Today Starts Another New Chapter (or Two) In My Story

It's finally here! Tonight at 6pm, I will begin my Captain's Class. I am nervous, excited, anxious, curious, full of hope, and ready to embrace the challenge. I am looking forward to learning new things, meeting some new people, and to devote almost everything I have to this endeavor. Thanks again to all who made it happen and now it's up to me to succeed and make myself, as well as all my believers, proud.

I am also starting this new chapter as an engaged woman. It happened last week. Eric and I will be getting married on August 10. We decided to do it AFTER Lollapalooza weekend (I don't want to be downtown with thousands of suburban teenagers), and the 10th is fitting because August is the month in which we first met, and it is the day of Drum Corps Internationals World Class Finals. Eric introduced me to DCI and all things drum corps. We are going to get married at City Hall, then probably wander over to the Riverwalk and take some pictures with the water taxis, then join some friends and family for drinks/a light bite somewhere and end the day with the Wendella fireworks cruise. These plans are preliminary, except for the getting married at City Hall part, and I am open to any ideas or suggestions people might have.

The path to getting to this point hasn't been smooth and it hasn't been easy, but it has made for a very interesting and full life. Sure there have been tears, arguments, times apart, doubts and problems. Throughout it all though there has been laughter, happiness, adventures, and most of all love. This rings true for Captains Class and for getting married.

I'll be blogging more with class and wedding plan updates. I hope you'll enjoy following along as the story continues to unfold.

How I U-Turned My Way Into Captain's Class

First of all I want to apologize for bitching and complaining for most of the month of January. Those of you who have been reading, or who follow me on Facebook you know that I've been something of a "downer." I have 'Sadness' from the movie "Inside Out" on my car keychain.

It's kind of funny because it's me, but then again it's not because I've been personifying her for the past couple of weeks and that's not something anyone likes...especially me. So many people are going through things of their own, that I have no right to bitch about the little things. Not all molehills are mountains.

Secondly I want to thank each and every person who reads this, who comments on my Facebook posts, who message me, who text me, who email me, and who most of all...love me. The tears I cried today are tears of happiness. Tears of relief. Tears of realization that I am loved, in different ways, by so many people. So again, thank you for the positive comments, the suggestions, the recommendations, the donations, the friendship, and the caring.

Thirdly, I am going to be in the Spring Captain's Class. When I had my accident on the 13th, after just having my car at the mechanic for some expensive repair work, I was crushed. When Lyft said I was responsible for the $2500 deductible, I knew that this was the end of my class. That there was no way I could pay for the car repairs AND class, no matter how much I drove once and IF I got the car back. But thanks to Eric's Mom, Linda who believes in me and who loves me like I daughter, I got my car back and had gas money to start driving again for Lyft. Then I heard from my insurance company who said that they would actually pay the difference between the repairs and my deductible which was only $500. I asked Linda if she wanted the check from the insurance company and she said "no...you're family, you use that for your class." Then today, I got an email from my aunt. Apparently my brother told her that I was in an accident and was having issues paying for captain's class. She called me silly and that she was there to help if I needed it, that all I had to do was ask. She is also pitching in so I can achieve my dream. So it turns out that accident was actually the best thing that could have happened to me, instead of the worst. I am looking forward to February 19th and taking my friends on this journey with me. Let's replace Sadness with something else.

What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up?

They ask this question of kids as soon as they learn the concept of having a job (career). I love horses and all other animals. That love started at a very early age so I used to say I wanted to be a veterinarian. Then I discovered that I couldn't stand to see animals in pain, always made me cry so that was out. In high school and college I followed in my Mom and Dad's footsteps and thought I would like to be a journalist. After the first year at Mizzou, I discovered I didn't want people telling me HOW to write. So I switched to child psychology. I had babysat for many years and spent all of my high school and college summers as a camp counselor. Then I decided I didn't want to stay in school for another 3 years just to get an entry level job. So I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English. Everyone said "Oh, you're going to be a teacher." No. I used to joke with people that I was going to take horses with emotional problems and read them great works of literature to cure them.

I have had a very interesting job history so far. I taught people how to ride horses for a couple of years after college, while enjoyable, it didn't pay the bills. I worked as a receptionist at a small computer place. Then I moved back to Chicago and worked at an ad agency for a year, when they lost their biggest client, I was "downsized." Then I worked at the American Bar Association. I started out as an administrative assistant and moved all the way up to project coordinator. Then my step-father and mom died in the same year, so I took some time off. I worked at a model train store in a mall and I worked at a motorcycle shop and even did a few months as a receptionist back at my old high school. Then I moved to Florida and worked for a Harley-Davidson dealership as a marketing coordinator. I left Florida and moved back to Chicago and got some temp jobs, including one at ComEd and one at the Museum of Science and Industry at their Harry Potter exhibit. Then I got my long-term temp job with CDW. Would maybe still be there if I hadn't moved to California to help Eric pursue his dreams. In California I worked at as a music research assistant, moving all the way up to supervisor. Then things changed and now I'm back in Chicago. I have excelled at all my jobs, but I'm not sure any of them have been what I wanted to do as a career. People still ask me what I want to do with my life and I don't have an answer. I like to write, I like to read, I learn and pick up new technology quickly, I get along with almost everyone, but I can't say that any of those things are a passion.

So, being unemployed and looking for jobs and interviewing and not having any luck at the moment and losing the car and being basically broke, I truly now have the chance to start over. Eric emailed me after I emailed him about the car and asked if I had ever considered going to culinary school for baking/pastry. As Gru would say...

For those of you who follow me on Instagram or Twitter or on Facebook, you know I LOVE to bake. You've seen my hashtag #bakingismytherapy. I've always felt better when baking and always know I'm going to get sick when I have the uncontrollable urge to bake chocolate chip cookies. I've made cheesecake for friends and loved ones even though I don't eat it myself. My Mom, Dad and Step-Father all passed on their culinary knowledge to me and taught me how to love food and the process of cooking. My Dad and I briefly thought of starting a catering business together, but got sidetracked with other things. I love all the cooking programs on TV and see that most chefs don't do baking or pastry so it would be a good thing to learn.

I've started to look into culinary programs at schools here in Chicago. Le Cordon Bleu is closing all it's schools so that one is out, but there is The French Pastry School of Chicago, Kendall College and the Illinois Institute of Art which all offer several different programs/degrees/certificates in baking/pastry. They've started to call and I'm looking at literature and planning on visiting the campuses or going to open houses. I know I'm older. I know I'll be in school with much younger students, but it's never too late to start doing what you really love, is it? I need to do more research because I am overly cautious, but I am also optimistic.

I think I may have discovered what it is I want to be.

Yet Another Loss--Oh Well

The repo men came in the cold, dark night and took Alain out of the driveway and towed him off somewhere. I was asleep and didn't realize he was gone until I got a phone call this morning from Eric's Mom asking if I was okay. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?" "Your car is gone" she said. I went outside and looked over the porch and sure enough, just a tire mark in the mud where Alain used to sit. "Well, shit." I got off the phone with her and on the phone with the police. They told me that the car had been repossessed.

I knew this was a possibility, but didn't know it would happen without any warning or any written notice. I moved back to Chicago in November and have been looking constantly for a job, and despite a couple of interviews, have not gotten one yet, so it was hard to keep up with the car payments. I would ignore the calls from the creditor or when I tried to call them, would be put on hold for over 35 minutes. That's the average time for each time I attempted to call them back.

