Thursday, July 28, 2005

Living with Jerry


jerry
Originally uploaded by ozdema2.
Jerry and I are getting along great these days. He is sleeping with me, I just can't wait when my sister comes over and stays with us...She is so not a dog person:)

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Schneebergers back in town!


Schneeberg's back in town!
Originally uploaded by ozdema2.
Stefan and I go looong back, its been almost 6 years by now that we know each other. He moved back to Switzerland 1.5 years ago..It was a blast to see him and his family. I even got a chance to show off my wonderful apartment and Jerry!

Blueberry Lemon Tart


Blueberry Lemon Tart 2
Originally uploaded by ozdema2.

Blueberry Lemon Tart with Meringue Topping


Blueberry Lemon Tart 3
Originally uploaded by ozdema2.

Monday, July 25, 2005

Eric's Birthday Party!


Presenting the Cake
Originally uploaded by ldandersen.
I was planning this super secret party for the last week and it is finally over. Yeah! It was a quite some work to get all these crazy geeks to our place...I tried to keep it quiet but I am just too excited when I work on a project and I almost broke down when Eric came home on Saturday after surfing...Well, I had the balloons up already...

Friday Night: 7:00pm-Midnight
Things started to get crazy Friday night. I was planning to bake the cake and work on the decorations early Saturday morning. However, Eric was home and we ended up hanging some stuff on the walls, finally..That was a good move before the party anyways, so I did not stress too much over the cake...Then we went out to pick up food with Jerry. Came home and watched House of Flying Daggers...I liked it a lot even though I was way too skeptical after not liking Hero...

Since baking the cake after midnight was not an option, I decided to work on cake decorations and went to bed around 2 am. I haven't dared figure decorating before, so I liked the challenge with this cake. My figure skills are so basic though, see below...:))I much better with animals (lady bugs, Jerry:))

Saturday Morning:
He is so stubborn...


UPDATE

Well, Ali has a fun write-up that sums the whole event...But here is the list of things that I tried to get him out and his responses:
Ozlem: You should take Jerry out to a walk...
Eric: You just took him out..
Ozlem: So, take him to another walk...
Eric: That is not neccessary...
Ozlem: Well, don't you want to spend time with him anyways? You don't take him to work anymore so he misses you...
Eric: Yes MOM!

(Ouch!!!)

Ozlem: When are you going to get the bookcases?
Eric: Maybe today
Ozlem: You should get them today, it will be great..
Eric: Maybe..
(that didn't work out either, cuz the store had no inventory!)

Eric: Should we go for dinner tonight?
Natalie: Sure, sounds like a good idea.
Ozlem: Great idea, you should totally go! I can't come though, I have plans.
Eric: Hot date?
Ozlem: Yup!


Eric: We are thinking to order in...Maybe we should order in..
Ozlem: No, it is Saturday night! Go out!
Eric: No, I like to stay home.
Ozlem: No you can't. I need the place. *Mom/dad, this part is totally not reflective of my everyday actions!
Eric: Sure...(oh gush, I wonder what he thinks of me now:))

It was 6:45 by now and I gave up and went to shower and get ready. People were coming by 7:00...Oh, well...There were three more surprises anyways: I-chat with Dom, Ottmar's gift that arrived in the mail the day before and the cake...
and here are my pictures...

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Eric's Birthday Party-Pictures from Willo




It will probably take me a while to upload the pictures, here is Willo's write-up and pictures....

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

I'm home sick!


Can came back from Turkey and started posting his pictures! It is damn gorgeous in Turkey! Can't wait to go back!

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Jerry meets Johnny!

Jerry chasing after Johnny!



I finally got Cindy up to the Douglass dog park and Johny met Jerry. Well, they did not really bond yet but there seems to be potential...Once they see each other a couple times, I am sure they will warm up and become buddies!

