing in the air and all that “when the moon hits your eye” stuff).
• Pesto sauce
• Sun-dried tomatoes (get the ones that are not packed in oil, if you can)
• Shrimp (we bought a shrimp ring because it was on sale, and the shrimp were the perfect size. The little ones from the seafood section looked too small and prawns looked too huge).
• Feta cheese

Assemble according to your taste preferences – we used a lot of everything. Man, it was good, but we’d go a little easier on the pesto next time – it was a tad salty, especially with the feta, so balance your pesto/feta accordingly.

Classic pizza

• Boboli crust
• Tomato paste (paste, not sauce – Andrew’s insistence)
• Italian seasoning (added to the sauce paste)
• Garlic (ditto)
• Pepperoni
• Green pepper
• Canned mushrooms (he insisted on canned – he said the “off-set” the green pepper…?)
• Mozzarella cheese

Perfect classic pizza, although again, we’d go a little easier on the sauce paste next time.

oscar pool!

Updated!

Prizes:

1. A bottle of champagne and a movie ticket – winner is JANICE!
2. A movie ticket – winner is ME!
3. A box of Theatre Style popcorn – winner is Gail!

For the first place winner, just so you know, I would totally share with you.

And yes I can enter and yes, I can win. Why? Because I’m making the rules.

Good luck, here is the link:  Oscar Pool