I will admit that I shed some tears. Quite a few tears, to be honest, but they are all gone now. In my first post of 2017 I mentioned that this was the year of moving forward...no looking back. Yes, this is a setback. Not only to my ego, but also my lifestyle, not to mention my credit report. Yet, I am no longer upset about this and here are the reasons why.

First of all, I never really liked this car. Sure, it was newer than my Subaru and had Sirius/XM radio and a backup camera, but I was bullied into buying it. I told the sales person and the finance guy I couldn't afford the payments. Eric told the sales person and the finance guy I couldn't afford the payments. When the dealership said they could make it work, I reluctantly agreed, telling them the entire time that I would be perfectly happy with an older, smaller, CHEAPER car. When they brought him out and there was a big scratch on the bumper and I mentioned it. "Oh yeah", they said "they can't buff that out, but you already signed the paperwork. Too bad." When I gave them a HORRIBLE review on Yelp about the entire sales process they called and pleaded and reduced my payments but they were still more than I was comfortable with. This car also made a horrible noise when the wind was coming out of the North or West. It was a high-pitched roaring, coming from the side view mirrors. It also had a weird spot on the windshield, right in my line of sight at night. Alain did get good gas mileage and he did get me and the kitties back to Chicago, so he did his job. Also, I wouldn't have lasted too long in Los Angeles without a car. I wish him luck at the auction in which he will inevitably be sold.

Second, I live in a city with EXCELLENT public transportation. When I was without a car in California, I had to leave for work in the dark hours of the morning just to get there on time. I had to walk far distances to get to stops convenient to my location. Now, I can walk less than a block and get on a bus, which will take me into the city, or which can take me to a train, or another bus. Or I can walk a mile and get on a different train that takes me to the city, or to the suburbs. I can also get on a bus for a short distance and rent a bike (when the weather is warmer). That bike can take me all over the city and I can drop it off at several locations. All of this will help with my fitness goals for the year.

Third, it's cheaper. I don't have to make the car payments anymore. I don't have to pay insurance anymore. I don't have to buy gas anymore. I don't have to buy a city sticker or a license plate sticker. I don't have to pay the Sirius/XM subscription anymore. I don't have to pay for car washes, or washer fluid.

Finally, I shouldn't be upset. I couldn't and didn't make the payments so this is the consequence. I am luckier than a lot of people. I have a roof over my head. I have food in my refrigerator and pantry. I have clothes on my back. I have heat, and running water, and kitties that wake me up at all hours of the night to be fed, or to be loved. I have my health. I have friends and family that love me.  All things considered, I've been through worse, I've lost more.

So I don't have a car anymore. So what.

2015--So Long. Thanks for the Memories

2015 was definitely a roller coaster of a year. I had some really poor experiences and some really amazing ones. I started out the year sick with a cold. I didn't know it then, but a sweet e-card from a co-worker would be the start of a really nice friendship that blossomed throughout the year. I got stung by a bee in March...on a bus of all places...and that took at least a month to finally go back to normal. Then there was my kidney stone surgery. Not something I would recommend. A lot of pain and a longer recovery than I had expected. Here's to hoping that 2016 has better health issues for me and my loved ones.

Then at the end of June this happened. The death of poor Charles, my 2003 Subaru Forester, thanks to a lady in a rental car on a cell phone. Thankfully Eric was not injured and the car was the only thing severely damaged. It did mean 5 months of walking and enduring Los Angeles Public Transportation but it was an experience.

Right after Charles, we rented a car and brought home Vann. Chaplin needed a companion and Blair needed peace from the young kitty we had gotten last year. Vann stayed in the closet for 10 days when we first got him here, but he has emerged as a very loving, social cat and he and the Shmoo love playing and Blair loves the peace and quiet.

In August I had my first "bucket list" experience of the year. I got to go to Disneyland, and thanks to some great friends, got to have dinner at Club 33. Kind of amazing to think that I took a bus to and from one of the most exclusive restaurants in the World. 

Then in September (a little after our official anniversary), Eric took me to Fabio Viviani's restaurant, Cafe Firenze, in Moorpark. Again, I rented a car to go to an unforgettable meal that the executive chef himself picked out for us. It was so nice to be treated like a VIP just because Eric had had a 10 minute interview with Fabio last year. 

In October, the insurance payment came through and I bought Alain. He is completely what I did not expect. Nissan, black in color, sedan, and relatively new. The buying experience was not pleasant but I am happy with what I ended up with. We took Alain for a drive down PCH and saw a beautiful sunset. Nice way to break in a new car.

Then in November I got to go to a cooking demonstration by Hugh Acheson. I had seen him on Top Chef and fallen in love with his personality and his monobrow. I even got to chat with him a bit before the demo started when he needed to buy a new gold spoon. I mentioned at the time that this was probably in the top 10 of my greatest experiences. He did a simple recipe, was easy going, funny,  charming and the soup he made was fantastic. I also learned a few things that I can now use in my own cooking.

Plus I got a signed cookbook to add to my collection.

So that's just a quick glance of what 2015 offered me. There was also some major relationship issues, fights, infidelity, and a trip to Chicago I wasn't sure I was going to come home from. But all these were learning experiences and part of what makes me who I am. We've been in California for 2 years now. We're better off than we were in 2014, but, as with lots of things, we could be better.

In 2016 I plan to give up all my Sagas on my phone. No more candy crushing, pepper panicking, papa pear throwing, pet rescuing, bubble bursting or anything else King thinks I should play. I will continue with Angry Birds and Words with Friends, but that will be about it. I plan on reading more, hiking in the mountains (foothills) that surround L.A. and perfecting a song or two on my guitar. I also want to eat healthier and watch less TV. I want to continue growing friendships, and reaching out to those friends who I've strayed from in the past few years. I also want to write more, cook more, and maybe take a vacation for the first time in 10 years. 

Happy New Year everyone!

Ho Ho Humbug!

Thursday was Thanksgiving, tomorrow is December 1 and I'm just not in the holiday spirit this season.  Thursday was great. I woke up, cooked my butt off all day and had a really nice time. But then Friday came. Eric had to go to work, I was stuck at home. We got my car back (it's bearings are going and we can't afford to fix it just yet). Saturday, Eric wasn't feeling well so he slept a lot. We debated over having to do laundry, etc. Today, Eric had to go back to work. I've been watching football and putting the ornaments on the tree. I actually set up the tree on Friday but didn't feel like decorating it. I didn't feel like decorating it today either, but figured I had to. I went with minimal ornaments this year, but brought out some old friends who have to go on the tree.

I don't know what it is this year. Just not feeling it. Could be that we're still having some financial difficulty and that there won't be any presents under the tree. Could be that it was 85 and sunny on Thanksgiving. Could be that I am just a humbug this year. I'm not sure. I don't like feeling this way. I'd rather be thrilled that there is peppermint ice cream in the stores. That homes smell like cookies and warmth. That 'tis the season and that giving is better than receiving. I'm just not feeling it.

There is hope. I mean, walking home from the subway, I'm happy to look at other people's lights and decorations. I'm sure once I see "Rudolph" and "The Year Without a Santa Claus" I'll feel better. Next weekend (while Eric works both Saturday and Sunday), I'll make cookies, using recipes from my great grandmother, written in her handwriting. It's going to be cooler this week, so I'll be able to wear sweaters and a jacket.  I'll keep you updated.

Cooking All Weekend

I do cook during the work week, but it's usually something quick. Pasta, burgers, frozen pizza. Nothing that requires a lot of effort and is fairly quick to cook, because I'm usually tired after working and sometimes Eric doesn't get home until after 9pm and who wants to prepare a huge meal at that hour?

