NEW CAR!!!

I got a new car! Well, ordered it anyway. I am so excited about it. I should be receiving the car in about a month. It is a Toyota 2009 Corolla Sport. I did get the metallic grey color, as seen in the first photo. So pretty!

Top 5...

Top five fave fast food restaurants. Fast food in my eyes would have to have a drive thru to qualify for fast food.

1. In-N-Out Burger - Love them and their secret menu. Yes, the secret menu is real! They get #1 because of their "never frozen policy". Their fries have got to be the best in the biz.
Favorite Item: I usually go for the protein style cheese burger.

2. Chick-Fil-A - Their Chicken sandwiches way too good to pass up, plus the waffle fries....little slices of potato heaven. I usually have them scarfed down before I get home. The bad part about them is they are not open on Sundays. Sundays are perfect days for a damn chicken sandwich. Favorite Item: Crispy Deluxe Chicken sandwich.

3. Taco Bell and/or Dell Taco - I put them in the same category because they are equally yummy and all Mexican food includes beans, cheese, tortilla, just cooked differently. I know it is not the healthiest thing in the world...but Taco bell was the one thing that I was craving when I was in China. There are several different things on the menu and for all the college students out there....cheep as hell! If you are spending over $5 at Taco Bell, You are doing something wrong.

Favorite Item: Taco Bell - Mexican Pizza or Grilled Stuff Chicken Burrito add red sauce. Del Taco - Hands down, the Shredded Beef Combo Burrito with Nachos.

4. KFC - I is a great alternative to burgers. The sides are fab and reminds me of my child hood picnics. Also, where else can you get biscuit with dinner.

Favorite Item: I like original Chicken Breast with Mash Potatoes and Macaroni -n- Cheese. Oh, and warm biscuit with honey!

5. McDonalds - Ok, I had to do it.....don't say you don't like it 'cause I know you do. Their breakfast tops all others. I survived on it in China.

Favorite Item: Breakfast, hands down, Egg McMuffin. Lunch/Dinner, McNuggets or Double Cheese Burger.

For non drive thru restaurants: Chipotle tops the list as does Subway, Quiznos and Boston Market.

In honor of the winner...here is the "secret menu" of In-n-Out.

• "3-by-3" = three meat patties and three slices of cheese.
• "4-by-4" = four meat patties and four slices of cheese.
  "2-by-4" = two meat patties and four slices of cheese.

*Note: You can get a burger with as many meat patties or cheese slices as you want. Just tell the In-N-Out Burger cashier how many meat patties and how much cheese you want and that is what you'll get! For instance, if you want 6 pieces of meat and 10 pieces of cheese tell them you want a "6-by-10."

• "Double Meat" = like a Double Double without cheese.
• "3 by Meat" = three meat patties and no cheese.
• "Animal Style" = the meat is cooked and fried with mustard and then pickles are added, extra spread and grilled onions are added.
• "Animal Style Fries" = fries with cheese, spread, grilled onions and pickles (if you ask for them).
• "Protein Style" = for all you low-carbohydrate dieters, this is a burger with no bun (wrapped in lettuce).
• "Flying Dutchman" = two meat patties, two slices of melted cheese and nothing else - not even a bun!
• Fries "Well-Done" = extra crispy fries . . . even better than the regular!
• Fries "Light" = opposite of fries well-done, more raw than most people like 'em
• "Grilled Cheese" = no meat, just melted cheese, tomato, lettuce and spread on a bun.
• "Veggie Burger" = burger without the patty or cheese. Sometimes we call this the "Wish Burger."
• "Neapolitan" Shake = strawberry, vanilla and chocolate blended together.

The friendly employees of In-N-Out Burger will take your special order without question, if you use the right terminology. The printed receipt will have your special request typed on it just as we said it. Try it!

Last few weeks....

The last few weeks has been busy....

Last Saturday we had our annual Steaktacular party. HUGE hit. We had a lot of people show up, everyone seemed to have a great time. It was also a chance to bust out some of the wedding gifts and use them for the first time. Thank you to Mya for bringing the yummy cheese dip.

Earlier in the week, we had this big storm in the valley. We had micro bursts of wind that was topping over 60 mph. It knocked down an orange tree in our backyard. This is the 5th tree we lost in the last few years. Our RV gate was also damaged.

Ryan has been busy lately with real estate, in this market, it is strange to say. I am very happy for him. If you are looking for a very talented real estate agent click here to go to his site.

As for me...the biggest thing is my company (not the invites) is going down big time. They are laying off people and dropping their hours. I have been reduced to 32 hours. I am kind of sad about it. Everything happens for a reason, so I hope things turn out ok.

Both of my cousin's wives are due any day now so I wish them the best of luck during their labor and hope moms and babies will be healthy.

Top 5 list

I am going to start doing these....I hope you share your top 5!

First top 5 is going to be movies that you should see.

These are not necessary my favorite movies, just movies I obsess over!

1. Memento - This is def. my favorite movie....at least in the top three. It is a movie that makes you think and it was so ahead of it's time when it came out. Such a dark movie. LOVE it!!!

2. Scent of a Woman - Boooyaa! I really enjoy it and can watch it over and over. Teaches you about life and where you belong in the world. It also teaches you about conformity and how it can hurt you.

