Spring is near

I returned from Spring Break a couple of days ago.  I took a short trip to Metro--arriving Saturday around noon, then leaving at 6 am Wednesday.  It was a good trip, very low key.

Anniversary Dinner
The highlight of the trip was our anniversary dinner, which is a group event.  We've had one every year, so far, always during my Spring Break.  Officially, my husband and I host, though so far, my in-laws have always paid the bill.  We take a group of friends to a restaurant to celebrate.  We bring cake, of the same type and made by the same people that made our wedding cake, and hot pink roses for the ladies.

It's something I look forward to every year.  My husband and I don't do much for birthdays, so the anniversary dinner is our chance to party.  Plus, it feels fitting to me: our zero year anniversary (wedding) was attended by a large group of friends--why shouldn't all our anniversaries be group events?  Also, even though I've never attended any one else's (non "big year") anniversary party, it does seem strange to me that more people don't have yearly parties.    

I also figure that it gives people something of a vested interest in our marriage, as in "If they get divorced, we won't get invited to any more parties!"  At least, one day, I hope to be financially secure enough to throw parties our friends look forward to attending every year.

As part of the party preparations, I stopped by Sprinkles, a cupcake shop, to pick up a gluten-free cupcake. They're a famous bakery chain, apparently, but I had never heard of them before this year.  I had found them by Googling "Metro gluten-free cake" or something like that.

I found their signage to be confusing:

It says "Sprinkles, Bevery Hills"--nothing about the place being a bakery, or selling cupcakes.  Nothing in the windows, either, except the circles.   So, how, exactly, is one supposed to know what this place sells?  It could be a baking supply shop, but it could also sell fashion accessories or jewelry.  A crimpled lined circle isn't exactly the international symbol for cupcake.  Bad signage is one of my pet peeves.  This one irks me.  It's also inaccurate.  Their cupcakes don't have sprinkles.  In fact, their cupcakes are apparently famous for NOT having sprinkles (just a dot in the center).

The dinner itself was fun.  I had actually never been to the restaurant we had chosen for dinner.  My husband had been there once.  It was a Thai place, and quite romantic.  We had a section reserved in the back, with fabric rose petals hanging from strings of pearls from the ceiling, carved, painted wooden flowers on the walls, and even some beaded candle holders hanging above the table.  There was a small tv on the side wall.  It seemed appropriate that it was showing the wedding of the latest winner of ABC's The Bachelor.  

My in-laws had purchased bags of candy and placed them at each person's seat as party favors.  They also gifted us a gigantic fortune cookie, about a foot across--covered in a layer of chocolate, then drizzled in chocolate, caramel, and peanuts.  (I'm a Snickers fan).

I thought our waitress was wonderful, but I felt a little sorry for her, because we were all so busy talking to one another across the table that she couldn't get in a word to ask us how things were going!

It rained, of course.  I'm thinking that if there is ever a drought, my husband and I should be called to host an anniversary dinner.  It poured the night of our rehearsal dinner--my husband arrived with his shirt drenched through, and the roof of the restaurant where we had the rehearsal dinner started leaking.  The rain had stopped the next morning, thankfully.  Every year, it's the same pattern--it's a rainy night for the anniversary dinner, but when we leave the restaurant, it's stopped raining.  I guess that's just our good fortune.  (Of course, now that I've mentioned it on the blog, I've probably jinxed it.)

I look forward to next year!

Spring
Spring is almost here.  A month ago, I was looking for plant food for my violets, and found that the garden centers around here don't open until March.  Where I'm from, the garden centers are open all year.  But I returned to University Town to find balmy 50 degree weather (I didn't need to wear a coat!), and a sign on a garden center saying "Seeds are Here!"

The days are noticeably longer, and two of my three violets are in bloom.  And Daylight Savings is Sunday. Yippee!   I love Spring.

There were high winds before I left for Spring Break.  My door mat, which I had taped down with outdoor double stick tape, blew down the walkway.  But the penny remains.

