Stanford Theatre

On Friday we decided to have our date night at the Stanford Theatre. This was the third or fourth time that we went, and we haven't been disappointed yet. The theatre plays old movies, typically ones in black and white. This week, though, they had the 1940s films enhanced using Technicolor. High tech. :)

There were two films that played this week. The first was An Apartment For Peggy. The second was Margie. Originally, we were just going to stay for the first movie, but ended up staying for both. In between movies, they also have live organ music played on an organ that rises up out of the stage (see picture above). If anything else, it is worth going for the organ concert.

One of the reasons that I really like movies here is that they make you think. For example, in Margie, it is all about high school kids and how they worry so much about what other people think. But most of the time, what they worry about is really only imagined, like being embarrassed about something your parents did when in actuality it was something pretty important. Anyway, it was a funny movie and I would recommend anyone in the area to stop by the theatre. You're almost always bound to get a good (and clean) show.

Valentine's Day

We had a really fun Valentine's Day filled with lots of exercise and relaxation. First of all, the day before Valentine's Day, we went to a church dance. There was a professional dance performance, after which there was a short dance lesson and general dancing. We had a lot of fun. There was one fast swing song that we really got into. We danced... and danced... and danced. The song just kept going! By the end of the song, we were the only couple left on the dance floor. Celeste took her sweater off after that song and we both needed a drink. We had a lot of fun that night!

On Saturday, we started the morning with yoga, then did a two-hour dance practice with the youth for the Stake Musical (one of the boys didn't show up, so I got a big workout while Celeste observed), then home to work a bit before the evening.

I picked up some flowers for Celeste (Costco has great roses at reasonable prices) and then we decided to chance the weather at the beach. It really wasn't that bad, although it was a little cold (you can probably tell based on the picture). We walked along the beach and were hoping to see the sunset, but it was covered by the clouds. It was nice to just walk and talk. Afterwards, we decided to warm up with some caramel apple cider, and then headed home for a great homemade dinner. Overall, a very great day. Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

Fresh Fruit

The other day, one of my friends brought a whole bunch of fresh mandarins to work. I grabbed one that still had a leaf on the top, because the leaf made it seem fresher than the rest. It looked so good that I decided to take a picture. It tasted really good, too.

P.S. I think that the lines in the picture were caused by the sun coming through the blinds.

Matt's birthday

So today was my birthday, and it was definitely a great day. Celeste spoils me every birthday, ever since she organized my first birthday with her five years ago. Today was no exception. Celeste got out of bed before me, and by the time I was all ready for work, waffles with blueberries, strawberries, whipped cream, and syrup were waiting for me on the table. And to top it off, there was also fresh squeezed orange juice. Very tasty!

Work was good, especially because my phone kept buzzing, telling me I had new (birthday) emails. I was thinking how amazing it is the many methods of communication that people wished me a happy birthday. I got text messages, emails, cards through the mail, phone calls, and messages on my Facebook wall. But of course, the best is always in person, and especially from my wife.

After work, I came home to Celeste making one of my favorite dishes, pasties. As she was cutting the meat, I asked whether I could peek in the freezer (hoping for the annual ice cream cake). It was there, and boy was it tasty. She even made it without chocolate (my friend challenged/dared me to give up chocolate, and I haven't had it for about a week now). Once the pasties were in the oven, I opened gifts. I got a new work outfit (from Celeste) and a really neat book with five of Joseph Smith's journals transcribed verbatim into a compilation entitled The Joseph Smith Papers Vol. 1 (from my mom).

Once the pasties were ready, we ate, and then let the food settle until we were ready for cake. Then it was time for that amazing cake that I spied earlier in the evening -- ice cream cake with blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream (can you tell a trend of what I like to eat?). There were also shortbread cookies mixed into the cake and caramel drizzling the top. Celeste did a great job.

It's been a great birthday. I had a lot of fun and ate some amazing food. Thank you everyone who wished me a happy birthday and made this a great day.

The Flying Monkeys

So at work, one of my colleagues picked up the most random recruiting toy that I have ever seen. It is a stuffed monkey with a cape and mask. On the cape is the name of Moss Adams, another accounting firm. What makes this monkey awesome is that you put one finger in each hand, pull back on the legs, and shoot the monkey like a slingshot. As the monkey flies through the air, it screams like a real monkey. It's really rather clever.

So we figured this monkey was pretty much one of a kind, until another colleague came to work with the exact same monkey, except in pink. Turns out she found it in her rental property after the residents moved out. The monkey is the exact same -- pull it back and let if fly (and scream). This might be the beginning of a fun collection.

Dinner with Thomas and Natalie

We had some friends over tonight for dinner. We've been trying to have them over for a house warming dinner since we moved to our new apartment from Los Gatos. Now eight months later, it finally happened. Celeste and I made some fantastic Eggplant Parmigiano over whole wheat spaghetti. Very tasty. On the side we had salad and the rest of the whole wheat molasses bread Celeste made a few days ago (made using wheat that we ground in our new wheat grinder).

After dinner we talked for a while about learning new languages (Natalie is using Rosetta Stone to learn Swedish), the economy (what conversation these days doesn't include the economy), Costco (we may have convinced them to get a membership), and food storage (a great topic to go along with the economy and Costco). We sure had fun!

On a side note, you'll notice in this picture how our dining area is set up. Behind Celeste is the kitchen area. Behind the cameraman's left is the front door and right is the living room, where our bookshelf and chair from the previous post are located. It's crazy to think that we have already been living here for eight months already. We really like it.