good for something

Take my hand, we'll make it I swear

2012-01-28T22:03:00.002-05:00

Augie still doesn't quite get the idea of PocketBooth, but his visit this weekend still put a big smile on my face.

It hasn't been a vacation here in Jersey given the circumstances, but this little guy reminds me to cherish the joys in life.

Plus I'm addicted to smooching these sweet cheeks!

Photo shoot two years later

2012-01-27T21:06:00.002-05:00

Two years ago, I shot some pix of this family:

And I was honored that they asked me to take some new ones. What a photogenic family--

So I got to play in Photoshop--

I love these 70s tones:

And of course, my favorites are the unplanned pictures:

I know I've said it before--I can't believe how much these boys have grown from two years ago:

Thanks again to this beautiful family!

Decaf Almond Latte

2012-01-26T18:21:00.001-05:00

I've been finding sweet comfort in super easy decaf almond lattes. Interested?

I just heat up a mug of almond milk in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, add a spoonful of instant decaf and wha-la:

Creamy, delicious comfort. Plus fairly calorie-friendly--with the original (sweetened) it's 60 calories a cup or I've used the vanilla unsweetened with a little Stevia which runs 40 calories a cup.

Mifi

2012-01-24T22:32:00.003-05:00

Spending more time than I planned in my mom's technology-deficient house (though I just put in some new cordless phones--welcome to the 90s, Mom), I needed a way to log into work. And I figured I'll be visiting my mom more so I made the leap/investment into a mobile hotspot, aka, a Verizon Wireless MiFi:

I was trying to decide between an aircard and a mobile hotspot. I was attracted to the mobile hotspot for its versatility--in theory, I could hook up to 5 devices to it and it wasn't limited to just a laptop, so something like my iPad could be mobile now. But the reviews online of this MiFi were across the spectrum with the worst issue for me being connectivity inconsistency. And since I plan on using this for work, that's a huge issue and I went to VZW leaning towards an aircard (which would plug into a single laptop via USB), which seem to have consistent connectivity.

But the salesperson there suggested the MiFi. She said connectivity issues are more likely to come up for those using data streaming (e.g., videos, music, etc.) and those out of the 4G range (connectivity will bounce between 3G and 4G). Looking at the map, it seems the main areas I plan on using this had 4G coverage and streaming videos and music are not priority.

So I'm giving it a go--I've got 14 days to try it out and return it if it doesn't work. So far, after a night of voraciously checking out the craft blogs that I haven't read in nearly 2 weeks, it's been dynamite. Keeping my fingers crossed that this little guy is a keeper.

Happy Lunar New Year

2012-01-23T21:27:00.003-05:00

Happy Lunar New Year! Year of the Dragon--a lucky year.

Hoping this is a great year for everyone!

Cuteness at the Target

2012-01-22T21:36:00.002-05:00

My weekend was made with some adorable cart-pushing:

Doesn't diaper butt look so cute in footy outfits?

Oh yes.

Snow day in NJ

2012-01-21T20:34:00.005-05:00

Well, luck shone on me and I got a little snow day here in NJ. On the plus side, it was only about 3-4 inches. On the down side, it's enough that I had to shovel it.

Including the initial path to the car...where I left my gloves.

Some more time in NJ

2012-01-20T21:30:00.002-05:00

Looks like I'll be in NJ with Mom for a spell longer. Fortunately, sweet Paul sent me my DVDs. Since my mom doesn't have a DVD player (though she does have one for VHS!), I have to watch them on my laptop.

But it doesn't look like I'm suffering from the smaller screen size too much.

Amy Karol's Magic sauce

2012-01-17T19:20:00.002-05:00

I started reading Amy Karol's blog a while before actually trying out her book, Bend the Rules Sewing. And some of my favorites posts are her cooking and food posts. For those that know me, I'm sure it is no surprise that I would glean the food posts from a sewing author's blog. Anyhoo, one of my favorite posts was the one for her magic sauce.