So I'm spending this weekend cooking. I got up early and went to the grocery store. No one in Hollywood wakes up before 10pm and with the Hollywood Film Awards last night, people were sleeping in more than usual. Eric really likes a Sunday Night Dinner so I had decided yesterday I would make a pot roast. Now my pot roast is made using a recipe my Mom used to use in the 60's. It's simple but so good. It's one of Eric's favorite meals but what kills him is that you have to cook it low and slow, so after about an hour in the oven, the smells of pot roast begin to fill the apartment and it's another 4-5 hours before we can eat it. It drives him nuts. Eric is working tomorrow so he won't have to be around the smell which is another reason I chose to make it. It's also great to have meat, veggies, and gravy all cooking in one pan. Makes for easier clean-up.

For those of you who follow me regularly, you know my goal has been to cook for Chris Hardwick and Benedict Cumberbatch. Well, yesterday on Twitter, I invited Chris Hardwick to dinner and one of my "foodie" followers suggested I make cajun shrimp. Chris has yet to respond to any invitation, but it's good to practice. So tonight, I'm making cajun shrimp pasta. I'm also baking my chocolate filled cupcakes that Eric enjoyed so much last weekend, and I cooked up a cubed steak sandwich for myself for lunch.

I will have to do the dishes many times this weekend. I will wash the same measuring cups, plates, bowls, pans, etc several times and each time I won't mind at all. Cooking helps me relax, helps me take my mind off whatever other bullshit is going on in my life. Cooking to me, is love. I like to share my cooking with others and have them enjoy what I make.

So while others of you may be out shopping, or going to movies, or other things...I will spend the weekend covered in chocolate, spices, and dish soap, and will love every minute of it!

TGIF!

It's Friday. Now that I'm older, that has different meanings. When I was young, it was the end of the school week, it meant we got to eat out, or as I got older, go to a movie with friends because I didn't have to get up and go to school the next day. In college it meant time for a pep rally before the football game on Saturday. Date night. Time to drink.

I still like to eat out on Fridays after cooking all week. I also like unwinding from the work week and realizing that I have 2 days off from traffic nightmares. It also still means college football the next day, although I will admit I don't watch as much college ball as I do the pros.

The big differences now is that Friday night is just another night. I still wake up at 6am on Saturday morning, only instead of going to work or school, I now have errands to do. I have to go do laundry, or go to the grocery store before it gets too crowded. Friday is just another day now. Especially when Eric works on weekends so we don't have two days off together. I now really enjoy going to bed early on a Friday night.

So let Rebecca Black and Katy Perry have their "Friday" and "Last Friday Night", I'll be grateful that I'm home for a few days.

...And Without a Sink Too

As you know we moved into a new apartment a couple of weeks ago. Everything was fine...the shower leaked a little but we learned how to properly turn it off. The drawers and cabinets get stuck all the time but that's because they were freshly painted and I think adding some  knobs and handles will solve that issue.  We also had the fiasco with Time Warner Cable, but that seems to be working now too.

The kitchen is great. I have enough counter space for ALL my appliances (Cuisinart, convection oven, microwave, coffee maker) and still have plenty of room for prep. It will be nice to take the Thanksgiving turkey out of the oven and have someplace to put AND carve it without rearranging the entire kitchen. The only complaint I have is the sink. It's a double sink with an "insinkerator" (don't call them disposals in CA). The insinkerator hasn't worked since we moved in. Not a big deal, I can live without one. Egg shells can go into the trash as easily as they can down the sink. But last Monday night, as Eric was on the phone with the cable people, I was doing dishes and the sink with the insinkerator started to back up. I'm pretty resourceful, know my way around some tools so I grabbed the plunger and gave it a few tugs. Took care of the water back-up and I went on with washing dishes. A few minutes later I found myself standing in a puddle of water. I opened the cabinet doors and there was water pouring down the pipes. Oops. So we called the landlady and she said she'd have someone out the next day. He never showed. So we we're promised that he was coming the next day and could she let him into our apartment (since we both had to be at work). No problem...except I remembered her telling us that she only had 1 key to our place. Turns out I was right and she couldn't let the guy in on Wednesday either. So Thursday comes along and Eric has the day off. The cable guy comes and the plumber comes.  He apparently fixes the sink and is even sent back to our place by our landlady to make sure the insinkerator works (turns out all it needed was a flipped switch). So, Eric does the dishes and I come home to a clean kitchen with what I thought was a working sink.

Flash forward to Saturday. I'm doing dishes before I cook dinner and  lo and behold, both sinks are filling up again. Now on Friday, Eric had said not to use the insinkerator because he didn't think it was working properly. So I didn't touch it. But now both sinks are full of nasty water and I end up having to do my dish washing in the bathtub!  Eric looks at the sinks while I'm in the bathroom rinsing the soap off with the spray from the shower and again the sink starts leaking everywhere. Yuck.

Now I don't mind doing a glass or two, or some forks, or a plate in the bathroom. But I'm a cook and I make meals which use pots, pans, cutting boards, measuring cups, etc...and it's no fun sitting on the toilet, hunched over the bathtub just so I can make a good meal at home.

The plumber was back today, brought help and rooted out the sink, the insinkerator and Eric did the dishes again without any problems. So that's basically a full week without a sink. Keep your fingers crossed that it stays unclogged. I can cook without an oven, but I need a sink!

New Year, New Location, New Goals

Welcome to 2014! Last year I committed myself to Project Dean and I failed. In fact, the only goal I believe I did accomplish was moving out to California before the snow started in Chicago, so I'll give myself a small pat on the back for that one. Now it's a new year and the time to make resolutions and changes and everything else we're supposed to do January 1. Being stubborn and independent however, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to not tell anyone about what I plan to do and instead just do it. That way there's no pressure and I'm only accountable for my own actions. I will say that I don't like the way I look when I see pictures of myself so I'll probably work on that. I'll also say that I miss writing and being creative so I'll probably work on that too.

Moving to a new state gives me a chance to discover all sorts of new things. New places to visit, new places to eat, new places to hike, walk, swim, and ride (horses AND Harleys). I have a new job so there will be new bosses to impress, new friends to make and new responsibilities. There is also a new schedule in our relationship to get used to. Eric works retail,  and starting the 13th I'll be working Monday thru Friday 8:30-5:00. Eric's days off are Wednesday and Friday, he works Saturday and Sunday, I'll have the weekends free. It will be a lot more independent time for us which I think will help make our relationship stronger. We will have to make time to be together and make those times important.

I'm looking forward to the new year, the new adventures, the new experiences and maybe, by the end of the year I'll be looking back at all the new things I've learned.

Project Dean--Days 4 & 5

So this weekend I went to the gym both days and it felt good. Well, Sunday it didn't feel as good, but I did what Planet Fitness calls their 30 minute Express Workout--which is a minute of steps, followed by 12 reps on a machine, then back to the steps. 20 stations in all. One of the leg machines wasn't working, so I did one of them twice. The steps always are a struggle for me after I haven't been working out for awhile. The very first time I tried the express workout I think I only got through 4 of the steps, this time I did all 10. Since Planet Fitness is partnered with The Biggest Loser they had some new workouts to do with the steps so I tried a few of those. My thighs were definitely talking to me about it when I got home, but I'm glad I did it. Saturday I did the treadmill for a mile and then did 5 miles on the bike. That felt good too. I had to push a bit on the bike to get through that last mile but I kept picturing me standing next to Dean and that helped push me. This week should be more normal at work and I'm going to try to get to the gym a couple of days after work. I took the steps today at Union Station and can almost get my breath back by the time I'm ready to cross the street now, rather than huffing and puffing all the way to my desk.