February photo dump

The blog's name has become a misnomer:  I've been posting much less frequently than twice a week.  I've been called on that.  And I'd like to apologize to my readers.  I have an excuse--my classes this semester have a much heavier homework load than last semester.  That, and this blog has in a way accomplished what it's purpose was--to help me write.  When I think, I ask, "How would I say it if I were writing it?"  I used to think as writing when I was in high school. I framed my life as a story, and I tried to write it as I went along living it.  At some point I stopped writing it, just lived it, I guess, in a world without words, just images and experiences.  Once I started blogging, it forced me to start thinking about my life as a written story again.

But those are excuses, and I don't much care for excuses.  Instead of twice a week, I'll try posting once a week until the semester ends.

So now, photos.  Click to enlarge.
On campus, video game art done on a window, with Post-It notes.  It was snowing when I took the photo, so sorry for the snowflakes:

A close-up of the Spelunker guy:

Anyone know if the drawings at the bottom are original or if they also reference a video game?

Then, on the edge of campus, someone decided to create a bunch of snow people.
First, a teacher followed by students holding a rope (an more snowkids in the background):

A snowman in a headdress:

Then a couple of snowpeople who met violent ends:

And a shark attack:

The penny remains.

January, a review in food

Since this is partly a food blog, I thought I should take another look at January from a gastronomical angle as well.

By January, I was getting sick of food.  I had gained 6 pounds in the last two weeks of December, and was starting to feel it.

The New Year Festivities
My husband and I had been invited to a New Year's party at our old college town.  We left Metro in the morning, arriving in town shortly after noon.  Food for the New Year started with a trip to S___'s Beefmasters, for lunch.  The smallest cut of steak they offer is 14 oz, which is their lunch special.  In most places, a 14 oz would be considered a large.  For me, 4 oz is a meal.  Since I didn't want to waste good meat, I ordered a chicken fried steak, instead (which normally uses a poorer cut of meat).  It was still huge, but I didn't feel bad leaving half of it on the plate.

I, therefore, arrived at the New Year's party full.  It was funny, as we arrived just as a group of party go-ers were leaving to go eat dinner.  Even funnier was that they were going to Texas Roadhouse (another steak place), as it was something of a treat for them.  It was ironic--in University Town, I live 0.2 miles from a Texas Roadhouse.

While our hotel was newly remodeled and comfortable, it didn't have much in the way of food--it only had a cafe that was open in the day.  I was hungry by the time we came back from the party at 9, and could only get some peanuts, which they sold in the lobby.

Breakfast was also only so-so--plastic wrapped danishes and bottles of milk.  It was complimentary, however, so I have no complaints.  It's my understanding that the hotel will have improvements in this area with its new management.  I wouldn't mind staying there again.

As we were leaving the hotel, my husband remembered that we had left a piece of steak from the day before in the in-room mini-fridge.  (He had ordered a large steak, and had taken the leftover back to the hotel with us.)

On the way back into Metro, I asked for Italian for lunch.  We found Marsala Italian Restaurant, in a small town outside of Metro. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's nicer inside, with dark painted walls and skylights.  The food was very good.  We both finished our entrees, and then ordered another set of entrees to take home.

As I mentioned before, by this time, I was getting tired of food.  For our last meal together before returning to University Town, we went to Olive Garden, where I consumed an entire bowl of their salad, and only ordered some pasta as my "main dish", because I needed a little something to accompany the salad.

University Town
Upon returning to University Town, I felt out of sorts.  I had to search for my key to open the door to my apartment.  And when cooking again, the knife felt strange in my hand, even though I had cooked for Christmas and helped with New Year's Eve dinner.

I was relieved to finally be away from restaurant food, and holiday food.  For my first meal in University Town, I pulled my copy of Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish--a low-fat vegetarian cookbook--off the shelf.  I selected Hoppin' John (a black-eyed peas and rice dish), perfect for New Year's.

