Eva and Brady At Dinner

Eva and Brady At Dinner
Originally uploaded by Diva Eva.

Who ARE these people???

Remodel: The First Panels Are Laid

Remodel: The First Panels Are Laid
Originally uploaded by carolyn8.

The first planks were laid down last night. I'm not showing you all the pictures until it's done, or else you'll end up going through the same mental spasms that I'm going through right now.

Saigon - Vietnam Cooking School - Eva in Conical Hat

Saigon - Vietnam Cooking School - Eva in Conical Hat
Originally uploaded by brady frequent traveler and eater.

HAH! Since Brady's not blogging the cute pictures, I WILL!!

War Remnants Museum

Saigon - War Remnants Museum - Ho Chi Min
Originally uploaded by brady frequent traveler and eater.

The most "popular" tourist site in Ho Chi Min City (HCMC or Saigon) is the War Remnants Museum. The museum's courtyard is filled with old US Vietnam War era tanks and weapons along with a helicopter and a few planes. Inside a series of buildings are amazing war photographs and tributes to the US/Vietnam War photo journalists. Another building houses horrific photos of the impacts of agent orange.

Rows of Tarts

Saigon - Sofitel - Brunch - Rows of Tarts
Originally uploaded by brady frequent traveler and eater.

Eva and I are having a wonderful time in Saigon! Today instead of cruising the Mekong, we went for the 3 hour couples spa at Spa Tropic.

On Sunday, Eva and I checked out the MASSIVE AND AMAZING Sunday brunch at the Sofitel Saigon. The choices were overwhelming. Seafood station, charcuiterie, cheese, desserts, hot dishes, cold dishes, etc. They even had a chocolate fountain. Unlimited foie gras, unlimited lobsters, unlimited oysters, unlimited everything. We lived large. We spent 1.1 million dong. That's a lot of dong!

Go Brady and Eva!

Looks like Allstate has turned a new leaf: Allstate picks up

:)

I'm sure it was because of the time Brady and Eva spent there...or is it because they left? (kidding, kidding!!!)

Saigon Creme Carmel

Saigon Creme Carmel
Originally uploaded by brady frequent traveler and eater.

SOOOOO good. Eva and I were wandering around (semi-lost) in Cholon, Saigon's Chinatown, and we walked by a little creme carmel stand inside a crowded outdoor market. We figured what the heck and sat down on tiny little plastic stools and the girl took out this dish and gave us two spoons. Let's just say "FANTASTIC" and only 3,000 dong (16,000 dong to the 1USD). The day before we ate a Sunday brunch at the Sofitel for 1.1 million dong wait until you see those pictures, so this seemed like a really good deal. I highly recommend this dessert cart, but I really have no idea where it was.

Remodel: Kitchen Demolition

Remodel: Kitchen Demolition
Originally uploaded by carolyn8.

When was the last time you saw my kitchen? Here is the first shot of the new and improved kitchen, with pass-through and a lack of brown polka-dot wallpaper. This is the third room I've removed wallpaper from, and I still hate it as much as the first time. Though, it is a bit easier now...

Lychee Martini at the Q Bar

Lychee Martini at the Q Bar
Originally uploaded by brady frequent traveler and eater.

On our first night in HCMC after a triumphant pho dinner, we strolled back to the hotel and stumbled upon the Q Bar. There were some people sitting outside but we were told that the outside part was closing soon and we should go inside. So we checked it out - the place is a warren of little rooms with a bigger room in the back. All the tables in the front sections were reserved so we were placed at a table in the back. We were just about the only people! Feeling a bit forlorn, we ordered a ginger mojito and a lychee martini. To our utter surprise, both drinks were fantastic. The lychee martini smelled like lychee and tasted like lychee. The ginger mojito was about the best I've ever had, with slivers of ginger and a ton of mint. Both drinks were just about perfect. As we finished our drinks, the late night expat crowd started showing up. By the time we finished our second round, the room was packed. Lots of good people watching - from the old white guys with the young (working?) vietnam girls AND boys, bunches of rowdy brits, and a table of wealthy Vietnamese.

Eva and I are in Vietnam!! And Eating Food!!!

My First Bowl of Pho in Vietnam
Originally uploaded by brady frequent traveler and eater.

Hi! Eva and I landed last night in Ho Chi Min City (Saigon or HCMC). We checked into the hotel and ventured out in search of...food. We stumbled across a branch of Pho 24, a slightly upscale, air conditioned chain of pho restaurants. We raced in and sat down and ordered pho along with some fruit shakes. Fantastic! This should be the first of many bowls of pho. Afterwards we wandered back to the hotel and stopped at the Q Bar. More pictures to come!

Hong Kong Airport

Hong Kong Skyline
Originally uploaded by China Chas.

Hi from the Hong Kong airport. Eva has already stocked up on Hong Kong magazines. Eva and I are hanging out at the United lounge while waiting for the last and final leg to Saigon. I love everything in Asia - the lounge here has sesame ice cream!!!

I got in!!!

Hey guys. I got some good news yesterday. I was accepted into Roosevelt's M.A. Clinical psych program. I finally get that chance !!!!

Wow - guess what these things are and then click to find out

...eyecaps.
Originally uploaded by underbunny.

fascinating series of photographs on a subject most of us know nothing about. trippy!

Microwable Plants

Link
This shows disturbing results

Lamb Shaped Easter Butter

Easter brunch butter
Originally uploaded by cjanebuy.