This weekend was also very good for my new recipe a week plan. I actually cooked 3 new recipes and tried a couple new things to old favorites! Friday I was off of work because it was Eric's birthday, and I wanted to spend it with him. I also had time to watch The Chew on ABC. I really like that show. Fabio Viviani, one of my favorite chef's from "Top Chef" was on and he made a recipe called "Lazy Meatballs." I thought that it looked good and easy so we picked up the ingredients for that from the store. Also on Friday, we saw an ad for a grilled cheese and jalapeno sandwich which was right up Eric's alley. Originally, we were going to go out to dinner for Eric's birthday, but he woke up on Friday morning and asked if I would cook him a steak instead. He said that would be better than any meal he could get at a restaurant. I thought that was very sweet of him to say. So I went to the grocery store and got the ingredients for the grilled cheese and jalapeno sandwiches, ingredients for the Pillsbury "Unsloppy Joe's" that we also saw a commercial for, and the ingredients for the Lazy Meatballs.

I decided to make the grilled cheese with cheddar and put it on sourdough bread. I made Eric's with thick slices of bread and had sliced the jalapeno so that each bite he took had a bite of pepper in it. He LOVED it.  I know that grilled cheese really isn't a new recipe, but it was a new way to do it for me, so I'm thinking that counts.

Friday night, I made Eric his steak, and I sauteed some shallots and mushrooms in worcestershire sauce to put on top of the steak. We also had baked potatoes with sour cream and cheese. It was quite tasty.

Then Saturday morning, after my workout, I came home and made scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries. I cut up some red pepper and some onions and diced the potatoes for the home fries and seasoned it all with Lawry's seasoned salt. It was the first time I had made my own home fries and Eric said it may have been the best breakfast I had ever served him. I loved how easy it was and will definitely do it again.

Saturday night we made the Unsloppy Joe's. Now, you're supposed to brown some ground beef, add some sloppy joe sauce to it and then put that mixture, along with some shredded cheese onto biscuits that you've stretched out a bit. They were messy, but not too bad. I never really liked sloppy joes when I was younger, and still don't really care for them (I think the meat tastes too sweet in the sauce), but it was an acceptable, easy dinner, and yet another new recipe.

Finally, on Sunday night I made the Lazy Meatballs.  Here's a picture of them. The base of sauce is really easy, just onions, garlic and fennel seed, then you add some chicken stock, some pureed tomatoes and some Italian sausage that has been cut into meatball size pieces. You let that all cook together until the sauce thickens, then you add some fresh basil and some parmesan cheese and serve it with some warm crusty bread and you're good to go. I thought that the sauce would develop more flavors overnight and I was right. I took some to work today for lunch and the sauce was flavorful, but also way too salty. I think the salt from the sausages and the salt I added just sat there too long. I don't know, but next time I think I'll add just a little less salt.  The sauce is a good basic sauce that I think I could use on pasta, or even chicken. I'll experiment some more with it.

I considered it a very good weekend.

Here We Go Again

Today is January 1, 2013 and it's the time most people make resolutions for the upcoming year. I have done this in previous years in this blog and am doing it again, in some hopes, that if I write them down, then maybe I'll stick to them this year. 2012 was not the best year and I am hoping to make changes in 2013 that will definitely be permanent. Of course, the only way to make a change is to do it and to keep up with the new behavior or pattern so that it becomes routine, therefore it's not as much of a challenge.  So, here we go, in no specific order, my resolutions for 2013.

WRITE MORE
This is the start of doing that. Back in high school, I used to have an English teacher that would have us start each class by journaling for 5 minutes. Sometimes he would give us a topic, sometimes he would just let us write what was on our minds. If we had nothing, or got stuck while we were journaling, we would have to just keep writing the same word over and over again until we "unstuck." It was a good practice and this year I vow to keep that tradition going. Now 365 blog posts might be a tall order if I look at it like I HAVE to write every day. However, I enjoy writing and I don't think it should be that big a deal. I mean, I post something on Facebook or Twitter everyday, so why should writing a blog post be any different. I also won't get to hard on myself if I don't post something every day. I am allowing myself now to miss a day or two depending on what is going on, but the goal is to write every day. Keep checking back and we'll see how far I have gotten by December 31, 2013.

EAT LESS
Now this is the ultimate resolution that most people make on January 1st. I guarantee that when I go to the gym this weekend, it will be crowded with people who are doing exactly what I am doing and vowing to get healthier. I would assume that by the end of January and definitely by Mid-March, us diehards will still be at the gym, while more machines will be available as people fall out. I really do want to lose weight and get into better shape.  I do have specific goals in mind with dieting or actually, I'm going to call it, getting healthier.

This picture is of Dean Patterson. Dean is 21 and is the Conductior (Drum Major) for my favorite Drum Corps Phantom Regiment.  Every year Eric and I travel up to NW Illinois each May and watch Dean lead the Regiment in their dress rehearsal for the season. This year, I want to be able to take a picture with Dean and I don't want to look like the fat old lady standing next to him. I want to be thinner. Then, if the fates allow, I want to go to DCI Finals in Indianapolis in August, where hopefully I can get another picture with Dean. This will show how much weight I've lost during the summer. I wanted to do that in 2012, but things changed, and now it's a definite goal for 2013.

TRY A NEW RECIPE OR A NEW RESTAURANT EVERY WEEK
I tried this resolution when I first moved back to Chicago from Florida 5 years ago. It was a good idea and I figure with all the cookbooks I have and with the all the amazing restaurants in Chicago, that this will not be a challenge at all. I just have to stick with it. I'm all set this week as tonight for dinner I am making a spicy shrimp linguine in cream sauce that I haven't made before. Only 51 more to go! See, this resolution thing is easy.

READ MORE
I have moved more times than I'd like to remember in my life and the past 3 moves, I have moved over 3,000 pounds of books with me. I LOVE to read and unfortunately, in this "digital" age, I tend to read more updates on Facebook than I do actual books. I want to change that. I have a commute to work every day on the train, I can read at my lunch hour, and during the quiet times at home when I'm just mindlessly watching another Harry Potter movie I've already seen 15 times, I could pick up a book instead. Now, I'm not going to be bold and say I'm going to read 100 books or all the books on the New York Times bestseller list, but I am going to read more. I also figure that will give me more to write about so that will help with that resolution. Now if I could only figure out how to read while working out on the treadmill I'd be set.

TRAVEL MORE
I also love to travel, but with the economy still in the shitter and me still having a "temporary" job, I haven't traveled as much as I'd like. But I need to look at that in smaller steps too. A trip doesn't have to be out of the state or to an exotic location or overseas. A trip can be anywhere I haven't been before or somewhere I have been before but where I am doing something I WANT to do. As already mentioned, I'd love to go to Indianapolis for DCI Finals in August so that would be a trip. I'd also like to go to the Wisconsin State Fair, where I haven't been in 2 years. It's the Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary in Wisconsin at the end of August and I'd like to go up there for that as well.  But there are many places in Illinois, not far from Chicago that I haven't discovered. Maybe a trip to Springfield, or back to Starved Rock where Eric and I spent one of our first weekends together. I don't care, just as long as I get out of the apartment from time to time.

So those are my resolutions for 2013. At least the ones I think I have some control over and that should make me healthier, happier, more productive, and more fulfilled. Come back tomorrow and see how I'm doing.

Oops!

