LOVE

There is the LOVE performance coming up on February 6, 7, and 8 at Canopy Studio and I am in this show!! I am thrilled because this is the advanced student show and a way to present the aerial acrobatics we learned at Canopy.


For LOVE I will be performing a silks aerial piece to the song "Barbarealla" by the band Loveletter. The above photo is me doing a daring single ankle hang on the fabrics. This was at Canopy's birthday party a few years ago.


I have been taking classes at Canopy since 2004. I started taking trapeze first (with some of my favorite teachers, Julie and Allison). This picture above is from my first show. It was around Christmas and the whole class wore pajama bottoms as a theme. We did our routine to a song from the Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack. It was only about three minutes long! Some of my friends came to see me, which was so nice! In fact, they enjoyed it so much, they wanted us to do it again!


Well, I am pretty sore and tired from the extra practice sessions, so I am off to have a cup of tea! Come see the show next weekend and say hello and watch me perform from fearless heights!

Nilla Forty

Here is my kitty, Nilla. This time her photo shows her as a lounging lovely on my bed. Check out my new quilt, too. Notice how she loves the softness.

Taffy

A little over a year ago we found TAFFY on an endcap in TARGET, mixed in with a bunch of post-Christmas items that were on sale. Her box was a little banged up and it was the only one left...and it was only seven measly bucks! You can't buy wholesome entertainment for that much nowadays, and back then, on a boring weekend wandering around a big box department store looking for something-anything fun to do, Taffy was the perfect antidote to a rather blasé afternoon.

With a little love and a lot of hot air, we brought Taffy to life. For a couple of weeks we rode her, groomed her, fed her, and sometimes cursed profanities whenever she fell flat on her face after tripping on a hurdle or small boulder during many a race. After a few weeks of mild-mannered amusement, Taffy was just content to sit in a corner and watch us play other video games on our old SONY PLAYSTATION, thinking that some day, we would return to her and her girlish fancies. Months passed and we would sometimes catch her smiling up at us as we moved from one room to the next, tracing our daily rituals. Sadly, we hardly noticed. Recently, we had gotten a shiny new NINTENDO Wii...we now filled our afternoons and evenings with racing karts and step aerobics. The Playstation now served primarily as our DVD player and Taffy....well, Taffy faded into our distant memories, like a sepia-toned photograph hidden in dusty cigar box, cast into the darkest crevice of an attic filled with other forgotten and now useless things.

Some say that it was the heavy exercise ball on her back that caused her to deflate, but we know better. It's true that you sometimes don't know what you have until it's gone. We may never know the sweet taste of Taffy ever again...

...here are some photos of Taffy during happier times...





To make the gaming experience complete, Missy went and fetched her little red cowgirl hat...

















Jay tried his hand at breaking our wild mare, but was soon frustrated by her rambunctious spirit...



And then, alas...our poor, poor Taffy, earlier this week:

Tin Roof! Rusted

(the little tin shed in the back of our house, built from construction yard scraps by the previous owners)

Here at RANCHO COCOA (the house, not the blog), Missy and I have been cleaning out all the "debris" in our backyard. For a couple of months now our yards, front and back, had been buried under an ocean of leaves, branches, and fallen tree limbs. These past couple of months have been too cold to do any yard work and it seemed like every weekend was too rainy or wet to go outside. Well, we finally had enough of the mess and forced ourselves to get our yards into a halfway decent state. Also, my sister is visiting from California this coming weekend...reason enough to feel motivated to work on our "curb appeal"...

Here, Missy poses with all the crap we hauled out of our backyard. Eventually, the city will come and turn it all into mulch:



After clearing the leaves from the flower bed out front we discovered some bulbs finally peeking up from the soil...I think these are tulips that Missy planted back in October:



We raked up and swept up all the fallen leaves that covered our stone patio and walkways. I should have taken before and after pictures...

Weekend Wind-Down #40

(Missy's collection of ceramic Holt-Howard Pixieware)

This year, Missy and I have decided to "give up" HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. It's just one part of our plan to get fit this year. Since the start of the year we've become way more aware of how prevalent HFCS is in food and were even shocked to find it in foods that we had previously thought were "healthy". For example, we found it listed in the ingredients to these wheat buns that we like so much; we found it in some supposedly healthy Minute Maid grapefruit juice; and we even found it in our favorite brand of hummus...IT'S FREAKIN' EVERYWHERE! So, we've been pretty vigilant about reading food labels lately, and really, we feel like it's making a big difference in the our overall health.