That followed with a vegetable pot pie (to which I did add a can of chunk chicken), and cabbage stuffed with lentils and basmati rice.  I hadn't been a fan of the cookbook earlier--I had tried two recipes, and only one turned out well--but this time, the recipes have turned out really well.  Since then, I've written in the book's margins, and put in sticky notes.  The pages are now a little warped from when I've dripped water on them while cooking.  In other words, this book is becoming beloved.  Since returning to University Town, I've only had one bad recipe from the book--a recipe for collard greens, tomatoes, green peppers, and onions (in my opinion, it should have been just collard greens, and a little onion and garlic)--and all the ingredients have been common, easily found ingredients.

Here's the pot pie.  I used puff pastry for the top, and a frozen pie shell for the bottom.


Latke FAIL
My two most recent recipes from Dr. Ornish were a cabbage and beet borscht, and potato pancakes (latkes).  I was unprepared for the amount of chopping required for them.  It took me three hours(!) to make those two dishes.  I was exhausted at the end, and the latkes were a major FAIL.

I made the latke batter, blanching, then hand grating the potatoes, but I took so long, the potatoes turned a muddy brown.  I started frying them in a cast iron griddle, with just enough oil to coat the surface of the pan, but the latkes weren't looking anything like they were supposed to look.  I had put in liquid egg whites (remember this is low-fat cooking), but they didn't mix with the dough at all, instead forming a watery puddle under the shredded potatoes.  In frustration I went to look up latke recipes online.  Turns out, the Ornish cookbook left out one important step--squeezing out the potatoes.  That was why I had shredded potatoes floating in "soup".  I went ahead and poured out all the liquid and squeezed the pototoes--losing both the water and the liquid egg whites--then poured the egg whites back in (this time, half of what the recipe asked).  I also added some additional flour and baking powder to get a less watery consistency to my batter.  I then used a regular frying pan, poured in oil to a 1/4 inch depth, and dropped in the latke batter.  This time, they fried nicely, but with a strange overall color, due to the muddy colored batter.

I put them in between layers of paper towels and left them overnight, to drain the oil.

Next time, I'll try baking them. (425 degrees for 10-15 minutes on one side. Brush with oil, flip, return to oven for another 10-15 min.)  I'll also try beating the egg whites until they stiffen.

Weight Loss
Generally, I am oblivious to my weight, and simply eat until I am no longer hungry.  But six pounds in two weeks seemed a excessive to me.  Upon returning to University Town, I purchased a bathroom scale, and started a food diary at MyFitnessPal.com (I downloaded their iPhone app.).  

I really liked MyFitnessPal--it was fun and easy to use.  I would recommend it if anyone is looking for a calorie tracker.

I'm not sure how much it helped.  I always used the tracker after I ate, so I didn't really make any changes to my diet because I was using it.  Also, I found that either I have a faster metabolism than they calculated, or I am not measuring my food correctly--I have lost weight faster than they predicted.

I realized too, after two weeks of eating out, that portion distortion does happen.  I was surprised, at first, at how little it looked like I was eating, compared to what I had been eating over the holidays.

I have returned to my pre-vacation weight, which is a relief.  I am also feeling much better.

The penny remains.

A quiet start to vacation

I went to bed a little after midnight, and was up at 3 am. I actually had breakfast--chicken tenders and gravy with Texas toast, leftovers from lunch the day before, a good Southern breakfast for a good Southern trip. I washed it down with a warm spot of tea.

The two hour drive to the airport went surprisingly quickly. The weather was fair and clear, temps in the 40's. It was my day to use fuel wastefully--I cruised at 70mph for most of the way to the airport, and then I flew across country. I flew into O'Hare, my arrival gate only a few gates away from the departure gate to Metro (I've decided to refer to my adopted hometown, which I have previously referred to as "The City", as "Metro" from now on, as the term "The City" in pop culture commonly means New York City [and yes, I know in comic books Metropolis is NYC, too, but I have to use *some* generic descriptor].) Living in University Town has let me travel through lots of Eastern airports: Detroit, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare. Next week, my return flight will be though Cleveland. It's been a neat experience.

