I've been pretty busy for the last couple of days simultaneously preparing for my impending trip to California and my daughter's 10th birthday. The latter event occurred yesterday and a good time was had by all. I took the day off work so I could bake her this fabulous Chocolate Cloud Cake. I changed the recipe a bit, substituting artificial sweetner for the sugar to make it more Atkins-friendly, but it was still delicious, especially when accompanied by a small glass of Chambers Muscadelle from the Rutherglen region of Australia, a lovely Tokay dessert wine with a nutty bouquet, and an almost pruney finish. No, I did not give my daughter any, in case you were wondering...she's not old enough to appreciate it's subtleties, doncha know.

She got lots of loot, despite the fact that her b-day falls so closely on the heels of Christmas. I gifted her with a half-size classical guitar which should be small and playable enough for her tiny fingers. She liked it, but seemed far more excited at having received Sims expansion packs. Go figure.

As for California, January is kind of a dead month there entertainment-wise, but I got tickets to see McCoy Tyner perform in Oakland next Friday night. As far as I'm concerned, Yoshi's is the best jazz venue in the Bay Area, and their Japanese restaurant is also excellent. On Saturday, I plan to drive up to Napa to visit the COPIA center.

Catch y'all on the flipside!

Posted by MrBaliHai at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, thank god the holidays are finally over and I can get back on a somewhat more reasonable diet. I gained 5 pounds despite the fact that I've been going to the gym every day for the past month; I suppose that means I'd be 10 pounds heavier instead of only 5 if I hadn't.

My plan to shed that excess poundage is to have a look at the World's Worst Food website whenever I start craving mass caloric intake. I figure that the mere thought of Danish Bacon Mousse should be enough to turn me off of eating for a few hours, let alone seeing a picture of it.

Ahh, who am I kidding? It won't work. I'll just start sneaking peeks at The Daily Gullet and all those great articles and interviews will inspire me to start cooking with lard again. Oh, fat and carbohydrates, why must you taste so divine?

Sigh. Guess I better head to the gym now.

Posted by MrBaliHai at 2:32 PM | Permalink