(Et tu, Hummus?)

On top of that, I made a pledge to myself to consume 365 apples in one year, for an average of "an apple a day"...did I mention this already? I want to see if "an apple a day" really will "keep the doctor away". Thing is, this past winter, I got sick four different times...I NEVER get sick! Over the past two years I've managed to work my way into the worst shape I've ever been in and I'm sure that's the main reason I've gotten sick so many times. Anyways, so far, I have probably eaten more apples this year than I have in the past two years, maybe even three years. I'm hoping to eventually be able to make a "five a day" pledge next year, if not later this year, and actually start eating five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Between giving up high fructose corn syrup, eating healthier, and doing moderate exercise almost daily (more on that later), I've managed to lose nearly 10 POUNDS since the beginning of this month. My plan is to lose about 2 pounds a week until I reach my goal weight. I'm trying to be patient and lose weight (and gain muscle) intelligently and slowly, so that I don't screw up my metabolism. Mostly, I just want to feel good and have more energy...and to not get sick again and suffer like I did throughout most of November and December of last year. Also, I do not want to get the diabetes...




FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting lots of good mail yesterday.
RAOUL - Steelers going to the Superbowl!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Hearing about another break-in in our neighborhood.
RAOUL - Finding out that our neighbor's house got broken into last week.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Bible Belt"
RAOUL - "Bear witness to my fitness"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - The mashed potatoes and mac & cheese I made.
RAOUL - Missy's mashed potatoes.

WHAT FLAVOR BEST DESCRIBES LAST WEEK?
MISSY - Milk!
RAOUL - Is "mexican" a flavor?

WHAT'S ON TOP OF YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Wash my clothes.
RAOUL - Pick up my sister Cynthia from the airport.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR LAST WEEK?
MISSY - Laura Marling, Lykke Li, Loveletter's "Barbarella"
RAOUL - Seefeel, John & Mary, Guv'ner, Grandaddy, The Polyphonic Spree, Busy Band, Action Biker, Karl Blau, Flying Lotus, Teenbeat Records 2000 Sampler, Teenbeat Records 2001 Sampler, Mochipet's "Daly City Records" mix on XLR8R Podcast.

Do You Believe In Magic?

Earlier today, Missy and I scored some great finds at AGORA, one of the best thrift/used/vintage/antique shops here in Athens. We found these two vintage craft kits, both in their original boxes with all their parts and instruction booklets. The first one we found was KNIT MAGIC, by Mattel. It's a little plastic machine that knits in the round for you. You just thread the yarn of your choice through the machine, crank the handle and...taa daa! You've got a knitted tube, in no time flat. The instruction manual has different projects and actually, I'm a bit surprised at all the different things you can make with the Knit Magic. Missy has already taken the spinner for a test drive and it works like a charm. I can't wait to make a life-size knit boa constrictor with it!

We also found this super Seventies SWINGIN' PURSE KIT. It comes with a wooden, barn-shaped purse and little cut-outs that you can decoupage onto it. The kit came with some paint, but of course, it was all dried out. Missy actually has a Swingin' Purse already...but she had found it in a thrift store already decorated, not knowing that it was part of a "craft kit". Now that she has a blank canvas, there's no telling how she'll decorate it...



(check out that serious five-head!)



We also found a pair of wooden trays with these cool little vignettes painted on them. Featuring canine characters, the paintings depict scenes from "THE ROMANCE OF FIFI AND PEPE", two french poodles who are falling in love. According to the printing on the bottom of the trays, the illustrations are actually "Scene 2" and "Scene 3" in their courtship. Where was "Scene 1"? And was there a "Scene 4"? I wonder if we'll ever find other trays with the missing parts of their story...we'll probably have to do a bit of research on the internet. The trays were made in 1952 by the Kentley Corporation, so I guess that's our first clue to finding the missing parts of their romance...












We were bound to have a good shopping day today...previous to hitting up Agora, we scrounged through the sale bins at BORDERS and found this great cookbook for only $4.99...when we went to go pay for it, we found out that we had earned a five dollar credit on our Borders Reward Card, which we promptly used to pay for our book. Score!

Nilla Thirty-Nine

Here is my lovely kitty, Nilla. She is sitting in the kitchen while I had some breakfast. She saw we had some See's Candy sent from Raoul's family, and I really think she was eyin' it for sure!