The flight into O'Hare was also amazingly smooth. From O'Hare to Metro, however, the flight was rougher, and I was glad to land. There was also too much carry-on luggage on this flight, but I packed light--I fit all my clothes into a rolling laptop suitcase--so I was able to fit it underneath the seat in front of me: no luggage issues for me!

I had lunch with my father-in-law: Red beans and rice and pork chops at a country-style restaurant. Also, who knew that getting two watch batteries replaced would cost $151? The on-going cost of owning a designer watch?

I had a quiet evening with video games and TV. The husband is sick, so I'm looking to a quiet weekend. But perhaps I can talk him into taking me out to a movie...

Scenes from Campus

On Wednesday we had our first snow storm, but last  week there was a hint of the crazy weather to come.  We had extremely high winds.  Two roads adjacent to the stadium were blocked off for safety reasons.  Part of the stadium roof was under repair and loose materials were landing in the streets, causing damage to one vehicle.  The photo isn't vandalism.  It's wind damage.




Also on campus last week was a PR team from Microsoft, promoting Windows 7.  I apologize for the glare in the photo.  Under the "741", the text reads "You are the one".

I don't get it.

What does it even mean?  Windows 7 is personalizable?  It will be useful to you?  It will make you feel special?  

Hopefully Win7 itself will actually work better than the ad campaign.

Thumbs up for food

The day after I got back, I had to turn the heat on in the apartment--it was getting into the 40's at night. This inspired another wave of cooking.

That Sunday, I had a craving for comfort food: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, pie. There are 4 grocery stores within 2 miles of where I live: Giant and Weis, which are traditional grocery stores, Wegmans, the "Central Market"-like store I've written about earlier, and Wal-Mart. Of these stores, the Weis has by far best Kosher selection, but in general, is also the least crowded. I've never had to wait in line for a cashier, and I wonder if the place turns a profit. It closes at 10pm (9pm on Sundays) while the other three stores are open 24/7. It's a good store, though, with conveniences such as a post office on the inside, and a Culligan-type water tap on the exterior (I buy bottled water by the gallon and refill). It also happens to be the closest grocery to my apartment.

Since I only wanted to pick up some fried chicken, I stopped at my neighborhood Weis. I was surprised that the deli didn't have normal fried chicken but only fried chicken wings--like hot wings, only done in fried chicken batter. I bought a bag of 10 wings, went home, stuck them in the oven while I made the sides: mashed potatoes and glazed dijon carrots. The potatoes were from a dried box, and the carrots were leftover inspired. I had a salad which called for 2 carrots, which me with the rest of the package.

The glazed dijon carrots were amazing. I am not much of a carrot person, but this could have been my entire meal. This is recipe is holiday quality. I omitted the ground ginger, since I had none, but it was still very, very good.

The last part of my Sunday lunch was baked pears--Weis had them on sale. I selected a couple of Bartletts. I put them in the oven to bake, and sat down for lunch with my chicken and side dishes.

After eating lunch, however, I grew violently ill. Lesson learned--do not eat fried chicken wings from a place that doesn't sell regular fried chicken. Especially when the wings are sitting under a dubious looking heat lamp and have been sitting there for an unknown length of time. Or, better yet, avoid this Weis's deli.

It was Campbell's soup and toast for me for the next couple of days. As I transitioned back into solids, I discovered Stonyfield Farm organic yogurt. It's yummy! It supports small farmers! It's sold at Wal-Mart! What's not to like? It does double duty, both at breakfast, and as a dessert. (And yes, I buy the large tubs instead of the individual serving sizes.)

Another discovery was Target's Archer Farms Blueberry Granola. Yummy granola, fair price, and I think the package design is very clever. The container for it is a solid-feeling paperboard canister--think of an oatmeal canister, except oval shaped. The top is scored in the middle, along the short axis of symmetry, so that you can open it by folding the lid back. I had heard about the packaging earlier but I'm here to say that it works very well in practice.