As I was cooking for my mom trying to come up with a delicious low-sodium, low-sugar, low-carb, low-cholesterol meal, I decided to try out her magic sauce but without the added sweetener and whittled it down to just:

- a cup of no-salt added salsa (thanks Trader Joe's!)
- a fat spoonful of no-salt added peanut butter

heated briefly in a pan to warm and blend and then spooned it over a plate of tofu, spinach and carrots, and a whole grain mix. Sooo good, regardless of the health parameters it fulfilled! Curious to see if the sweetener and regularly salted ingredients would make it any tastier. Either way, it was so easy and quick. I highly recommend this to everyone to zip up any basic, bordering on bland (yet healthy meal), though my mom did call it "that weird sauce".

Definitely a new favorite for me!

So cold

2012-01-16T19:19:00.001-05:00

Well, I ate the cookies. And felt fairly guilty enough to run again. Also I was curious to get the distance I ran yesterday calculated correctly. It didn't warm up:

But I did find the correct distance--it was 2.42 miles! Over TWO miles! Though it did make for my worst pace average at 10:53 min/mile.

But I somewhat improved the pace today at 10:40. In the cold! I think I earned more cookies!

Running and freezing

2012-01-15T17:09:00.006-05:00

While at my mom's house, I partied hard with my sister last night. And by "partied hard", I mean pretty much finishing a tub of cookies and fruit jellies while watching Augie's Patriots win the playoffs. So I had caloric guilt as motivation for run #3 this year. It's freezing here in Jersey so I waited until the afternoon to hopefully let it warm up. As you can see, it was worth the balmy wait:

28 degrees. That's like freezing, right?

What made it tough was my nose runs more in the cold. And my legs feel extra stiff and less reluctant to move--I'm pretty sure they just want to hug each other instead. Also, my lungs felt like shriveled beef jerky.

They say to run "comfortably" you should be able to have a conversation while running. Unless gasping and breathing hard punctuated by foul language is considered conversation, I've still got a long way to go. On the plus side, I went for over 26 minutes. Unfortunately the GPS on my Runkeeper was off so I don't have the distance. I'll aim to run again and the same route to see if I can get a correct reading. But come on, 26 minutes, 28 degrees--I'm giving myself some credit for this one. Or cookies.

Cuteness for the weekend

2012-01-15T11:11:00.001-05:00

Think he sees a lot of grownups on the phone?

Only he could make pushing a walker look totally adorable.

In a Year

2012-01-14T07:51:00.005-05:00

I hope to say I finished two Mud Runs. I found some great encouragement from this post from Karen Russell (I took a great photography and scrapbooking class with her) when she did her first Triathlon. Besides a wonderfully honest post, I loved this quote from it:

Time is inevitably going to pass and one year from today, you can find yourself in the exact same spot you're in now, you can find yourself further away from your goal or you can find yourself closer to your goal - so where do you want to be a year from now?

Obviously this resonates not just with running but really anything that you want to grow in. And I love that it's not necessarily about accomplishing your goal--but that there is something to be said about working toward your goal. And of course, it is always pretty awesome when you do reach your goal. But it's a reminder that sometimes taking those initial steps is worth something too.

Eat Healthy While I'm Gone

2012-01-13T19:51:00.003-05:00

Whenever I take a trip away from home, I try to leave it "taken care of" the best I can. That at least means that the bills are paid, the laundry done, and that groceries have been shopped. Ideally, I wish the house was clean and stuff put away before I left but that unfortunately falls to the wayside more often than not.

Knowing that Paul and Velina pretty much don't eat vegetables unless I prepare them for them, I at least try to leave plenty of ready-to-eat fruit so they at least get some fresh vitamins in. I also leave them with easy-labor, somewhat-healthy dinner and lunch ideas but I'm pretty sure there will be pizza boxes and sandwich wrappers in the garbage when I get back.

But at least they will have eaten some fruit.