HA!! YOU MOCKED ME BUT SOMEONE EVEN TOOK A PICTURE OF IT!!!

$1.30 at Dominick's - Easter Lamb Butter.

Just Too Funny

Just Too Funny
Originally uploaded by carolyn8.

It was just too funny not to share...I found this at the Gold Coast Potash Bros., an upscale grocery store mere steps from Brady's abode. And look, it's microwaveable!!

Nuts for Tribe

Not sure what this adds to us, other than totally useless info, but anyway....

What Makes Nuts So Crazy?
From "sweet as a nut" to "nutty as a fruitcake."

The United States has not ruled out a nuclear strike against Iran, reports Seymour Hersh in this week's New Yorker. The article quotes a former intelligence officer as saying that the Iranians "are nuts, and there's no reason to back off." A diplomat tells Hersh that some weapons inspectors think the Iranians are "nutcases—one hundred per cent totally certified nuts." Accusations have also gone the other way: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the idea of a nuclear strike "completely nuts." How did "nuts" get to mean "crazy"?
People were nuts about nuts. In the late 19th century, the British used "nuts" as slang for something they found enjoyable: Jack Straw would have been far from "nuts" on the idea of bombing Iran. (This usage may have originated in an old cliché—"sweet as a nut.") Being nuts on something meant you really liked it, but so did being "crazy on something." It's possible that "nuts" became a synonym for "crazy" because of this similarity. In any case, Americans were the first to connect the two, in the early 20th century.
The noun form "nut," meaning "crazy person," may have a different history. By the mid-1800s, nut was slang for head. If someone said you were "off your nut," that would mean you were crazy.
Psychologist Timothy Anderson points out that many recent euphemisms for insanity have sexual connotations. The "nut" once described the head of a man's penis—only later did it come to mean the head of his body, and then his testicles. "Screw" already meant copulation by the time "screwy" came into usage. And various fruit-themed words (like, well, "fruit" itself) connoted homosexuality before they became associated with craziness (as in "she went bananas" or "he's nutty as a fruitcake").

YAY FOR POOH

Here's the link to the story

Brunch at the Delano!

04-09-06_1144.jpg
Originally uploaded by carolyn8.

Alright, so I was in Miami this past weekend for work, and I had about five hours on Sunday before my plane left to hit a couple places. I went to the Vizcaya estate, which was John Deering's winter home, and absolutely stunning. Tasteful, not ostentatious. If you're ever in Miami, it's definitely worth a visit. It feels as though you've been transported to Europe. It even SOUNDS like Versailles! After that, I cabbed it over to the Delano in South Beach. I was determined to have lunch there. Again, I was impressed by its minimalist elegance. I am so used to thinking that Miami is flash and brash, but the Delano is anything but. Definitely go for the Sunday brunch, it was $57, but it was a buffet of oysters, crab claws, caviar, and that was just the ice bar. Braised veal, lamb, soft shell crab tempura...oh my god, heaven.

Status Update

Vietnam, Halong Bay
Originally uploaded by WenDee.

Hi from Northbrook, IL. We are doing out implementation and testing and are so far a "green" for a Monday rollout. The end of the project is near! On Sunday I head out to Lincoln, NE for the week to do production rollout floor support and then will return there one last time the week of April 17.

On April 21, Eva and I have tickets to...Vietnam. On May 4 we head to Hong Kong. I will be there for a few days and Eva will return a few days after that just in time for Spamalot.

WICKED was wicked

The show was great. Really nice job on how they intertwine the two stories together. I will never see The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the same way again!!!

Google Homepage

My Google homepage got a bit naughty this morning:

It's Over!!!!

My last appointment with my dentist was yesterday. Its all done and over with!!!!! New crown and a new mouth

Urban Tribe

Apple Software to Let Intel-Based Macs Run Windows (Update3)

This is huge! Apple market share is going to be effected this year...

Movie's in the park schedule out!!

Movies link


2006 Film Schedule:
July 18: "Rebel Without a Cause"
July 25: "Bringing Up Baby"
Aug. 1: "High Noon"
Aug. 8: "American Graffiti"
Aug. 15: "The Apartment"
Aug. 22: "On the Waterfront"
Aug. 29: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Jul. 18 - Aug. 29

Tuesdays :

Price: Free.
Phone: 312-744-3315

I GOT IT!!!!! YAY

My 5000 piece puzzle I finally bought it :)

Tribe Potluck: 4.3.06

Hey guys, it was awesome having everyone together last night…

Like I mentioned earlier, I think it would be really nice for us to create a sort of “tribal cookbook.” We’ve all got such different cooking styles and family recipes that I think it would make for a nice heirloom.  Plus, I found a place that’ll print out small batches, so maybe we can actually have a true book. However, in order for the recipe to be included, you must have cooked it for us. That said, Michelle, please forward me your hummus recipe. Neha, please forward me the bhaji (sp?) recipe. Dave, I’ll grab your jambalaya recipe and put in my sushi rolls. 

Here was the full menu:

Sushi rolls: spicy scallop, eel, avocado/cream cheese, cucumber/scallion/cream cheese
Salmon sashimi
Hummus
Bhaji (the dish, not Manish)
Jambalaya: vegetarian and chicken/sausage
Red Velvet cupcakes
Mochi: mango and green tea
Cookies and cream ice cream

Highlight of the evening: Brady repeatedly jumping off a cliff after Manish while playing Star Wars, Lego-style. I’ll try to upload the video this evening.