Lastly, I decided to make marshmallow rice treats, or Rice Krispie treats, if you use the brand name. You basically melt marshmallows and butter in a pot, mix in crisped rice cereal, then pour into a cake pan to cool. Only, I guess I had the heat too high when melting the marshmallows, since they caramelized a bit on the bottom. The resulting cake, however, though not as pull-apart gooey as normal, was much richer in taste the traditional stuff. Once again, repeatable for the holidays.

South for the weekend

My flight back to the City for a long weekend was a fairly pleasant one. The flight from University Town into Dulles was on a turboprop, and I got mildly motion sick. Dulles was larger than I imagined it to be, but was otherwise aptly named--it was one of the dull-est airports I've been to. It was basically just two long lines of terminals. The terminals I traveled through, terminals A&B, were in good condition, and it seemed to me that terminal B was new. The food selection was poor, and overpriced. Terminal A, where I waited for my connection flight, was crowded and warm. I sat down on the end of a row of seats, and there was a man, in orange yoga pants, barefoot, on the floor doing various stretches. I tried not to look at him.

What I was impressed with, though, was the number of languages I heard spoken just in my short walk between gates. And, I saw some very smartly dressed people, too: one that stands out in my mind was a lady dressed in an all white outfit--shirt, pants, jacket--the only touch of color being red leather flowers on the top of her white high-heeled shoes.

On the flight into the City, I sat next to a chatty engineer returning from Moscow. He had been working in Russia for the past two years, and he had just bought a house in one of the Suburbs. His wife was Russian, she had arrived in the 'burbs a couple of months ago to get things ready, and she was hopefully, going to be approved to be a US citizen this weekend. How exciting!

Being back in the City let me enjoy some of the foods I've missed--authentic Chinese, masaman beef from a Thai restaurant, bubble tea. Time won't allow me to go to the state fair, but I would have liked to have gone. This is probably a good thing--the last time I went to the fair, I made myself sick by going on a fried food eating spree. I heard that the big thing this year is fried butter. I think it was meant as a joke, but I'm not sure.

It's been a nice trip, and I've had fun hanging out with some great friends. It had been raining here in the City, but the past few days have been very pleasant, sunny but only in the low 70's. The apartment I'm staying in is at the edge of the complex, next to a wooded area. I stepped outside for some fresh air and sun, and I could hear the brook bubbling merrily in the woods. I felt like a very lucky person.

Only other bit of news: I'll be returning to the University with (daring, for me, anyway) deep burgundy polished nails.

Friday photos

I had nothing to blog on Friday, so I went driving...to the local hospital. The hospital is located on one of the highest hills in the city and provides a great overlook:

(Click to view larger)

When I first moved here from my relatively flat hometown, it was these mountains, well, the sight of a town nestled so picturesquely into the mountains that gave me my "We're not in Kansas anymore" moment. Also, I never noticed before, but these mountains could be part of a AT&T "more bars, more places" commercial, the way the mountains scale into the distance. The leaves are just starting to turn colors for the fall, though you can't see it in the photo.

I was also lucky with shopping on Friday: After stopping by Wal-Mart for paint supplies, I went into Target to buy some luggage tags. I found a pair of bronze leather-look Swissgear tags for at 75% off, for $3.74. They're understated, but fit into the metallic theme for my suitcase. For comparison, at Wal-Mart, a pair of plastic looking "leather" luggage tags were $3.

Also on clearance, also 75% off: bath towels that match my bathroom tiles perfectly! They even had a beautiful embroidery pattern on the edge. There were only three of these towels left, and I picked up two, for $2.98 each. Solid color towels of the same quality were $8.50 at Wal-Mart.


It was a VERY good trip to Target.

Burning the Midnight Oil

I'm going to do a very dangerous thing and write about things not yet accomplished.  I have the weekend planned, and it's been a month since I've planned a weekend.  I am dedicating tomorrow morning to my wardrobe--it's after Labor Day and the temps today didn't reach 60.  While we still have some 70 degree days ahead, summer is over, and I've found that it gets cold fast around here.  I will be bringing out my fall and winter clothes, and packing the spring and summer things away.  This is good, because I'll still have time to wear my fall colored short sleeved tops, which were necessary when I lived in the Zone 8 South, but which I have, for the past two years (since I moved to the Zone 5 North) missed out on wearing because I brought my fall clothes out too late.  Here, October is long sleeved season.