3. Pulp Fiction - An outside of the box flick that I just adore. Acting is fantastic. Just a great movie.

4. American Beauty - It is one of those movies that you need to see over and over again. I like movies that have a dark side to them. AB has one...you just don't know about it. Def. going to be a cult classic of it's time

5. The Shawshank Redemption - WOW! Another flick that has a dark side to it, but they sneak it in. This has every element that you need in a movie. You laugh, you cry, you are excited, you cheer for the underdog. It is a movie that make you think, not only about our justice system, but your judge of character and how you view yourself.

These are my top five movies that I think everyone should see at least once. You don't have to like it.

Please share your top 5!

Aloha Basket

Ryan and I received and Aloha Basket from his sister, Amanda and Brett. It came with all kinds of handmade goodies from Hawaii. I LOVE the macadamia brittle. The brittle is soft and tastes like homemade carmel. SO GOOD!!! Luckily for me, Ryan doesn't like nuts or I would have hid the nut brittle from him. I don't share well obviously. Thanks Amanda and Brett!!

Olympic ticket sale in Beijing starts stampede

Remember me telling you that the people of China have ZERO concept of "lines". Here is an article by Associated Press:

Thousands of eager fans who had waited for up to two days swarmed sales windows Friday for the final batch of tickets to next month's Olympic Games, knocking people to the ground and bending metal barricades in the chaotic crush.
Witnesses said scuffles broke out at one ticket site as officials opened additional sales windows at the last minute, causing some fans to stampede ahead of others in a bid to buy some of the 250,000 tickets that went on sale in different parts of the host city.
"It was so unfair," said Ji Liqiang, who waited for 28 hours with Wang Zhenqiang, a fellow businessman from eastern Shandong province, for a chance to buy tickets to the diving competition.

"Those who came late but were able to push forward got the tickets," he said.
The two lost their place in line in the scramble and ended up with tickets to the synchronized swimming instead of diving - where China is a gold-medal favorite.
"It was very dangerous. I was afraid," Wang said. "People got hurt around me. They fell and injured their knees and elbows. A barricade was bent out of shape by the crowd."
Zhang Xiaojing, 17, who came from Hebei province with her cousin and three friends, said the line was fairly orderly when she arrived Thursday afternoon. But during Friday's rush, only three of her friends were able to elbow their way close enough to be in a position to buy tickets.
"If I'm going to be disappointed, I'm going to be disappointed. But I'm so tired. I didn't sleep last night," she said.
The official Xinhua News Agency said 30,000 people lined up for tickets, but muggy weather with temperatures above 93 degrees Fahrenheit coupled with the long wait made people impatient. Police immediately took actions to maintain order, including limiting access to some areas, it said.
Some journalists were escorted away after going into the off-limit areas, Xinhua said. Hong Kong television showed several journalists pushing back and forth with police.
Footage from Hong Kong Cable TV showed a policeman putting his arm around the neck of a Hong Kong Cable TV reporter and pulling him to the ground. The reporter said he was assaulted after his crew refused to leave a media zone, Cable TV reported. They were seen surrounded by dozens of police.
A spokeswoman for Hong Kong Cable TV said it was "unacceptable" for Chinese authorities to treat the media that way.
"We hope the authorities will live up to their earlier promise to allow full freedom of the press during the Olympic Games," said Shum Siu-wah.
Despite the problems, an Olympic official said the start of the sale went well.

The photos is of a Beijing police officer dragging a man by the hair after he was removed from a line while waiting to but tickets.

Excuse me.......have you seen my lost cat?

MASH

Remember MASH as a kid?? Where you and your girlfriends find out your fate in life. Are you going to live in a Mansion or a Shack. Apartment or a house. I LOVED this game. I use to make variations of this game. So in 2008, we can do it electronically and I shamefully stole this off of Mya'a Blog (who stole this from another friend's blog).

Here are my results (we had to choose 5 answers in each category):

• You will marry Ryan.
• After a wild honeymoon, you will settle down in LA in your fabulous Apartment.
• You will have 1 kid(s) together.
• The family will zoom around in a Purple Lexus.
• You will spend your days as a SAHM (stay at home mom), and live happily ever after.

How crazy is this? I will marry Ryan and have only 1 kid! Sweet!!!! The wild honeymoon is correct....I think bed bugs in China count as wild.

To play: Go to: http://www.espin.com/mash-game.php

Fish Pedicures???

Ready for the latest in spa pampering?

Prepare to dunk your tootsies in a tank of water and let tiny carp nibble away. John Ho, the owner said the hot water in which the fish thrive doesn't support much plant or aquatic life, so they learned to feed on whatever food sources were available - including dead, flaking skin. They leave live skin alone because, without teeth, they can't bite it off.

The fish are called Garra Rufa (in the carp family) but typically known as doctor fish. They were first used in Turkey and have become popular in some Asian countries, and I am sure you can guess what "Asian" countries they are talking about!

To read the full article go to: azcentral.com

I am a Denke now

I finally was able to change my name. I am so excited!!! It is extremely weird to now have a different last name. I have to now officially sign another name. I never practiced it before, it will take a few years to prefect is and get it to the style that I want. I am just so glad to have it changed. It makes marriage more real to me now.

I have to start the process of changing everything over. I have done a lot so far, but this is going to take a few years for everything to get officially changed over. It is hard work!