Well, 2011 didn't start exactly as I had wanted. New Year's Eve, Eric fell down the stairs (so help me, if he wears his Crocs outside again in winter I'm going to kill him) and injured his left "backside." So we had to spend New Year's Eve day in bed and going to the Take Care Clinic at Walgreen's to see if there was anything more we could do besides ice and ibuprofen. (There wasn't). I cooked a nice dinner which worked out, but Eric hurt just sitting eating dinner, so we retired to the bedroom early and he was out and asleep before 10pm. I watched the ball drop on my own and feel asleep before Midnight central time. Gunfire in our neighborhood to celebrate 2011 woke me up and I heard a loud clunking as a bullet shell bounced off the roof of Eric's car. Made a dent but no other damage so we're ok and the car is ok.

Now, for Christmas, Eric got me a set of Guy Fieri Knives. They are awesome. The first nice knives I have ever owned. I was excited to get up New Year's morning and make a

bacon/mushroom/goat cheese frittata. While I was cutting fresh basil with my new, wonderful, and very sharp knives, I almo

st sliced off the tip of my left index finger. Luckily I just cut through the nail. I figured that was my error for the meal. I had been roasting grape tomatoes in the oven to make a sauce to go along with the frittata and when I took it out of the oven, I used a potholder since the handle was hot. I poured the tomatoes and garlic into a bowl and put the skillet back on top of the stove, I was going to wipe it out and then cook the frittata in it. Well, after I grabbed another bowl in which to mix the eggs, I went back and grabbed the skillet. This time without the potholder. OUCH! I dropped the pan, (luckily not on a cat), and yelled some sort of obscenity. Eric came out and asked if I was OK and I very calmly said "No." My right hand felt like I was being stung by 100 bees and I started to cry. Eric asked if I could take a break and I said "No." Hell, I had seen the chef's on Top Chef suck it up all the time and keep going, so that's what I did. Crying the entire time and running my hand under cold water when I had a chance. Luckily the frittata worked out and was delicious!

We managed to make it through the rest of the day without falling or burning ourselves or cutting off any limbs. When I asked Eric what he wanted for dinner last night he said "Anything that doesn't involve you cooking or me going out." I was able to slice an onion without

problems and dinner was successful.

So it wasn't exactly the way I had planned to start the year. My hand hurt too much to start learning a new song on the guitar. It was very cold outside so I didn't take poor Harley for a walk for some exercise (and Eric's in no shape right now to join the Y with me). Someone had blocked our driveway New Year's Eve so we couldn't even get our cars out to go anywhere. I figure it can only get better from here!

Munchies and Monchichi's

Once again it's been awhile and I'm not even going to come up with excuses or promise that I'll write more often, because obviously I don't write as much in here as I'd like to or as I should. I suppose I should just write when the moment feels right and not worry so much about it.

It's hot here in Chicago, been in the 90's to upper 80's most of the past 4 days now and more humid than I think I ever experienced while living in Florida. I'm not complaining though, I've spent the weekend on the couch, watching golf, grabbing things for FarmVille on Facebook and having a severe case of the munchies. Yesterday I munched on several different boxes of mini cereals, some miniature Reese's peanut butter cups, a few Tootsie Roll pops, some Entemann's doughnuts and a pint of Ben & Jerry's chocolate ice cream. It's that glorious time of the month for me and my cramps were severe yesterday which for some reason, made me extremely hungry. Today, the munchies linger, but we're out of munching food and I can't decide whether or not to get in the car myself or send Eric to the store to get potato chips, Dove chocolates with caramel and some more ice cream! I know I shouldn't be munching on any of those things, but sometimes you just have to munch.

As for the Monchichi's--I don't know why but a few months ago when Eric was rubbing my legs after a long day at work, it felt so nice that I babbled something about monchichi's. Why that came up? I don't know. Then, of course, I had to sing the whole song for him, which he had never heard...and then proceed to show him pictures of the cute and cuddly little monkey children who suck their thumbs. I don't believe I ever even owned a Monchichi of my own. It's kind of weird how some things pop back into your head after so many years. Now"MONCHICHI!" has become an exclamation of pure joy around here, and sometimes we say sad, quiet, "monchichi's" when something hurts, accompanied by a pouting lower lip.

I'm just grateful that tomorrow the cramps will be gone, the munchies will be history, and hopefully I will come up with better ideas for my blog postings than this silly nonsense. Next weekend will be our summer weekend at Ravinia. Counting Crows on Saturday and Crosby, Stills & Nash and Sunday. That should be something to write about.

iWanted an iPad so iJoined the iParty

Last Saturday, on a cool, rainy spring morning in Chicago, Eric and I woke up early and headed to Skokie to the Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center to stand in line for the latest of Steve Jobs' inventions, the iPad.

Now I have always been an Apple/Mac fan. I first fell in love with Mac's in high school when I was in journalism class. I used to wait in line in college when I went to the computer lab to use one of the 5 Mac's they had so I could type my papers. The first computer I got after graduating college was a Mac. Due to my financial situation later in life I was forced into buying cheaper PC's and using Windows. I remember the day Windows came out and I looked and said, "Well they are just copying Apple." I never liked Windows, never really liked Microsoft. Bill Gates is doing a lot of good in the world, but the fact that he got rich on a stolen idea, one that keeps needing updates and is prone to viruses...well, I'm getting off track.

When I was able and looking for a new laptop to replace my Gateway that was slowly dying, I bought a MacBook Pro. I got it home, had it out of the box, on and on the internet in less than 20 minutes. I had gotten an iPod back when I lived in Florida and was using it to listen to music while I worked out or go for walks, or just to dance while I did the dishes. My first iPod died before it's warranty ran out and I went to the Apple store and they gave me a new one. No questions asked. When I heard that the iPhone was coming out I had a different type of phone. I thought it was neat, but didn't really want one. I think they were too new. I was also happy with my Verizon coverage and didn't want to switch to AT&T. For my first Christmas with Eric, I got him the iPod Touch, engraved on the back because he too was a Mac Fanatic. I was afraid to touch his iPod Touch, but when I did, I really liked it. So, last October Eric and I bit the bullet and got iPhones. Our contract with Verizon was coming to a close, and I had heard about the new 3GS version and thought it was cool. I have been very happy with the iPhone, loved the Apps, loved that now my music, photos and phone were all together in one place. And although I don't get the best coverage from AT&T at work in downtown Chicago, it works well and I've never dropped a call.

Even though I am a huge Apple/Mac fan, I had never understood the desire to stand in a long line, camp out overnight if needed, and join the masses. I will admit I got gaga over the iPad when it was first announced, even before it was announced in fact. I was at work and watched Steve Jobs sit in his chair in San Francisco and show all the things this "tablet" could do. I wanted one then, but quickly squelched my desires, realizing that there were bills to pay and I already had an iPhone and a MacBook and those would be sufficient to do what I needed to do.

As last Saturday approached though, fate intervened. Eric had recently gotten a job after a long layoff so money was coming in and I had finally sold a saddle of mine (since I haven't ridden a horse for over 4 years now) so I got a check from that. That check was enough to cover the cost of a new iPad, two train passes for the month and groceries for the week and then some...so Eric and I spent an evening on the porch and decided we would go stand in line with everyone.

We called the Old Orchard Apple store on Thursday and was told that mall security wouldn't let anyone line up before 7am and was also assured that they would have plenty of iPads available. So we got up around 6am. Eric had a cup of coffee, and we went to Walker Brothers Pancake house in Wilmette for breakfast. We got to Old Orchard around 7:30 and I was happy to see that there weren't tons of cars in the parking lot. I had seen a story on the news the night before that a woman had lined up on Michigan Avenue on Friday morning so she could be first in line, so I was a bit worried.

