Lisa: Happy birthday to us!

Happy eighth birthday, Two Loose Teeth! Here's hoping the upcoming year will be more filled with pithy posts than the last year has been. Thanks for being my blogging buddy, Sarah. I can't think of anyone I'd rather share my brain with.

And now I will pretend that I made this tooth-shaped cake in honor of this momentous occasion, instead of for Marci's dental-hygiene-themed Crown birthday last summer. The face is modeled after the illustrations in this awesome picture book. (Edited for later reference: I baked the cake in the same cupcake-shaped pan I used for Blake's mushroom cake for his Super Smash Brothers Brawl birthday party [see it on Facebook here] and then shaved it down a bit to shape the roots and crown of the tooth.)

Lisa: Battlestar Birthday

Do you know Jennilyn? I hope so. She is a relatively recent (and very welcome) addition to Crown Tuesday Mondays (if you can call 8 months or so recent).

Anyway, we had an inaugural Birthday Crown for Jennilyn back in March, featuring a Battlestar Galactica theme. There were tiny Battlestar Minimates, dog tags, eye patches, water guns, spacey-looking pencils, tic-tac "stims," raider-shaped cookies, wife-beaters (to wear backwards), terrible drawings of the Battlestar logo, and a robot mask fashioned from a dollar store shield. I'm sure there was something involving paper with the corners cut off as well. Marci provided cinnamon rolls, and Brian surprised Jennilyn with the complete Blu-Ray set (featuring poseable Centurion).

We love you, Jennilyn. Please never leave us (like stupid Battlestar Galactica did).

Sarah: 25 random things

I generally hate surveys, but my coworker pressured me into following the trend of writing 25 things about myself. Some of these you've probably heard.

1. I've performed at Robert Redford's Christmas party at Sundance on three separate years.
2. And yet I've sadly never attended the Sundance Film Festival.
3. I go to Crown Burger once a week, every week. I have done so for over two years.
4. I was in choir my senior year of high school, because I decided I wanted to do so when I was in the fifth grade.
5. There's a part of your wrist that's called the "snuffbox." I know this because I almost broke it.
6. I have scoliosis.
7. As my mom styled my hair when I was a little girl, I would yell newspaper headlines along the lines of 'Young Girl Tortured by Cruel Mother for Sake of Ponytail.'
8. I attended an arts camp where it was rumored that kids would sneak into the Tuba Hut for sex.
9. I've only had one live Christmas tree in my adult life. I cut it down myself.
10. I love puzzles and robots.
11. I have a contingency plan in case of a zombie attack.
12. My feet are slightly different in size.
13. Oh, and I have abnormally short pinkies. At this point in the list, I sound like a circus freak.
14. In the 7th grade, I let my big sister put some product in my hair one day and wore it curly to school. A girl I was constantly trying to impress said I looked pretty. I've never looked back.
15. One of the most fun days of my life started and ended on St. Charles Bridge in Prague.
16. A boy dumped me and broke my heart several years ago. It was the best thing that could have happened to me at the time.
17. I worked at Victoria's Secret for a holiday season. As I assisted one man with his purchase, he asked if my boyfriend had a problem with me working there. Um, no. Victoria's Secret salesperson is not on par with, say, exotic dancing.
18. My first job was as a server in the dining room of a retirement center.
19. I'm terrible at remembering names, but very good at remembering faces.
20. I was grounded for an entire term during my senior year of high school.
21. I slid down an entire flight of stairs in the middle of my junior high. I wish that had been the only time such an event occurred.
22. I hate gladiator sandals, love patterned tights, and feel strangely neutral on the subject of Uggs.
23. I grew up without a dog or a cat, but with two hermit crabs. I cried when one of them died.
24. Whenever I sit in the passenger seat of a car, I have to concentrate on not succumbing to the urge to pull up on the emergency break.
25. I'm usually convinced that someone has entered my apartment while I'm asleep or away at work.

Sarah: Birthday Week

One week before my birthday, I got the best present ever from my brother Dave: a brand-new sister. The week couldn't get much better from there, but it certainly tried.

There was a basketball game.

What my team lacked in technical skill they made up for in style. Though the ref didn't seem to buy my argument.

I relaxed with the family, enjoying the shady outdoor dining and jazz music. Dinner was delicious, and Dave and Angie taught me that nothing goes with gnocchi quite like a re-gifted hand chair. Curses!

Hanging out with friends at The Tavernacle was fun.

Well, for me at least. I drank Shirley Temples until I was sure I'd be sick. And I forced them to look excited, at least for a photo.

They are true friends. Britni is such a good friend that she gave me her marschino cherries as a birthday gift. Mmm.