I mean, look at how she just stares at the box of those famous old time candies!


I know this photo is a little blurry, but I love the face she is making here. How can you resist my cat that is sweet as sugar and soft as snow?

Extra Kool

I was gonna do a proper post tonight, but got caught up watching Top Chef and talking to the neighbors...anyways, I had wanted to post this KOOL & THE GANG video for their song "Open Sesame" last week (after we had seen them play live) but totally forgot, so I'm posting it now. If you know me at all, then you know that I'm a sucker for bands with a horn section (I'm a trumpet player, so it goes without saying), and nothing is more SICK than the horn riffs on this song...and those outfits are pretty dope too. Also, this song has been featured a couple of times on the closing credits of STRANGERS WITH CANDY, during their obligatory dance sequences...soooo, yeah.

ENJOY!

Marshmallow World

With all the snow that is falling at my family's house in Pennsylvania, I thought it was only appropriate to write about the marshmallows I made. Like many a blog friend, I too have made these tasty treats. My brothers ask for them when we visit at holiday time. Only this time I had to mail them for Joey's birthday.


I used Martha's recipe and it works like a charm. I do wonder if you can substitute agave nectar for the light corn syrup - has anyone tried? I think next time I might try using a vanilla bean, too. I want my 'mallows to be speckly like the vanilla bean ice cream that is so yummy.


I made a cocoa to take to work the other morning, and I think it got cold on my walk into the building - it was that cold outside! Here is a link to a very cute marshmallow video from Design Sponge. If this does not get you in the mood for marshmallow making, I don't know what will!

Weekend Wind-Down #39

We're having a bit of a lazy Sunday today. Actually, we did a lot of cleaning, a lot of washing, did some grocery shopping...and now we're watching some football. It's not normally a favorite pastime of ours, but the PITTSBURGH STEELERS are playing and they are, at the moment, half-a-game away from going to the Superbowl once again. EXCITING! We even pulled out our TERRIBLE TOWEL in order to cheer on the Steelers, nice and proper.





FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting my check from Craftland!
RAOUL - Losing 2 more pounds.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Still feeling sick.
RAOUL - Eating way too much mac & cheese the other night.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE WEEK?
MISSY - "We'll share conjee and toast"
RAOUL - "Do Work!"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - The mock chicken salad I made...and the smiley fries.
RAOUL - Super Nachos at Willy's

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Make soup, clean up some more, and frame some art work.
RAOUL - Watch the inauguration, lose two more pounds, put together shelf.

WHAT VERB BEST DESCRIBES LAST WEEK?
MISSY - Chase.
RAOUL - Sleep.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Mirah, Siouxie Sioux, If.../Siesta Records "Songs For The Jet Set" comp.
RAOUL - The Sea And Cake, Seefeel, New Order, Vampire Weekend, Beirut, Miss Murgatroid & Petra Haden, Marriage Records Mix on XLR8R Podcast, Asthmatic Kitty Mix on XLR8R Podcast.

Monsterettes!

A little while ago, my friend Becky who does Sweetie Pie Press, asked me to draw up some new buttons designs. "Make them fabulous! Make a beet!" she said to me. And so I did, only in monster form! We call these limited edition artist buttons the Monsterettes!! They can be found in my adorable Etsy Shoppe Sugar Cookie! But hurry, I only have a few sets of these little ghoulies!

Sixteen More Things

JAMIE tagged MISSY, then Missy tagged me...according to the rules of the game, I'm now supposed to tag 16 more people, but I won't, because I'm sure Missy probably tagged most of the people that I would have tagged. Anyways, here's "Sixteen Things" that you may or may not have known about me...

1. Both my parents are FILIPINO.

2. Missy once thought I was HALF MEXICAN, HALF KOREAN...which is kinda close.

3. I was born in ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, but spent most of my life growing up in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, in the "O.C." and then in the "I.E."...as far as hockey teams are concerned, I root for the NEW JERSEY DEVILS...because they're cooler than the Kings, and even more cooler than the Mighty Ducks.

4. I have two younger sisters both named MARIA...MARIA CYNTHIA and MARIA BELINDA (it's a Catholic thing, I guess). Not surprisingly, they like to be called by their middle names, Cynthia and Belinda.