Smashing

2012-01-12T19:20:00.002-05:00

Well I was able to get a little creative on the plane on our last trip to NY with the smash book I had made with the girl. I printed out a few phone pix in wallet size and packed some other memorabilia (like restaurant business cards, labels, etc.) I brought minimal supplies--a couple pens to write with, some decorative tape and glue stick for adhesive, a pair of blunt-tip child scissors (trying my luck since it was carry-on) to trim anything if necessary, and a small pad of decorative stickers and tiny alphas.

It really brought me back to scrapbooking--which I can't even remember the last time I put a page together. It's a much more simplified version but in that regard, it put a lot less pressure on designing a nice page and it lent itself to more journaling about the pic or moment. And it went faster too--I did a half dozen pages in a two hours of plane ride versus getting only one (if I was lucky) 12x12 layout done.

I'm heading back up NY/NJ tomorrow to help my mom with some doctor appointments and other things. I've printed out some pix from the last trip and aim to smash them in my downtime. Also hope to motivate myself to do some running. I'm thinking I'll be pretty occupied between the three--

For the mud run

2012-01-11T19:28:00.000-05:00

After saying I would run Monday, then flaking, then saying Tuesday, then flaking, I put my foot down this morning and said I'm going to run today, come heck or high water. And of course it was raining. And to make it worse, so to speak, I was determined to add some distance and run 1.5 miles.

But I did it.

And I even bettered my average pace up to 10.16 min/mile. Am I dazzling you?

No, me neither, despite a congratulatory e-mail from RunKeeper saying I went my farthest distance today.

But I'm pressing on. The mud runs consist of a 10K or approximately 6.2 miles. I believe the conventional wisdom is to be able run half the distance comfortably (as in, on a regular basis), with a few occasions of running distances closer to the mud run distance. So that puts me at 3 miles comfortably. And goodness knows, I'm not comfortable now doing half that distance. I've got quite a ways to go in my mind, but at least I've got a few months to get there. Definitely open to the thought that I can get there.

Peanuts

2012-01-10T07:48:00.013-05:00

On this third day after rebooting--enjoying some natural peanut butter on a rice cake with a decaf coffee latte made with almond milk:

Yes it was delicious. I'm doing okay with the decaf. I think what I really missed about coffee in the morning was the sweet, warm ritual of it and for some reason, bitter green tea wasn't cutting it. I know that even decaf has some caffeine in it, but hopefully not so much that it would debilitating again to be without it.

SAG Awards season

2012-01-09T21:42:00.003-05:00

Another reminder that it's good to quit Netflix--SAG Awards are coming up!

Despite that I'm trying to cultivate an non-cluttering mindset, I kind of prefer the DVD screeners to the free rentals on iTunes because I can watch them on a TV screen, which is much bigger than my computer screen. But either way, I can't complain--really looking forward to watching (and voting on) some great movies!

Rebooted

2012-01-08T08:13:00.012-05:00

I survived the reboot. The first two days were the hardest with just two shakes per day, plus water and green and herbal teas. And when I ate my first "food" of a rice cake with almond butter on the third day, I almost broke out in a sweat, like I do when I overeat. Sidenote: Paul goes, uh, you sweat when you eat sometimes? And I said, yeah, I guess when I overeat. What, you don't sweat? And he says, uhhhh...no. Yeesh I guess I should listen to my body more when it's kind of telling me it's had enough of eating.

The foods for the next 5 days are foods that discourage toxins and aid in the detox aspect. So it was mostly organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and grains. Foods that I was to avoid were foods that were determined to not aid detoxing (e.g., some contained common allergens), so no coffee/black tea, oranges, corn, soy, gluten, peanuts, dairy, eggs, and fish. So I had a lot of hummus and veggies, black bean soup and rice, lentil soup, etc. Another benefit after the first two days, was it kind of allowed me to reset my sense of portion control. I couldn't eat a huge meal, so it was great way for to get on track eating smaller meals.