After singing until my throat was hoarse, I dragged my friends to Village Inn for a little late-night breakfast. There we saw a man so brazen in his blindfold use that he could only be... Justice.

These incredibly indulgent friends then threw me a robot-themed birthday party at Crown Burger.

I loved it. These girls? Are the best friends ever.

More pictures after the jump. Thanks, Marci!

Lisa: Hand-drawn Friday

We had our Bon Voyage party for Sarah and Marci at the Crown, and I felt the occasion called for a little festive headwear. I did an image search for some of the famous landmarks they'll be seeing in Europe, and drew simplified versions onto colored paper. Voila! Crowns at the Crown. It's not the first time, but it might be one of the best.

Canal houses in Amsterdam

Parliament building in Budapest

London's Tower Bridge

Tyn Church in Prague

Roman Coliseum

Hairy Coo from Scotland

I miss you guys!

Sarah: Training Table

Last night I went to dinner with Blake and Lisa to this Utah Original and, I must say, I was quite disappointed. Now, I can't complain too much, because Blake is super nice and bought my dinner (I owe you, Blake!) and I had a lovely time chatting with two of my favorite people.
I've joked in the past that I can't stand the tiny plates that Training Table serves their food on, as if they don't want you to have any extra room for you to set your pickles and onions on while you chomp down on one of their many different hamburgers.
Small plates aside, I was annoyed enough with my experience last night that I looked for a way to let their management know what I thought. Their website doesn't have any contact information for feedback, but I did post a review on Citysearch. It probably won't do any good, but at least I've voiced my displeasure.
As a small recap, I've put together a list of tips for the Training Table staff. I say this while acknowledging that food service is tough, underpaid work. The hours are long and the holidays are practically nonexistent. This is why I tip well and always try to be polite and understanding. It is also the reason why I appreciate our friends so much and why the girls brought them a Christmas treat last month for the second year in a row.
1. Consider having an adult manager on duty at all times. Five teenagers standing near the cash register are not a managerial equivalent.
2. When someone orders something which is sold out (like, say, the soup), do not wait until after they have paid to let them know that this item is not available. Offer to substitute something similar or remove it from their bill. You know, before you've charged their card?
3. If you put cheese on a burger that was ordered without cheese, throw the burger out and make a fresh one, correctly. This doesn't significantly change your bottom line (which I don't really think the cook was worried about anyway), and the customer will notice the remnants of the scraped-off cheese, not to mention that the burger will be cold once you've "fixed" the order.
4. Trying to discourage customers from ordering within an hour and a half of closing is probably not going to be effective. Perhaps just skip the three loud speaker announcements declaring "30 minute wait, order if you want", "no new orders", and then "okay, you can order again, if you want" and accept that you might have to serve the people lining up to give you their money.
5. If you're tired of serving customers, you should recommend that they visit Crown Burgers instead.

p.s. I would like to add that I believe my feelings would be more favorable towards Training Table if I enjoyed cheese fries and/or fry sauce. Those are their signature items and are, by all reports, quite tasty.

Lisa: Bored Now

I think the girls are getting tired of me taking their pictures at Crown Burger every week. Does that mean I will stop? NEVER.

Lisa: a week in pictures

I had a hard week this week, but the best girlfriends in the world kept me busy and helped me through it.

Tuesday, I voted (here I am at my polling location)...

and then Sarah and Marci met me at Crown Burger before Nip/Tuck. Mallory couldn't join us because she was listening to Pete's concession speech.

Sarah was concentrating very hard on drafting our proposed changes to Crown Burger's wikipedia entry. I'll let you know when we post them BECAUSE IT WILL BE AWESOME.

Wednesday, Molly and I started watching Firefly.

Thursday, we ate at The Pie and Marci treated us to Pride and Prejudice at Pioneer Theater,

where I wore my new shoes...

and we were told we had no class by these fine denim-clad people.

Friday, we went to the Ben Lee concert at Saltair, where we heard Under the Influence of Giants,

Rooney (otherwise known as the band from The O.C. fronted by the guy from Princess Diaries),

and Ben himself, who was adorable and awesome and wearing a suit made of gold glitter.

I hope Sarah talks more about the concert, because (Mallory's hate of Rooney notwithstanding) it was really fun.

Saturday was wallow day. I met Sarah at her apartment with egg burritos and we watched music videos and assorted mindless MTV programming pretty much all day. Mallory and Marci joined us after dinner for Newsies. It probably goes without saying, but we sang along. Loudly.

Thanks so much, ladies, for being there when I needed you. You are fun and funny and smart and beautiful, and you make life bearable.