I have a pair of jeans that are a year old and still never worn.  I plan to hem them tomorrow.

And then off to the movies!  I would like to watch '9'.  One of my dearest friends lives 1300 miles away.  One way we keep in touch is by watching movies together--that is, we watch the same move, on the same day, in our respective towns, so that in the evening we can discuss it with each other.  We've discussed extending the practice to "dinner and a movie", that is, in addition to the movie, we each cook the same recipe in our own kitchens, and compare notes.

Recently, I was given a bottle of higher end olive oil.  This was my good fortune.  Unfortunately, however, this happened just a week after I had opened a new bottle of my middle-of-the-road quotidian olive oil.

Now, olive oil does go rancid. Luckily, it usually starts changing flavor just as I am finishing off the bottle, so none is wasted.  I, however, do not want to risk the high end oil going rancid, which is what will happen if I wait until after I use up my open bottle.  Instead, I'll have to use the good stuff right away.

But what about my open, almost unused bottle? And did I tell you about my cheap, two-year old bottle of olive oil that I already have in my cupboard? When I first purchased it, I used it once or twice for cooking, but its flavor was never that good. I put it away in the top cabinet, and have since used it mainly as an ingredient for beauty treatments--sugar scrubs, cuticle oil, that sort of thing. So back to this newly opened bottle of oil--was it to join the half-used bottle in my cupboard? Did I want two spare bottles of olive oil?  I asked myself, 'What is the best thing to do with oil?' As a red-blooded American, I answer: Burn it, of course!

I've been chopping onions, crying along the way.  To combat the fumes, I've been turning on a stove burner (gas stove), since I don't have any candles.* (I've found that burning a candle near the chopping board helps keep down the stinging.)  Why not make an olive oil lamp, old school?  All that's needed is a jar, some wire, and some cotton cord.  Plus, it would be safer than a stove burner.

Ever wonder see pictures of Biblical style oil lamps and wonder why they were so low and flat? It's because olive oil is viscous and does not wick higher than about 2 inches.

About my snapshot:  It's a Mason jar!  If you go to the store to buy a mason jar, most likely it will not be a 'capital M' Mason jar, but a Ball brand mason jar or a Kerr brand mason jar.  I didn't think Mason jars existed.  I thought that they were all generic mason jars.

The jar once held Sam's Club medium salsa.  I had intended on saving the jar and lid for holding iced tea concentrate. I'm a big tea drinker, and instead of getting a big pitcher, a concentrate would save space in my 3/4 sized refrigerator. Plus, iced tea and mason jars go hand in hand.

The difficulty was that I could not get the pepper scent from the lid of jar.  Not after washing it 5 times in liquid detergent and scalding water.  Not after washing it in automatic dishwasher detergent and hot water.  Not after soaking it in Pine-Sol.  Not after letting it sit in vinegar for an hour.  Not after soaking it in peroxide.  Not after soaking it milk for 3 hours.  No, the pepper scent on the lid was there to stay. As a comparison, I also had a jar of kim-chi (that I was saving for my oil lamp).  The scent of the *kim-chi* washed out of THAT lid in only 3 washes of detergent and hot water.

I threw the lid away.  But! one can buy mason jar lids at the store for cheap.  I bought a pack of Ball mason jar lids.  I took them home to find that they don't fit on Mason jars.

The positive is that I now have a lovely Mason jar for drinking iced tea.

I know close to nothing about photography. To take the photo I moved the jar all over the house, putting it on multiple surfaces, at various heights, trying different camera settings, in order to get the light and shadows just so. The photo was taken on a stool underneath my brightest floor lamp, camera setting on "Portrait" with macro enabled, flash turned off. I held a manila folder just out of frame above the jar, to remove the glare from the lamp. The photo still wasn't great, so I used Picasa to change it to black and white and enhance the shadows. It still isn't a prize winner, but the details are there.