When we turned the corner of the mall and looked at where the Apple store was, there was a small group of people. Mostly Apple employees standing around. They were setting up a table from Starbucks to give those of us standing in line free coffee, cookies, granola bars, water, and bananas. The Apple employees asked us if we had reserved an iPad, which I didn't know I could do until it was too late and probably wouldn't have done anyway since this was a last minute decision. We said no and they told us to stand in one line. The other line was for people who had reserved their iPads. We were about 6th in line which wasn't bad. As we waited, the lines kept growing as did the blue shirt wearing Apple employees. They all disappeared around 8:15 am though. I later found out it was so they could see the iPad for themselves for the first time and to get some training on it.

Most of the others in line were holding iPhones, or iPods and were discussing what they were going to do with their iPads. One gentleman was going to use it for two weeks and then give it to his wife when he stood in line in a couple of weeks to get the 3G version. A lot of people had already ordered iPads online, but since those weren't shipping until the 12th, they decided to get one on the first day and then sell it on eBay once they got theirs via UPS. It was a friendly group. A guy a couple of people behind us was on the phone with his parents who were standing in line in Atlanta to get their iPads, and since they were an hour ahead of us, they called him and told him all about it even while we were still staring at the black curtain they had over the store's windows.

About quarter to 9, I had to excuse myself to go to the restroom and as I stepped out of line, there was a big cheer as the black curtain was dropped and there were iPads sitting in the windows. I came back and everyone was taking pictures. We were taking pictures of the iPad, and the Apple employees were taking pictures of us taking pictures. Then they opened the doors and they all ran out and just like at the end of a hockey game or baseball game, they ran down the line and high fived all of us, yelling, cheering, clapping, taking videos, etc. Eric announced "It's kind of like a birthday party at Chili's." Then they all disappeared into the store again and lined up in the store. A few of them came outside and announced to us that they would let 10 people who pre-ordered into the store for every 1 person who didn't. I was hoping this didn't mean we were going to be standing there a long time.

I have to tell you this was a very smooth operation. When you got to the front of the line, someone asked your name and engaged in small talk until it was your turn. Then you were introduced to an Apple employee who took you into the store, past some more cheering, clapping employees, and helped you with your purchase. Our employee was Otis, who was wearing glasses without lenses in them. He was very nice...joked about what we were there for and when I said I wanted the 32 MB version he said, let me grab that before they are all gone. So he went to get that, Eric went to go pick out a cover for his MacBook, and Otis brought me the box and then took me over to the accessory wall to try and sell me more things. I did get a cover for the iPad but nothing else. We gathered our purchases and while Otis grabbed a bag to put it all in, Eric took a picture of me holding the iPad. We were out of the store and back in the car by 9:27am. It was a highly efficient, well run, very enjoyable experience. But something I suppose I've come to expect from Apple.

As a side note, as Eric and I were heading back to the car, a Maserati pulled up with Florida plates and out crawled Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls. He was going to go stand in line to get his iPad too.

After a trip to the grocery store, we drove home and I took out my new iPad. I was thrilled to discover that the first time I turned it on, it still had battery power of 97%. I plugged it into the computer and immediately transferred my iPhone apps and my photos over to the iPad. I also downloaded two apps I had seen on TV. Scrabble was one of those apps and the cool part of that app is that if you are playing with people who have an iPhone, they use the iPhone as their tile holder and then flip tiles from the phone onto the board on the iPad. Cool! But I have to say that the best app is iBooks.

Those of you who are my friends on Facebook, or are even followers of this blog know that I had been debating about getting a Kindle or some other eBook reader for some time. I had decided that it was too expensive and that I really didn't want to stare at a computer screen all day since I did it at work, and again for an hour or so when I got home. The iPad is the perfect eBook reader with their application called iBooks. After I downloaded iBooks, I was thrilled to look upon the screen and see my bookshelf with "Winnie The Pooh" sitting on it. I opened the book and was amazed at how you could turn the pages with your finger and see the print on the back side of the page. I downloaded a book from my list and have already read it, and have downloaded another one. (Review to come.) I do have to admit that it is nice to be able to highlight an unknown word and get a definition right on the screen. And it is also nice to get a book in about 5 seconds compared to waiting for it for 5 days from Amazon. I will never stop buying books at bookstores, but this electronic version is not a bad substitute. I also appreciate that Apple has put classics on iBooks for Free...so you can read "Pride and Prejudice" or "Alice in Wonderland" or "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare" at no additional cost. iBooks has promised that books that contain references to music will have links so you can hear the music and that they are developing books for the iPad that will have videos in them as well.

So I now have a device that I can use as a digital photo frame, a digital library, a music player, a Scrabble game board, surf the internet, read the newspapers, and even check my email. There are things my iPad does that I don't even know about yet.

So, I was the first on the train with my iPad, and I was the first at work with my iPad and although I wasn't first in line, I was glad I got one the first day.

Summer Vacation

Yes, I know that yesterday was only the first day of Spring. And yes, I know that we got 3 inches of snow here in Chicago yesterday. But it's never too early to start thinking about how Eric and I are planning on spending our lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer. I would love to go back to London, but it's expensive, and with the economy lately, not too practical. I'd like to go to Vegas since I've never been, but who wants to go to Vegas in the summer? Same with Florida. I have some good friends down there and it would be fun to take the ferry from Ft. Myers to Key West, but again, not in summer. Eric wants to take me to California and show me the LA that he knows and loves. He also wouldn't mind going to Door County but I don't want to be up there with all those other people during that time. I'd rather go there in the "off" season. We are going to go the Wisconsin State Fair again this year, but that's just a day trip.

So, we've decided to stick close to home and have a summer of music at Ravinia. Ravinia, when I was growing up, was the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO). My mother was going when she was pregnant with me, so I went pretty much 3 to 4 times a week every summer from before I was born until about 1992 when I graduated from college and moved to Wisconsin. I have seen some great acts. I have played frisbee on the lawn with members of the CSO. I have watched Jean Pierre Rampal swipe at a fly with his gold flute. I was there the night Harry Chapin was supposed to play and his brother played instead because Harry died in a crash on the way to Ravinia. I have done a sound check with the Little River Band. I have been there when a thunderstorm came out of nowhere and blew the sheets of music off the orchestra's music holders, causing the music to stop and everyone to leave their soaked blankets on the lawn and run for their cars. I have seen Chuck Mangione, Spyro Gyra and always enjoyed it when Preservation Hall came every year. I remember in my youth, Barry Manilow used to play Ravinia until he got so popular, kids would line up the night before and they stopped inviting him.

I think there is something so nice, so civilized about sitting out on the lawn with your blanket and a packed picnic dinner and relaxing to some beautiful music. Ravinia used to have benches that you sat on to eat, and then turned over to make an area to rest your back while you closed your eyes or gazed up at the stars and listened to Bach, Beethoven or Mozart. They used to let us bring torches that would keep the bugs away and would let my brother and I know where our parents were sitting after we were done throwing the frisbee around, or crawling on the sculptures, or standing in line for giant scoops of ice cream.

Ravinia has changed over the years. The pavilion is still there, the lawn is still there...but where we used to get fried chicken is now a big, fancy, two level sit down restaurant. The beer/wine gazebo is now another place for food. And the music has changed. Sure the CSO is there...for maybe 2 weeks now. Now the Backstreet Boys and Carrie Underwood are the big sellers. And now, the lawn sells out. How can that be? I remember when Preservation Hall would come and people would set up blankets and chairs on the pavement just beyond the lawn. It never sold out. I'm not picking on it, or saying I don't like it. Just saying it's changed.