Overall, I'm glad I did it. I will say that I felt a general drop in energy during this week, though I'm not sure if it was lack of coffee, drop in calories, or both (which kind of got me thinking about how dependent I am on caffeine--leaning to switching to decaf). And spending a week of not eating processed foods decreased my desire to eat them--eating whole foods felt much cleaner. And though it's not the aim of this detox to lose weight, I got on the scale this morning and it said I lost six pounds this week--down to 154.5. I do understand that it had a lot to do with the drop in calories consumed this week and that I started exercising again--including that arduous run yesterday. So I'll see how the weight levels out after I add non-detoxing foods this week.

As I start eating some of the foods that were avoided during the detox, I was advised to add them one at time to see if certain foods affect me in a negative way. And I'm aiming to stay with whole foods (i.e., not packaged, prepared, or fast foods) for as long as I can. The first food I decided to incorporate was soy, I think my body is craving some protein.

Tomorrow is coffee/tea--kind of really looking forward to that--even if it is decaf!

Running is kind of hard

2012-01-07T18:37:00.014-05:00

I was so motivated by my decision on the Mud Runs that I decided to run this morning. A friend recommended the Runkeeper app for my iPhone so I can track my mileage, pace, time, and hopefully progress.

I ran a mile straight, no stopping or walking. Yeesh, it sucked. I kept checking the Runkeeper to see how much farther I had to go. I felt like an asthmatic clomping horse with bricks for shoes. I'm pretty sure I could feel every step I ran in my brain. So, it kind of made me think about running form.

I was e-chatting with a friend about running more on the fore-foot. The idea behind all those Vibram and other minimalist-type shoes, is to mimic barefoot running which is in theory how we're supposed to run. With all the cushioning in most running shoes, it's engineering us to run so that we land/slam on our heel, which creates an impact on our heel and through to the knees, hips, and spine, no matter how much cushioning there is. But according to the theory of barefoot running, we'd land more on the fore-foot and by instinct we'd control our landing on the fore-foot and therefore, it would be less of an impact on our bodies. So next time, I'll try to run more fore-foot. I'd like to feel less like a clomping horse.

Okay, I'm open to progress--here we go!

Mud Run!

2012-01-06T23:35:00.011-05:00

As I took on the resolution to break 150 this year, I didn't exactly have a plan except to do everything (exercising, eating better) more or harder. But yesterday I was given some focus, somewhat a la The Sermon. A friend at the gym where I work out was encouraging me to do the Mud Run here in Columbia in April. We had talked about it last year but at the very least I didn't think I could handle the running, much less the obstacles. She ended up joining a team that was fairly mixed and skewed towards non-hardcore athletes and she loved the experience. Somehow she thinks I'm a woman of determination and some degree of fitness and she said I would really enjoy the challenging experience as well. I was really tempted as she suggested we could be on the same low-pressure team.

Then a friend at work e-mailed me a few hours later that a group there wanted to do the Mud Run at Camp Pendleton in June and was I interested? Coincidence? Or a sign? Actually, years ago, another friend in the office and I would talk about putting together a team together for the Mud Run but it would sell out before we would actually do anything. And to a degree, I was kind of talking out of my butt because I found all the running, climbing, obstacles, and wet, wet mud, fairly intimidating at that time, too.

To be honest, I still find the mud run, wherever it is, pretty daunting, because A, I'm not a runner, B, I'm not a runner, and C, I'm not a runner. Also the obstacles sound a bit overwhelming and I'm not inclined to expect my friends try to shove 160 pounds of Franny over a wall. And then to do all this soaking wet in mud.

But barring Divine providence, here is what I'm making of this: that I should be open to getting out of my comfort zone. That a departure from my norm may open me up to other possibilities. That sometimes opportunities to grow present themselves and should be taken. And that I get to cross something off the Bucket List.

So yes, I'm signing up for both Mud Runs. Here we go, 2012!