DPT

I try to save money by not paying my parking tickets for 21 days and then get a delinquency notice and wait for another 20 days and then put it on my credit card...then of course I note the days to my calendar, e-organizer, cell phone reminder, good old date book and even set up a DPT:Last Day to Pay meeting on Outlook. Of course, I have the proud attitude of  "I will never forget to pay"! Yeah! I am really that smart! I just got hit with a $60 street cleaning ticket. This was from the Memorial Day weekend, when I was in Chicago....Should I protest and not pay for another month or should I just let this go....whatever, I don't want to spend one more minute thinking about these things. Such a waste of time, I paid the $60. I am no longer doing this payment scheduling. I happened to have a few more recent tickets and I paid them right away too. Now, I have to go and delete all Pay DPT reminders:)

Monday, July 18, 2005

Weekend Project-Matthew's Train Cake




I was up until 4 am on Friday night but I am happy how this cake turned out. Matthew started making "choo choo" sounds when he saw the cake and a couple people apparently said the cake was "to die for"...! A little exaggeration helps here:)

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Eda and Demir




Update: Flickr posts the same posting twice if you email two photos at once. Why?


Eda and Demir
Originally uploaded by ozdema2.
Here is Eda (Bilgehan's daughter) and Demir (Hasmet's son)...I am trying to be a matchmaker here:)) just kidding...testing Flickr post to blog...It is really as amazing as it sounds!

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Apricot Blueberry Tart with Pistachio Frangipane - Apricots: Compliments of Ken



Ken was very generous, as always, offering these wonderful apricots for all the hard working gym addicts, including me. Although I insisted to bring him some of my baked goodies, he refused kindly. He probably doesn't want any sugar around his gym. Oh well, the apricots were amazing.

Finally the fog has lifted...


Recently, we have been lucky with the fog. I missed looking outside from my place and enjoying this wonderful view. Oh, it is damn beautiful here.

Istanbul-World's Best City!
















According to the Travel and Leisure Magazine, Istanbul is the 7th best city in the world. Totally wrong. It is the best:)) Check out some amazing pictures from Can.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Coffee Time



We used to drink this in Japan, I got it at Japantown on Saturday. I remember hating cold coffee when I had it there for the first time. Now, it just brings back memories and I am all caffeined and ready to go and play some v-ball tonight! Janis might remember the brand.

Talented Jerry!



Jerry is extremely talented with creating space for snoozing. He can turn any soft pillowy (!) texture into a bed and then all you hear is "hhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrr" He is just very very funny. No improvement on sleeping with me though...Hey, don't laugh:)

Monday, July 11, 2005

Jerry, Macky and Me!

Windsurfers at Crissy Field



I was down at Crissy Field documenting windsurfers on Sunday. I had a blast watching these guys and did a professional photo shoot for a friend.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Sleeping with Jerry: 1st Night: FAILED!

I tried to sleep with Jerry last night and he was so not happy. I tried every trick I know, including playing my favorite song, playing with his favorite toy, or locking him down and even carrying him to my bed. He kept crying to go to Eric's room and I could not keep him hostage for more than 5 minutes... I think I will get my own puppy. Rejection hurts:)

4th of July BBQ @ Goldman's


My first ever BBQ with a "veggie only" grill! It was a blast:)

Update From Cindy:

"The site looks great, but there is a typo. What do you
mean your first 7/4 BBQ with veggie only grill. I seem
to recall and our bbq at Shawntel's friend house we
had a little bbq just for Ozlem. Don't you remember?
Hassan (sp?) was up on the hill bbq'ing it."

I seem to forget these important things so fast...Thanks Cindy!

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Events at the World Affairs Center

Two very interesting events are coming up at the Council...The Turkish Prime Minister is going to be at the Fairmont http://www.itsyourworld.org/program.php?page=1303 and the author of "Finding Orwell in Burma" has a short program tomorrow... http://www.itsyourworld.org/program.php?page=1295
 
 
 

Sunday, July 03, 2005

Jerry moves in...

Finally, Jerry moved in! He has such a personality, very smart if it is not play time and very very cheerful if Eric is around. He hasn't really bonded with me yet but I am looking for some cookie recipes for dogs:) Any suggestions?

Saturday, July 02, 2005

Naan & Curry



As always, it was a blast..I tried the bittermelon curry and it was ok, not my favorite...There was a group of 20 Indian guys celebrating a birthday and I chatted with them for a while. I was right on claiming that this is the best Indian Food in the city.

Friday, July 01, 2005

Dad's Birthday




The hardest thing to live so far away, is to get family pictures with everyone eating cake (that I haven't baked) and me looking at the flowers I sent from miles away. I am happy to see that they seem to be doing fine without me, yuck! That sucks:))..I am just jealous:((( Happy Birthday Dad! I love you very much!

Oh, I am playing ping pong today...Haven't played for a very long time but should be fun...