good things!

This weekend was chock-a-block with good things. My mind is swimming. A brief recap is all I've got in me for today, but keep your eye on Flickr, where I will be posting more pictures as I catch a free moment here and there (of course, there is a learning curve, since Flickr redesigned its front page and I am hard pressed to find what I am looking for. *sigh*).

Saturday Night
We went to see my favorite upright bass player, Kevin, who I was bragging about already last week. He is filling in for a bass player on sick leave and so we went to support him and OH MY GOG it was awesome. (Yep, gog). He is super amazing and the band was really good and the venue? Astounding. Bordello Bar is the site that was formerly Little Pedro's, and is the oldest bar (and former brothel) in Los Angeles. The interior is amazing. I... have no words. I took some pictures, but they're not great. Check out the gallery link on their website. If you're ever looking for awesome live music or a burlesque show - this is the spot!

Sunday
I roped Kate and Miss Bliss into a boondoggle (almost) trip to the LA Zoo. I love the zoo and hadn't seen the new gorilla exhibit PLUS I was waxing nostalgic about those old Mold-a-Rama machines. Remember those? The ones that molded a wax figure right before your very eyes? And the toys came out warm and smelling like a new candle? GOOD TIMES. The machines, as it turns out, have been recently retired. But the gift shop had a few samples left that they were selling. I resisted the urge to buy them all and came home with just 5 beauties. But I love them. A lot.



It was such a lovely day for the zoo. It wasn't too hot or crowded and the animals were all out and about and happy. The best examples were the lions who were snoring and the male was sleeping on his back, feet twitching (obviously dreaming - Ruckus does the same thing), spread out right at the edge of the enclosure. So that everyone could ooh and aah at how handsome he is. Also, I think he wanted to show off his goodies. PG 13!

After the fun of the zoo, we met Katie and Adam at Polka's, which is a Polish restaurant in Eagle Rock. It's this teeny tiny hole-in-the-wall place that is owned and operated by an actual Mom and Pop, who do everything. No hostesses, no chefs, no waiters - it's just them. Oh, and their 7 year old daughter who was tallying receipts. I was skeptical, I'll admit. I had never eaten polish food and I hate sausages of any variety. I don't care much for cabbage or kraut, so I figured I'd be eating a lot of bread and toughing it out. As it turns out - DELISH! The potato and cheese pierogi were EXCELLENT. Ryan got the beef stew (gulasz) which also was fantastic. We ate every last bite.

Every meal at Polka's is served with soup, salad, and at the end a homemade dessert. We were served an excellent chocolate pudding and since Adam had to leave early (booooo) there was an extra dessert up for grabs. Since we were there celebrating Katie's latest success (not my story to tell, but in a nutshell, look for her on Broadway this spring!! Aiiiiieeee!!), it should have defaulted to her. Instead, she declared that we had to play a round of "No, I have the Worst Life" in which you tell the darkest moments of your past to try and win the extra dessert. Everyone sitting around us stopped chewing to listen in. It was like a psychologist's office on speakerphone. Everything from wrapping cheap cheese in foil for school lunches and pretending it was "string cheese" to having orthopedic surgeries and being born without organs. It was a good'un. Man, we're an effed up bunch. And so we split the pudding. Huzzah to us all!

Monday
it's not technically the weekend, but whatevers. Tonight when we were at Target, I was playing around with the digital cameras while Ryan played with the e-book on display (featuring a copy of the God Delusion) and I saw this mid-range Kodak camera that was on sale. I have been wanting to buy a good SLR camera for a while, but I don't know how to use one, so I need to take classes and stuff and blah blah blah, so I was thinking about a middle of the road - the next step up from my point and click. I've been using Canon cameras for the past 10 years or so, so I was hesitant about the Kodak (the button arrangement is different! How will I ever use it?!) but the cincher was it was on sale. And not just the listed sale price, it was on super secret sale! The $130 sale tag caught my eye, and when I looked closer, there was a sticker on the side showing the camera was $99. And it was! So I debated... thought it over... then I remembered that I had a $100 gift card from an award that I won at work in my purse, and that was it. FREE CAMERA! I'm still feeling it out, but so far so good! I am loving the quick shutter and the fine focus. So if you're considering a mid-range, or looking for a good holiday gift, run to Target before the price goes back up!

This week I am going to set aside some time to play with settings and stuff, so I'll let you know if I have anything more to add to its awesomeness. I hope that I do!