5. I've matriculated in four different colleges/universities - RIVERSIDE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, CAL STATE FULLERTON, CAL POLY POMONA, and CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO - but I never did get a college degree.

6. I've changed my college major as often as I've changed schools, but the last major that I settled on was ART HISTORY, with the intention of becoming an ART LIBRARIAN in a museum or school.

7. Even though I never got my degree, I still ended up with a career with the job title I was aiming for - ART LIBRARIAN. I'm the reference and resource librarian in the art department of a company that designs, manufactures, and sells "balloons and coordinating gift items"(Missy is a product designer in the same department and her cubicle is right around the corner from mine). Prior to that, I was the resource librarian in the photo department of the same company.

8. I once won a TEN-SPEED BICYCLE in a drawing contest in the fifth grade. The contest was hosted by the National Orange Council (or something like that - oranges are big business in Riverside, CA) and the theme of the contest was ORANGES. I drew a bunch of oranges sitting on the shelf inside a refrigerator, with the earth tucked snuggly in the center of the bunch. The tagline I wrote was "Oranges - They Do A World Of Good"

9. I've won three HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTESTS in my life - in 2003, I went to a party dressed up as my "FRIENDSTER PROFILE" and won a $25 gift certificate to a record store; in 2007, Missy and I dressed up as a bloody BUTCHER & PIG, respectively, and we won plastic gold medals and chocolate coins in a contest at work; last year, 2008, Missy and I dressed up as slices of "WHITE BREAD & WHEAT BREAD" and won $100 cash in another costume contest at work.

10. I once dressed up as popular SAN-X character AFRO KEN for halloween. Hardly no one knew who I was. I guess not many people are really into Japanese stationery.



11. I like to collect really cute and/or bizarre JAPANESE and KOREAN STATIONERY. Lately, my collecting has suffered because there are not (m)any good asian bookstores/gift shops here in Georgia (at least, not like in California). Our yearly visit to KAWAII GIFTS in Pittsburgh, PA, helps to satisfy those cravings.

12. I have a large collection of STAR WARS ACTION FIGURES, which includes well over 100 STORMTROOPERS, over 30 Jawas, 20 Gungans (Stormtroopers need stuff to kill), 3 AT-ATs, 2 Millennium Falcons, etc. etc. etc...my favorite piece is a remote control SANDCRAWLER that came out in the early 80's. I also have like, 12 ADMIRAL ACKBARs (including a 12" version), just because he's my favorite Star Wars character.

13. I like to collect vintage 1980's 7" and 12" SINGLES (and albums in general) on VINYL. I also like to collect vintage brief case-style CASSETTE TAPE CARRYING CASES, from the 70's and 80's. I heart analog.

14. In 1998 I was living in OXFORD, ENGLAND. I got school loans and grants and went there on a "study abroad" program. Needless to say, I hardly got any studying done. I bought a lot of records, though.

15. I'm in the process of eating 365 apples before the end of this year, for an average of "AN APPLE A DAY". It's just one of the many things I'm doing this year in order to improve my health. So far, so good.

16. My "SPIRIT ANIMAL" or "POWER ANIMAL" is the RACCOON. As a kid, I enjoyed reading RANGER RICK MAGAZINE and I guess that's always stuck with me (Ranger Rick is a raccoon). I'm seriously considering getting myself a vintage-style Ranger Rick t-shirt.

Nilla Thirty-Eight

Nilla keeps the chill off her back with a blanket...

Sixteen Things

Jamie tagged me, so here is my Sixteen Things you may or may not have known about me...

1. I am short - 4'10" and I look like a small child.

2. If you asked me as a child "what do you want to be when you grow up?" I would have said "Woodstock."

3. I learned to draw from Ed Emberly's books.

4. I used to do a zine called Pocket from the ages of 15-24. I love self publishing, zines, and comics. I still do. In fact, some of my zines have been in print for over 10 years.

5. I have met Jim Davis and visited his studio in Muncie, Indiana.

6. At one time in my life I had over 50 pen pals.

7. I have been taking trapeze classes since 2004. I did about 3 years of trapeze on the bar and some circus bar, too. I have been taking fabrics (silks aerials) since 2005. I still get afraid of heights though!!

8. I love collecting things and at different times of my life I have collected the following: snowmen, watches, matchbooks, sock monkeys, and elves.

