Another Rough One

Ugh. Woke up today feeling really tired and down. Opened the door and the curtain and discovered it was snowing. The weatherman promised sun, but it never appeared. It did snow off and on all day. I know we're expecting a storm this weekend, but it didn't do anything for my mood. I made myself some breakfast and thought about going to the store. Also thought I might drive the PM rush hour for Lyft, but didn't do that either. I took a couple of naps which just made me more tired. Also developed a headache. That could be from the approaching storm, or my just general feel of malaise.

This weekend I'm gonna take pictures of all the things I plan to sell and put them up on eBay and Craigslist and maybe even Facebook. I think I'll feel better to get rid of some of this clutter. I also plan on driving for Lyft tomorrow night and Saturday night and Sunday brunch hours probably. Those were the times last year that I found to be more profitable for me.

I should be finished with one of the books I am reading tonight. I've also been cooking for myself a lot more which always makes me feel good.

I know this down phase is just a phase and it will pass. I usually get a little down after the holidays. After you take down the decorations, the house just seems so plain. The weather is dreary too. The older I get however, the faster the time goes and before long I'll be back on the water taxis and hopefully in captain's class.

For now I'm gonna go read my book and have a restful sleep. Ready for a busy, productive weekend.

Creative Workouts

So this week I haven't been following my 31-day challenge workout routine at all. The first day I had to watch a 10 minute video on how to do a 1 minute yoga pose and figured that if it was that complicated, maybe I'm not ready for it.

I've continued on with my stretching and I've been doing other things which may not seem like workouts but are definitely burning calories and keeping me moving for at least 15 minutes or more at a time. One was making a pound cake for a friend of mine. I had to use a hand mixer to beat the mixture for at least 10 minutes, which worked out my arms. I also had to do many dishes since the recipe called for each component to be in it's own bowl. I also just used a spoon to mix hot chocolate mix into some of the batter along with stirring in some chocolate chips. I also used a back and forth motion with the spatula to smooth the batter into a bread pan. I've cleaned out the litter boxes which involves bending and lifting and then taking stairs to throw the debris out. I've done lots of dishes including heavy bowls and I've actually done some of the dishes while balancing on one leg or another. I've made my bed every day, tucking in sheets and smoothing out the duvet. I scraped about half an inch of ice off of my car. I swept the living room and even moved furniture to get under things, and moved a 6 foot ladder into another room. I shook out the welcome mat and the bathroom rug. All of these don't sound like exercise and they aren't in the traditional sense, but they are doing something rather than me just sitting on the couch all day.

I've also really craved fast food this week, especially today, but I have stuck to my guns and cooked meals for myself every day instead. It saves money and is healthier in the long run. I did go out to lunch with a friend on Thursday but we just had a couple of appetizers and those were relatively healthy.

Although I've felt a little guilty for abandoning my challenge, I am proud of myself for doing something rather than nothing.

30 Day Writing Challenge--Day 4--10 Interesting Facts About Yourself

Talking about myself...something I'm not very good at, so I'm just going to list these facts and maybe elaborate them on another occasion.

1. I am an avid reader and have over 3,000 lbs of books.

2. I've been riding horses and motorcycles since I was 5 years old.

3. I have a B.A. in English and have had jobs in retail, motorcycles, horses, computers, advertising, non-profit organizations, and music.

4. I still sleep with a stuffed animal I received my junior year in high school.

5. I have never broken a bone in my body.

6. My favorite recipes to cook are ones from my great-grandmother, mother and father, it makes me feel closer to them now that they are gone.

7. I have read (and UNDERSTOOD), the Canterbury Tales in Middle English and Beowulf in Old English.

8. I am very opinionated, but not very political or religious.

9. I am the only one in my immediate family who does not have a drinking problem.

10. Football is my favorite sport but I always fantasized about being married to a PGA golfer.

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!

'Tis The Season

For cooking things, lots of things. Now, I'm just as upset as everyone else with Christmas commercials being run before Halloween and everyone seemingly skipping over Thanksgiving to rush towards Christmas...but I am grateful that now is the season when I LOVE to cook. Thanksgiving is a great day in my house. I'm up early and even if it's just me and Eric for dinner, I will still make a turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and all the other things. I love to do that and I love having leftovers.  Then comes the baking. I love pulling out the cards in my great-grandmother's handwriting to make her Scottish Shortbread, Almond Crescents and Bourbon Butter Cookies. I also love making an elaborate Christmas Eve dinner. Then turning around and doing another one for Christmas day. I like making New Years Day breakfast.  I'm just happy. My parents loved to cook and transferred this love down to me.

So hopefully soon there will be many photos and recipes and stories of my holiday cooking.