Lisa: This is thriller, thriller night

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

I guess I did say I wanted to do something more low-key for Halloween this year, but working until 9 and then going to Crown Burger might be a little lower than I anticipated. There was no Zuul. There was no Leia. Pretty much we sat around taking pictures of each other...taking pictures of each other. I think all that partying (or, you know, campaigning, or school, or work, or whatever) has taken its toll.

Not that it wasn't awesome, because it was! Plus, after Crown Burger we headed to Nip/Tuck night at Marci's, complete with midget sex (sorry you missed it, Mal!), murder by omission and the associated kidney thievery, Alanis as a controlling lesbian, and plenty of snarky debauchery from our pal Christian.

I just wish I'd worn a costume.

Lisa: We're bringin' Buffy back

Luckily, Sarah suggested we bring along a few props when we stopped at Crown Burger before heading to Darby's for the newly-reinstituted Buffy Night.

If you look carefully, behind me in this picture you can see the guy who visited the men's room approximately 50 times during the course of our meal.

Sarah: I had a birthday.

... And so we went to Crown Burger. Because that is what we do. Jessie wasn't feeling well enough to hang out, but Mallory, Marci, Lisa, my little brother Jeff (previously photographed here), and I hung out at Crown Burger and then drove around in an attempt to find a place with music, for dancing, that wasn't full of old people. We didn't find one, so we went back to Lisa's house to watch my birthday present from Marci. It was fun. Unfortunately, my extreme Diet Coke intake led me to believe that my fuzzy pictures were "art photography," so... there are many blurry photos that, after I took them I cried "IT'S ART!"

So. Here is the night's events as I captured them on film:

Lisa and Jeff sat across the booth from me.

I kept the second picture uncropped so that you could begin to appreciate the decor inside Crown Burger. IT IS A CASTLE, Y'ALL. Next time I'll photograph the tapestry that hangs between the soda fountain and the restrooms.

Mal sat next to me, and she looked very pretty.

And she was made of ART!

I was fascinated by our eyeliner.

And the sparkles from Lisa's ring delighted me.

Self-photography delighted Lisa.

As it did me, apparently...

(Those are going straight onto my MySpace.)

Then Marci got off work and met up with us.

The halo effect created by the flourescent lights? That, my friends, is no coincidence.
So everybody says hi...

And I took some art photos of Marci, my muse...

While at Crown Burger, I took art photos of my cup,

Lisa's purse and belt,

and I more closely inspected Jeff's shirt.

While driving around looking for a place to dance, I took numerous art photos not really worth posting, but I mostly just liked this picture of Lisa. I think she looks pretty.

Sarah: Money Can't Buy Nights Like This

My camera and computer were disagreeing for a few days, so I am a bit late posting the photos from a recent girls night to go with Mallory's quotes. Here we go!

The evening started with Mal, Marci, and I hanging out at The Bakery, each trying one of their delicious desserts. Mal had cheesecake, Marci had a fruit tart, and I had tiramisu. They were all delicious. We're pretty sure that Marci's tart and my tiramisu had rum or alcohol of some kind in them. Yes, I realize that we couldn't have gotten drunk, but hilarity ensued nonetheless.

Mal's giant glasses were pretty smokin. Plus, her fans totally couldn't tell it was her.

When Lisa got off work, we left The Bakery to join her at Crown Burger, so that Lisa could have dinner.

(First we needed one last photo.)

I tried to sneak-attack Lisa with my camera:

It didn't really work.
Lisa was looking extremely skinny, so I told her I was telling the internet.
"Your new nickname is Nicole Richie."

Marci got fries. They looked extremely tasty.

Mallory mocks Salt-N-Pepa shakers. Nothing is sacred to her.

Also, Marci and Mallory didn't seem to be liking each other (notice the huge space between them).

But I thought Lisa was so pretty...

Then I started dancing...

At some point Mal decided that our wacky quotes needed to be written down. She started on her "NAPKINS OF GREATNESS."

I got a video of Marci imitating Britney's airplane dance from her Toxic music video, but the video was lost in my efforts to make my camera and laptop become friends. I was able to salvage a few pictures, though.

Mallory introduced a new conversation topic by instructing me to take a picture of her track marks.
So I did. I think she got a vaccination of some sort.

I experienced Diet Coke Nirvana,

... which made me have to pee. Unfortunately, someone had locked the door of the women's restroom and then camped out in there, so I used the men's restroom out of desperation. Urinals have always skeeved me out.

After Crown Burger, we met up with Jessie and then watched Coyote Ugly at my apartment. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died. Still, it was a lovely, girl-tastic evening.

For more girl fun, check out last night's Cinegrill Dinner pictures on Andrea's Flickr site.