9. I have a cat called Nilla.

10. One of my favorite birds is the puffin.

11. I ate eel once.

12. I have been to the following: Canada, Germany, France, and China.

13. I have two brothers, Greg and Joe. I am in the middle.

14. I never had a cavity.

15. At one time I owned over 40 pairs of pants.

16. I have a pretty good collection of vintage polyester shirts. They are all funny patterns. My fav is of clowns in the Alps.

Ladies' Night

So, Sunday night at AmericasMart was a bit more fun than usual, and not just because we saw this money machine "makin' it rain"...



I was excited to find out that KOOL & THE GANG were going to be performing at the Mart. WTF? At first I was a bit leery about seeing them, worried that their glory days were long behind them. But after catching a peek of their impressive stage set-up, I felt a little more curious about seeing them later on that night. After having a late lunch and taking a short break back at the hotel, I convinced Missy to come with me back to the Mart...I'm soooo glad that we went too, because Kool & The Gang totally KILLED IT. They rocked! The band was still comprised by most of the main members (a good number of the band had passed away) and, despite their age, they still had their chops and they still put on an energetic and entertaining show...







("She's fresh...exciting...she's so inviting to me, yeah...")





They played for over an hour and they played every hit song and then some..."Jungle Boogie", "Hollywood Swingin'", "Open Sesame", "Too Hot", "Ladies' Night", "Get Down On It", "Fresh", "Summer Madness" - they even played their cheesy adult contempo hits, "Joanna" and "Cherish"...


("Jungle Boogie")




("Ladies' Night")


("Get Down On It")

The band left the stage to take five in their dressing room (which we could look down upon) while the crowd clamored for an encore. They obliged with their most recognizable hit, "Celebration"...

Weekend Wind-Down #38

(Saturday night's dinner at MAX LAGER'S Grill and Bar)



Whoa! Missy and I just got back from dinner, and prior to that, we were at the Mart watching the legendary KOOL & THE GANG perform a free show for all the Mart workers, vendors, customers, and attendees. Needless to say, it was awesome. I took photos and video of the show, but ran out of batteries in my camera. So, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to download all that and then post about it. Until then, here's this weekend's wind-down:

BEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Beating you at the ski jump on the Wii Fit!
RAOUL - Losing three pounds!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting sick and still being sick.
RAOUL - Having to walk the Mart while sick.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Watching Nilla play.
RAOUL - Missy's "Wii Fit" imitation.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "That's Normal"
RAOUL - "That's Normal!"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Tomato soup.
RAOUL - Dinner at Max Lager's last night.

YOUR WEEKLY RESOLUTION FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Get well.
RAOUL - Lose 2 more pounds.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Grapefruit juice, cat treats, macaroni.
RAOUL - Apples, tomato soup, gasoline.

WHAT PART OF YOUR BODY HURT THE MOST THIS WEEK?
MISSY - My ears. And my throat.
RAOUL - My feet.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Stereolab, Siouxie And The Banshees, Unrest
RAOUL - XLR8R Podcast, Anticon Podcast, Sid Loves Turbo Podcast, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Vampire Weekend, Beastie Boys.

Working On The Weekend

hey Y'all,

So, Missy and I are in Atlanta this weekend with a bunch of our co-workers, attending the twice-yearly madness that is AMERICASMART, Giving up a weekend for work always sucks, but it's especially hard on us this time because we are both sick - I'm on the tail end of a terrible cold, and Missy is just getting into the worst stage of the cold I just passed on to her, like a big germ and virus-covered olympic torch. We got to the hotel well before check-in time, so we ended up walking the Mart first. I clicked off a couple of photos of an anonymous snacker in one of the many bridges that connect the three buildings that make up AmericasMart:





The company put us up at this new hotel called HYATT PLACE. The hotel is nicely designed with a hip, micro hotel feel...like, you can get a Starbucks coffee and a biscotti from the same person that just checked you in...and from the same counter that you just checked in at...It's probably one of the coolest and nicest hotels we've ever stayed at downtown...



We really dug these chunky buttons in the elevator. They were like over-sized vintage typewriter buttons:



At first, we were concerned with the view out our window, which looked down on the back patio area of MAX LAGER, the restaurant-slash-bar next door to Hyatt Place. We were worried that there would be a lot of noise, but then realized that the cold winter weather would guarantee that no one would be sitting outside...







Missy, feeling quite miserable, wasted no time passing out:




(Housekeeping?)