Starting Over

Here it is, the last day of 2010 and I noticed that once again, I have been neglecting my blogging duties and haven't had an entry since August! Well, New Year's is the time for resolutions and starting new, or at least they say it is. 2010 was a good year. I was employed for the entire year and although I was still a contractor, I stayed at the same company, handled changes, new bosses, new duties and even got a new computer the last week of work. I went to my first Drum Corps show which was amazing. It was in Minneapolis, which was another first for me and I found the city charming. The show got rained out or rather violent stormed out, but the Corps I did get to see were fantastic and have made me a fan for life. I ate at several new restaurants, some good, some just so so. I turned 40. I picked up a guitar for the first time since college and began playing again. I stood in line at the Apple Store for the release of the iPad so I could be one of the first to have one. Met Derrick Rose on the same day. I reconnected with my brother whom I hadn't spoken to since I moved out of Florida. And, of course, I really enjoyed cooking with my oven! I'm not going to look back on regret on the fact that I didn't read all 100 books I was planning on reading or that I didn't blog every day or every other day about it. Can't change the past, just have to move forward.

So, since I made promises that I simply couldn't or didn't keep last year, this year I'm making no promises. Just a list of things I would like to do/achieve in 2011.

• I would like to be employed permanently. (Hopefully with the company I've been "contracting" for for 2 years.)
• I would like to learn a new song a week on the guitar. Meaning I will have to play every day and by next New Year's Eve have a repertoire of 52 songs!
• I would like to read more and watch TV less. I have an iPad and Kindle loaded on my iPad and computer so there is no reason that I can't download any number of books I would like reading.
• I would like to get in better shape. The plan is to join the YMCA and start out in the pool until my muscles are used to working out again. I want to lose weight, yes...but I would also like to simply be fitter.
• I would like to continue to cook new recipes and explore new restaurants.
• I would like to go to Minneapolis in July and see a complete Drum Corps show and especially stand in front of the horn line of Phantom Regiment to feel that awesome power!
• I would like to go to London in November, and if not...Door County for Thanksgiving or Jamaica for Christmas.
• I would like to write in my blog every day.
• I would like to get back on a horse at some point during the year. I miss riding every day and being around those gentle giants.
• I would like to take our St. Bernard, Harley on more walks, which would be good for us both.
• I would like to swim in Lake Michigan at least once during the summer.
• I would like to see another opera.
• I would like to go to a live sporting event, whether it be golf tournament, football game, baseball game or hockey game.

So those are just a few of the things I'd like to see happen in 2011. Let's check back in a year and see how many of them I accomplished. I'm stubborn, and when I set my mind to something, I can do anything!

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.

Cooking Without An Oven

I have decided to write a blog. Why? I've been writing most of my life and keeping a lot of it to myself. Most of my friends love my writing and say I am good at it. I love writing personal letters, poems for birthdays or other big occasions and I try to write a journal. When the muse hits me I should write it down, but I don't always do that. I've probably lost a lot of good ideas and stories that way. I've been afraid of blogging because I'm not too sure I want to share that much information about myself. But after being on Twitter and Facebook for about 6 months now, I discover that I am sharing things with others anyway so I took the blog plunge.

About the title? I chose this title after rejecting many others because I have many interests... horses, cooking, writing, football, golf, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, movies, music, travel, etc. I couldn't come up with a title that encompasses all those things. I also didn't want to be boring and just use my name. So, as I said in my little info square, I have recently moved in with my boyfriend. This is the first time I have ever lived with a guy or anyone else since my sophomore year in college back in 1989. I moved from a large, two-bedroom, fairly new apartment in the suburbs, to a small, two-bedroom, upper floor of the building his mom owns place in the city. He has a nice kitchen, but it is older and he has a stove, but the oven doesn't work. This, I thought, would be a problem for me. I love to bake... pies, cakes, cookies, cheesecake, meatloaf, shepherd's pie, roasted chicken, pot roast, pizza, etc. When I moved in, I realized I would have to give this up. I thought it was going to be harder than it was. I have learned to make a lot of things on the grill and stovetop. I have gotten used to baking cookies 6 at a time in his convection oven instead of the normal 12 to 16. It takes longer, but they taste just as good. I have used the grill more since I moved here than when I had my own house with a complete kitchen set-up. And to be honest with you, I don't miss it. Sure, I'd like to make my mother's pork chop and rice recipe, and yes, I would love to make large-scale desserts. But it's not the end of the world.

And that's basically how I have tried to live my life. I have had a lot of things happen in my life that when I first looked at it, I thought "How am I ever going to get through this?" "How am I ever going to make it?" Yet I'm still here. I have survived. I have adapted. I have learned to embrace my surroundings and make the best of whatever situation I am in. When my parents got divorced when I was 9 and we moved to New Mexico where I was the only "gringo" in class, I learned Spanish. When my step-father and mother died within 6 months of each other, I quit my job in order to deal with it. When my father moved in with me after his second divorce and then passed away, I dealt with it. When I moved to Florida and wasn't happy, I moved back to Chicago where I was happy. When I travelled all the way to England to meet a guy who then decided I couldn't stay with him for a week, I stayed in London myself and had an amazing time.

One of my best friends and I have a saying: "You can do ANYTHING for a short period of time." You can. When I moved in with Eric in February and was scared and doubtful and thought I might fail...I realized that I've been cooking without an oven for a very long time