Last concert I went to at Ravinia was Gordon Lightfoot. This had to be back in the early 1990's. It stunk. Gordon played only 45 minutes, and because I had taken the train, he played just long enough for all of us to miss the early train and have to wait an hour and a half for the next one. Gave us a lot of time to bitch about how awful Gordon was.

But, again, I'm willing to have another go. I think Eric and I will have a good time. Most of the concerts we have picked are on the weekends except for one on a Wednesday night. It will be nice to have someone to go with. It will be fun preparing picnic food and packing a blanket and setting up a Crate & Barrel table. I am looking forward to our summer of music and for those of you who are interested here's our lineup.

We are starting the summer off in June on the 5th with Vince Gill and then a week later Steve Martin on the banjo.

We are then going to skip the month of July because its usually hot and sticky and also because no one is coming that we are interested in seeing.

Next comes August where we are going to see the BoDeans who I absolutely love, Crosby, Stills, & Nash whom Eric absolutely loves and Poi Dog Pondering which is a great and very interesting Chicago band.

This will bring us to the end of summer, and the first week in September or the week before Labor Day. And who better to take us to the end of summer than the boys who wanted us to spend the endless summer The Beach Boys! We're also going to see Train because I have loved them since they started and I turned Eric onto them.

So that's our summer plan. A little picnic food, a little music, and all close to home. Come and look for us on the lawn if you want!

Cooking WITH an oven!

After living with Eric for almost a year, yesterday, we finally got an oven. It was a Christmas present from his Mom and although they wanted to get it the Wednesday before Christmas, apparently Sears was very busy delivering all the other appliances people got for the holidays and we were put on hold until January. It was worth it. Friday night, Eric's mom called and told us that it would be delivered between 8:45am and 10:30am. Friday night, surprisingly, Eric was the one who had problems sleeping. I was confident and happy and didn't want to get too excited, but knew exactly what we were having for dinner on Saturday night. My mother's pork chop and rice recipe! A recipe I used to make once a week and now hadn't had for probably over a year.

Around 9:30 or so, Eric went outside for a cigarette and to help his Mom unload groceries from her car. Just as he was closing the trunk I heard the "beep! beep! beep!" of the delivery truck backing up! Even though I had awoken with a horrible toothache, I had a big smile on my face. The delivery guy came upstairs to see how to negotiate the stairs and where the oven was going and then proceeded back to his truck. Eric looked off the balcony and said "It's in a really big box." I assured him that they would probably take it out of the box before they brought it upstairs, which they did. This new oven is stainless steel and had some protective plastic on it, so when they brought it upstairs and we first saw it through the back door, Eric looked at me and said "It's GREEN?" I assured him that no, it was not green, we do not live in the 70's. They brought it in and placed it in its position. Then they connected it to the gas, turned on all the burners, explained to us that we needed to run it for 30 to 40 minutes before we used it to bake off a protective coating and that was that. The oven was home!

Eric invited his mom up to see it and we all just stood around the kitchen in awe. Then we kicked her out and headed to the grocery store for things to put into our new baby. We got a very large take home pizza from Dominick's to bake for lunch and we also got all the ingredients for pork chops and rice. I had also spent the morning watching Food Network and Tyler Florence had a great recipe for panko crusted, rosemary and garlic chicken legs that could be baked in the oven. So we got the ingredients for that as well. Plus Eric's birthday is tomorrow so we got stuff to make him a German Chocolate cake.

When we got home, I turned on the oven and let it bake off its protective coating for the alotted time and then slowly slid the pizza in. After 20 minutes we had an evenly baked, perfectly golden pizza. Yeah! Plus, since it came in its own tray, we didn't even get the oven dirty! I was very happy.

I moved into Eric's with a lot of stuff. I had previously lived in a 3 bedroom house inherited from my parents with a full basement, a 4 bedroom house in Florida, and a two bedroom, rather large apartment in Lake Zurich. So downsizing to an older, smaller two bedroom apartment in the city was a little hard for me. Luckily the apartment across the hall from us is empty and I was able to store all my stuff that didn't fit, which is quite a bit, over there. After lunch Eric and I went across the hall and I began opening my pots and pans boxes to find all my casserole dishes, my baking dishes, my cake pans, my bread pans and the rest of the things I didn't need while I wasn't cooking with an oven. It was like finding old friends. I found my dish towels, my Cuisinart mini-prep, my good cooking utensils and my immersion blender so I can make fantastic soups. I was so happy and excited. We started to bring all this stuff over to our apartment and realized that we didn't really have a place to put it. However, my parents not only left me the love and the joy and the recipes of their culinary lives, they also left me their french bakers rack. We moved the small table that the microwave had been sitting on, went back across the hall and moved the bakers rack over here. It looks really good. I now have a place to put my pots, my dishes, AND some of the hundreds of cookbooks I have. It was almost like bringing in the new oven brought us a whole new kitchen. (We also found my refrigerator magnets and put those up). It now looks like it is a kitchen people use rather than a place people pass through on their way to the bathroom or the bedroom.

I practically sang when I put a pat of butter in the middle of my saute pan and it didn't slide to one side of the pan. I loved the smell of the pork chops and rice coming from the kitchen. It probably wasn't my best pork chops and rice, but it had to be one of the best times I had preparing it and eating it. Today the oven has been used to bake biscuits for breakfast and to make Eric's birthday cake. It will get a rest tonight when Eric gets taken out for his birthday dinner, but tomorrow, I can guarantee you I will be punching the button to heat it up, setting the timer and putting something inside it and smelling the wonderfulness that comes out of it.

I am truly happy.

As for my book progress, unfortunately I am still on the second book, "Amateur Barbarians." I really don't like it. The story doesn't interest me, the characters don't interest me and the man who wrote it, obviously doesn't know how teenagers talk because the scenes in the book with the younger characters are very poorly written. Also, this book was advertised as a book where two middle aged men's lives intertwine. Well, I'm about 50 pages from the end and they are only now getting intertwined. I will finish the book today probably and still don't have my next two yet so I am falling a bit behind on my goal. Ok...I am falling far behind on my goal. But all of you who know me, know how determined I can be and I will succeed. I'll let you know in the middle of the week how I'm doing.

Let The Wild Rumpus Start!

2010 arrived today, not with a wild rumpus, but with a kiss and a hug and falling asleep before midnight. Eric and I watched the ball drop in Times Square though, so that usually means it's officially the new year, no matter where you are in the US. It was quiet in our neighborhood at the stroke of midnight. I could hear distant fireworks but no one was shooting off guns or yelling wildly or honking car horns. I like it that way. In my younger days I used to love to wait up and have a champagne toast, wear a silly hat, or as I did in Florida, jump into a pool sans clothing. Now I appreciate the quiet evenings at home, watching a movie or a football game or playing a game of Scrabble. I also appreciate not having to watch the Tournament of Roses Parade with a hangover.

So on this first day of 2010, I awoke with the sun. Usually I am up before the sun, so it was nice that we got up together today. Then I went grocery shopping, came home, watched the parade, watched some football, made some homemade chicken noodle soup, and began my resolution of reading the first of those 100 books I plan on getting through.

I had two choices. My fiction choice was "Amateur Barbarians" by Robert Cohen and my non-fiction choice was "The Age of Entanglement: When Quantum Physics was Reborn" by Louisa Gilder. I chose the non-fiction book because I figure you should always start the new year out with the truth. Plus, I was never big on physics, quantum or otherwise, so I knew I would struggle with this book and figured it would be a good challenge. I was a little concerned that the end of the book contained 100 pages worth of glossary terms and notes, but got over that after looking at the glossary and realizing that I knew more about physics and scientific terms than I had remembered. Living with my mathematician step-father for all those years probably had something to do with it.