Nilla Thirty-Seven

CATTITUDE

Happy Birthdays!

(a photo my then 4-year old niece Julia took of my Dad at my cousin Lisa's wedding, Chinatown, San Francisco 2006)

A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my DAD, and to Missy's brother, JOE, who both share a birthday today! Even though Missy and I can't be with you, we hope you guys have fun today and wish you both the very best...eat lotsa cake for us! WE LOVE YOU!


(Missy's brother Joe at their brother Greg's house, Pittsburgh, Christmas Eve 2008)

Weekend Wind-Down #37 - Year End Edition

(ultra cute WISH COME TRUE figures I got for Christmas to complete my collection)

Hello 2009!

Things have slowed down a bit here at RANCHO COCOA...mostly, due to post-holiday exhaustion, but also, we just wanted to just NOT DO anything productive for a change! Also, I got sick (again!) while we were up in Pittsburgh. Been sick for about a week now, and I'm hoping to get better before next weekend - we'll be in Atlanta all weekend for work. Anyways, apologies all around. Except for getting sick, Christmas was a blast!

I wish I could be more enthusiastic about the new year (believe me, I am on the inside!), but right now this cold is killing me. I'm all stuffed up, my throat hurts, my chest is congested, and my eyes burn. 2008 was full of incredible experiences and we don't expect anything less for this year. Thanks to everyone who have been following our adventures thus far - Missy and I wish you all the very best for the coming year. Here's to your health, heart, and happiness!


(CRUNKY Japanese candy bar from my sister, Cynthia)

BEST MOMENT OF THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS OF 2008?
MISSY - Going home for Christmas!
RAOUL - Having a week off for a real-ass vacation!

WORST MOMENT OF THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS OF 2008?
MISSY - Raoul getting sick again...that's not good!
RAOUL - Getting sick...I'm sick and tired of getting sick, dammit!

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS?
MISSY - "yule log"
RAOUL - "tramp stamp"

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS?
MISSY - Paul's "Tramp Stamp" song
RAOUL - Paul's improvised southern boogie song, "Tramp Stamp"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS?
MISSY - I liked the pea soup my mom made.
RAOUL - Gourmet pizza at Dinette, Pittsburgh PA

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS?
MISSY - Christmas music!
RAOUL - A Familyre Christmas Volumes 1 + 2, Kindercore Xmas IV, Matthew's "Disco Christmas" mix, Pavement, K Records mix tape, B52's, Jean Jacques-Perry + Luke Vibert, This American Life "Scenes At The Mall"

BEST EXPERIENCES OF 2008?
MISSY - Traveling to China and Hong Kong, Plush You! in Seattle, Tofu Baby at the Flagpole Music awards, hitting 1000 sales on ETSY, your sister Belinda's baby, going home twice in one year, and being with Raoul for the holidays for a change!
RAOUL - Traveling to China and Hong Kong in the spring and then going back to China in the fall, becoming an uncle again for the third time, hanging out with far-away friends at Popfest, road trips to Pittsburgh and Asheville, having Becky and Aitor visit during their nationwide adventure in America, craft sales galore...OBAMA! YES WE DID!

WORST EXPERIENCES OF 2008?
MISSY - The break-ins on our street and at my brother's house; various family accidents and car accidents.
RAOUL - Houses getting broken into during the summer; Lakers losing to the Celtics; various family accidents and being too far away to help out; getting sick over and over again at the end of the year.

CRAZIEST OVER-ALL HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE IN 2008?
MISSY - Easter, I guess, because of the helicopter.
RAOUL - between the huge egg hunt in Homer and the helicopter Egg Drop in Athens, Easter was definitely the craziest and weirdest.

MAJOR GOALS FOR 2009?
MISSY - Make 1000 more ETSY sales in one year; work on new books; use the Wii Fit; eat more fruit; make my bed; get organized; spend wisely.
RAOUL - Eat 365 apples in one year; finally get back into shape; eliminate high-fructose corn syrup from my life; travel to California more than once; get the Super Dorm painted and buy more shelves; buy a new printer/scanner for my computer; buy a new bicycle; become proficient in GarageBand; finally re-launch Popgun Recordings and finish the Popgun blog; learn to crochet.

PERSONAL THEME FOR 2009?
MISSY - "Polka Dots!"
RAOUL - "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"


(Missy posing with Nilla's cousin, HARRY)