Have a great weekend!

*OK, I do have a candle (a Christmas gift), but it's scented and I'm sensitive to scent, so I don't use it. Plus, it drips wax everywhere.

Happy cheerful music?

Last night I went to bed excited about writing today.  I had several ideas about my blog post, the first, besides the photo, some commentary about the photo, about how planning ahead for these photos has made me see things differently.  How, I'm trying to see everything as a possible photo op, and how even as I try to be more aware of the things around me, I feel that I am growing more oblivious.  I thought, too that if that subject was too short, I would write about my iPhone, as it and I did not "meet cute", but instead our initial relationship was something of a comedy.

Instead, I'm writing about feelings, about how people pick up emotions from those around them (articles about the phenomenon here and here).  I was feeling fine until about an hour ago, but I've talked since then, and now, here I am, trying to work my feelings out by writing.  I'm an internalizer of feelings.  My fellow converser is an emoter, one whom did NOT have a good day, and whom I think highly of.  And now, I'm pulling Kleenex out of the box.  I suppose the problem is that my converser was the only human interaction I had all day, and I should get out more.  

I tried to counteract this by seeing what cheerful thing online might lift my spirits.  Hm...perhaps something about the Disney and Marvel merger?  Honestly, though, I don't follow either company or their products too closely, so nothing I found was particularly funny.  Kingdom Hearts characters are quite cute--but I've never played the game.  And I wonder if people are talking about it at Dragon*Con, or if its all old news by now.

I can lift my mood by music perhaps?  I would have liked to see something with a music video with happy people dancing or whatnot, something besides the obviously "Shiny Happy People", but I didn't find anything in a quick search.  Some of the Weird Al stuff qualifies, if not actually portraying happy people in the videos, but they do make me smile.  But what is funny and happy to *listen* to?  Maybe not based on the lyrics, but MUSIC that makes you almost want to laugh?  Some of Beethoven's stuff is really lighthearted, but I'm not sure about pop music.  Billie Jean is funny because MJ sounds like he has hiccups, and it was pointed out to me that George Michael in "I Want Your Sex" sounds constipated, so now I laugh when I hear it (holding it on the inside, of course (^_-)).  So other musical suggestions? 

Now to my snap.  What is this adorable metal bulldog?  Why, it's the hood ornament of a Redneck Rolls, of course!

First Post

I am quite excited to be starting this. I just hope that I maintain, if not the enthusiasm, the strength of character to continue with this blog over time. The goal will be to maintain this blog for a year.

Anyway, I've got my iPhone set on my desk, the timer ticking away.

This week was my first week back at school. The summer proved too short, and I was stressed and really unprepared to begin. I've got a paper as part of my summer requirement this year, and it is not as far along as I had hoped. I've signed up for a seminar on "Overcoming Writer's Block" in a few weeks.

I am reminded of my high school AP English class. We had to read On Writing Well by William Zinsser, as well as Strunk and White's celebrated The Elements of Style. But it was Zinsser's book that got the most well worn, that I still think of whenever I write anything, and his quote that stays in my mind: "I like to HAVE written." Writing itself, even in this little blog, even for this short time, causes me pain. I'm nervous, my chest and throat tighten...I just can't make myself do it. Sure, starting last Wednesday I was thinking about writing. I gathered observations, crafted a few sentences, thought "15 minutes, no problem" (And at this point my timer has gone off...time does fly, but I'll keep going). Instead, I'm filled with dread, even as I feel good about starting something, something good. (I've changed over to the timer now...Let's see how long it will take me to finish this post! I'm curious. Rules are the same. I have to stay seated, fingers moving the whole time.)

One of the many exercises that we had to complete in that AP English class was free writing, once again, something from Zinsser. And although I love the feel of pencil pushing on paper, I hated what I came up with when I free wrote, and I hated the look of my scrawl, and I hated my big ugly letters on the ugly notebook paper. I hated that I filled pages in my notebook, and would be satisfied with myself, and then, when I took it to the computer, and typed it up, it suddenly became nothing but a paragraph or two. My cohorts, it seemed, could all put out a page or two in free writing in the same amount of time. They wrote better too, more lyrically, more persuasively, more and better of everything, it seemed.