I am two chapters into the book and am finding it interesting but also realize that I still am not big on physics. The book contains excerpts from letters, interviews and conversations between all sorts of scientists including Einstein and Bohr. It has charts and footnotes and the author is doing her best to keep it an "easy" read rather than making the reader have to stop and look up every other word in the dictionary. But for me, this is a book where I am only going to be able to read a chapter and then will have to put the book down, think on it a bit and then pick it up again. I don't think this is like "Harry Potter" where I can read it in one sitting, nor do I want it to be. Part of this resolution is to introduce myself to new experiences, new authors, new ideas, and to maybe learn something or a lot of somethings in the process.

So even though the "entanglement" is sort of a "wild rumpus" in the quantum world, I'm going to take it in quietly, like my New Year's Eve celebrations.

What's in a Name?

Would a blog called Cooking Without an Oven still be a blog if it's name changed? Of course it would. Would it be the same blog? Of course it would. Just because something changes it's name doesn't mean its any different. Didn't Shakespeare teach us that a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet?

So, why am I contemplating a change in the name of my blog? Basically, I have to. This Christmas, Eric's mom decided to get us an oven. One that works on top and inside. One where I will be able to make tuna noodle casserole, and cheesecake, and german chocolate cake and my mother's pork chops and rice recipe and beef bourguignon. We aren't getting the oven until the middle of January though, so I still have a few weeks to contemplate what is going to be the first meal I cook, and what I am going to rename my blog. I can't really call it Cooking Without an Oven anymore since I will be cooking with an oven. Lots. My life is still not totally in control and I'm still taking it one step at a time and still learning and I don't expect an oven to change all that, although it will stop us from having to be so creative with ramen noodles.

I've already told you about my resolution to read every one of the 100 books on the NY Times Notable Books of 2009 list, so I thought about changing the name to "So Many Books, So Little Time" but that's rather commercial at this point. I was also thinking of calling it "Literally Literary" but I can hardly pronounce it myself, so maybe alliteration is not the way to go. I thought about doing a "Julie & Julia" type blog and type every day about how the books are going and then call it "A Year in The Life..." but that's not very clever either. I did briefly think of calling it "Damn You Bill Gregory! (among others)" in homage to my sophomore year English teacher for extolling the virtues of writing in margins of books, taking notes, and journaling every day, even writing the same word over and over and over and over until you thought of something else to write. But then I'd have to spend more time explaining and introducing you to all the English teachers along the way who have helped me to write and read and not only to do that, but to actually think about what I am writing and reading. I also thought I might call it "Horses, Death and Scenery" which was going to be the title of the biography I was going to write about Robert Redford, or the way I described my favorite movie, "Legends of the Fall." Horses, death and scenery have also played a big part in my life. But again, I would have to spend at least a couple of entries explaining all that. Finally I moved away from the literary and thought I could call the blog "If You Can't Stand the Heat..." and try to do a reading/cooking blog. One year I resolved to either eat at a new restaurant or try a new recipe every week. That would be 52 new experiences in a year. That worked for about 3 months. Don't know why I stopped, but I assume it's because life got in the way, again.

I'm not even sure if I can change the name of my blog without creating a new one, so this whole discussion may be pointless. But my original sentiment remains true....no matter what I call my blog, I hope that people will read it and enjoy it.

Just Like Old Times

I am swimming in nostalgia this week. On Wednesday, when I came home from work, the weather outside reminded me exactly of the Octobers of my youth, when we would all get excited for the costume parade at school for Halloween, and then all cry when we had to wear jackets over our costumes. Some people in my neighborhood must have fireplaces because I stepped out of the car and the aroma of burning wood filled my nostrils. I couldn't wait to get inside and curl up with a cup of hot chocolate. It's starting to get darker earlier (and will be dark by 4pm next week when we put the clocks back). There is a chill in the air. The weather is cloudy and rainy. The trees are giving off their final blaze of glory. I guarantee that if it wasn't raining, I would go take a walk in the park across the street and let the brown, yellow and red leaves crunch under my feet.

Maybe upon feeling this nostalgia, Saturday morning my boyfriend and I went out to eat "comfort food." For me it was an open faced turkey sandwich, served on white bread with mashed potatoes and gravy on top, all with a side of cranberry sauce. I hadn't eaten one of those since my days back at Mizzou in the dining halls. The same dining halls that would have a sign describing the night's side dish as "chessy" rice. There was nothing like the taste of a slice of Wonder bread, topped with a slice of processed turkey meat and a perfect ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes and bright yellow, almost snot-colored gravy. They usually only served those on weekends and it was great because a lot of people went home, so they always had plenty of servings. For Eric, his comfort food was meatloaf with mashed potatoes. Mushroom gravy on the meatloaf, different gravy on the potatoes. I smiled at his horror when he broke the dam on his mound of mashed potatoes and the gravys started to mix. This is not allowed in Eric's world. Each taste must be separate. He managed to shore up the damn and enjoy his lunch. Now meatloaf was not something my mother made. In fact, I don't believe I ever had meatloaf until I was 11 or 12 and living in New Mexico. I rode horses and my trainer one night before a horse show had me come by, learn how to braid my horse's mane, and then I stayed for dinner. Meatloaf, covered in Heinz ketchup. It was delicious. I am hoping that soon Eric and I can get a new oven so I can experiment with making my own meatloaf.

After lunch, Eric and I went to Kohl's and bought a waffle iron. When I was growing up, Sunday mornings when we had waffles were an event. My mother and father had a waffle iron that had been given to either her parents or his parents as a wedding gift. It was heavy, large, and the cord was beginning to get frayed. There was a big dome light on the front and I remember my brother and myself waiting until that light to glow yellow so that the batter could be poured slowly, out of the giant plastic bowl, onto the grid. Then the games began. My brother and I would guess whether the waffle would stick to the top or the bottom. Whomever got the right answer, got the waffle. And it was never good enough to just yell "top" or "bottom." You always had to yell it three times! "Top! TOP! TOP!!!" or "Bottom, BOTTOM, BOTTOM!!" There were cries of disappointment when we were wrong, cries of joy when we were right and my father said that he actually could accurately predict where it would end up depending on how the pour went. We, as children, of course believed him and were amazed that he was always right. Now when we went to Kohl's there were all sorts of new fangled waffle irons that turn and twist and fold and all that other unnecessary stuff. Then there was the Cuisinart waffle iron, that not only didn't twist and flip, but was also on sale! I am a big fan of Cuisinart, owning not only the original Cuisinart, but a mini-prep, coffee maker and hand blender that all carry the Cusinart name. So we got that and this morning I was thrilled to discover, that after my first "practice" waffle that ended up sticking everywhere, (My fault, I didn't use enough batter), that of the next two batches, one ended up on the top and one ended up on the bottom. Both tasted the same and were brown and beautiful. We covered them with butter and Mrs. Butterworth's syrup. It was great!

Tonight, we're going to have pork chops and applesauce. No, not really about the applesauce, but we are going to watch Bears football, have some pork chops and then watch "Dexter." That's not really nostalgic, but it's a nice way to end the weekend. A nice family, nostalgic weekend with my new family. Eric, Harley, Blair, Jasper and Elsie. Let's get out the jiffy pop and the plastic pumpkin to stick candy in and dive deep into the pool of our past.