So, what did I think about writing these past few days? I thought about writing about the first day of school. Normally, I don't mind the first week of school. It's just introductions, and very little in the way of being judged. But I had the summer paper...

I was surprised that the first week went as smoothly as it did, really. The only bit on inconvenience was that on the first day, as I drove into the school parking lot, I realized that my parking pass expired on that day, so I had to make my way to the parking office and wait in line, with all the other unprepared people like me, to purchase a new one for the upcoming school year.

I'm enrolled in a communications class this semester. That means this semester I get to work on two things I need to at: writing and public speaking. The funny thing is, when I was an undergrad, I enjoyed public speaking. Sure, I was anxious when I was waiting my turn to go up to the podium, but when my turn came, I felt in control, and I felt that I could go on as long as I needed to. It was rather fun. Somewhere between then and now, however, I lost all my self confidence. I am surprised to find my voice shaking now, when I speak (horror!), and I imagine that I must be one of those people that is uncomfortable to watch: Poor girl, so nervous!

Perhaps I should frame this in my mind as my semester for self-improvement.

I also spoke about my project to a good friend of mine, and explained my doubts that I would be able to find something to write about for 15 minutes. She suggested that perhaps I take pictures from around town--say, get in the car, drive for 5 minutes, stop in whatever safe area I happened to be near, and take a photo. I thought that that was a great idea, and so, as another goal in for my blog, will be that on Fridays I will include a "Weekly Snap" and I will write a short blurb on what I saw.

I also felt adventurous this week, and cooked on Wednesday: channa masala (chickpeas) and saag paneer (spinach and cheese), using this recipe for channa masala, which I had used once before, and this recipe for saag paneer from Quick Indian Cooking (QIC), which was new. For the channa, I found that I had forgotten to buy a can of chopped tomatoes, and used a can of tomato soup instead. The end result looked very much like a pot of pork and beans. The curries muted out the sweetness of the tomato soup, but it was still there. I would not try that substitution again in this recipe.

As for the saag paneer, I had no paneer (Indian cheese), but had read that ricotta makes a good substitute. It was not a good substitute. I started out following the directions in QIC, carefully scooping out the ricotta and cutting it into cubes, but as I attempted to coat the ricotta in spices, the cubes squashed together and when I tried to fry the glop, it started melting in the pan instead of frying. I also did not have any sort of blender. I gave up and ended up following the directions of this recipe, instead. The result looked like a spinach dip and nothing like the photo in QIC. It was also more bland than I thought it should it be. It was passable, and I would try again, but not with the QIC recipe.

I also have a pound and a half of ricotta left over. I think I will be making cheesecake in the near future.

The next day, I got little done except for kitchen cleaning. I live in a small, not-that- modern apartment. My window is on the complete opposite side of the apartment from my stove. My stove has no vent. To vent the kitchen, I have to use one fan to blow the air from the kitchen into my living area, and a second fan in the window to vent out the living room. I sprayed down the countertops and the cooktop, Pine Sol-ed the outside of the cabinets, as well as the doors to my bedroom and bathroom (which I had kept closed to keep the ENTIRE place from smelling like curry), and yes, even sprayed and wiped down the walls and ceiling of my kitchen. Thankfully, I have a flat ceiling (in all my previous living arrangements, I had popcorn ceilings). My ceiling looks whiter now. And I want to reiterate that when I get a house, I want one with a industrial canopy vent hood.

Now, for the weekly snaps! Both were taken on campus. I am assuming that the first photo was some sort of forestry lab. Four or five other trees along that street had similar climbers. For the second photo, I realized that I walk past these rose bushes every single day, and have never really seen or appreciated them. I'm making up for that now.

(note: end time, including a pause to eat, and some time trying to figure out how to embed the photos 6:54pm)