Note to self: Cancel Netflix

2012-01-04T20:53:00.017-05:00

When I was a kid I loved the library--I remember my parents would take me there every week. Needless to say I was a reader and the library is a great value and resource, available for free, which was pretty awesome then and still is today. In these days where the internet can be such a quick resource and you can buy books on sale and get them practically delivered to your hands, I think the library has gotten less attention.

But as I'm determined to maintain clutter-free (and remembering how many books I ended up donating), I've really fallen back in love with the library. The current system here impressively keeps up with latest titles and I can request books/CDs/DVDs online and they'll be delivered to my closest branch where I just waltz in and pick them up. I've borrowed fiction books that I wanted to read but not necessarily keep on my shelf. I've borrowed various sewing books and retained information from only a certain chapter and glad I didn't buy the book to collect dust in my bookcase. And on the flip side, I've borrowed a book or two that I want to re-read or re-reference in the future and may just end up purchasing it. So library books are great test-drives that way too.

I've also been enjoying borrowing CDs and catching up on some of the latest tunes and some of the ones I've missed. I just got a notification that Adele "19" CD is waiting for me. Hooray, new tunes!

Now I've finally checked out the library's DVDs and checked out some ones I've totally been wanting to see:

What I like about borrowing these DVDs from the library is that it also focuses my attention on movies I want to spend time watching rather than just mindlessly flipping through Netflix when I have downtime. Which I've confessed before was often spent catching up on tv shows rather than thought-provoking indie films (still haven't finished "Man on a Wire" as opposed to the episodes of "South Park" and "Family Guy") as I had initially planned. So I've decided to cancel Netflix. Besides not spending that money, it'll be focusing my downtime better. Does that count towards managing time better? I hope so.

New Years Resolutions Addendum: One Little Word=Open

2012-01-03T07:38:00.008-05:00

After some thought about how I barely achieved half of my New Year's resolutions last year, I wondered what drives me to continue with these every year. Is it because I'm a "list person"? Maybe except, that the joy of being a list person is being able to cross things off when they're done and well, I'd be missing some of the satisfaction there. I think maybe it helps me to have goals because it gives me some focus and there is a benefit to at least try. It seems opportunities are not just the ones bestowed on us but also the ones we make or plan for ourselves. And frankly, even when I'm trying and failing, at least I'm learning and growing.

So believe it or not, I'm also embracing One Little Word for this year. And my one little word is Open.

Because I realized to learn and grow I have to be open to change, surprises, and ugh, being wrong. I've witnessed a lot of stubbornness and I see that often it just doesn't pay off. And worse, there frequently is a burden one carries from that inflexibility. Yes, I recognize the productive version of this as perseverance or principled, so the hard part is recognizing when it's worth more to yield a bit. I think one mistake I've made more than once is thinking I'm done--like once I learn something then there isn't a need to learn another way to do it. Or if I reach a certain weight, will I think I'm done watching what I eat and do? I know some of the obstacles I have are due in part to stubbornly clinging to a certain way I do things or believe is the most efficient or right way to do something. I just hope I'm not too set in my ways to be open to different or new ideas and thoughts.

Okay, so here we go 2012!

Michigan State wins the Outback Bowl!

2012-01-02T20:42:00.008-05:00

It was a busy day of Bowl games, including the Capital One Bowl where Paul was torn between rooting for South Carolina and Nebraska, though USC won out. The Outback Bowl game was easier for me when Michigan State bested Georgia in the 3rd OT with a blocked field goal. Michigan State was also the only Big 10 team (out of five) to win their Bowl game today so that felt pretty good too.

The hardest part of the day was being on day 2 of the reboot where I could only have 2 "shakes", which it seems there wasn't any effort to make it a nice smoothie flavor. It sort of has this vague savory and woody flavor which really has me craving a nice fake strawberry flavor badly. The first day (yesterday) wasn't so bad as I seriously think my body has so many excess calories stored that it didn't really register the few calories I consumed. This second day my body definitely recognized that all I was giving it was 2 more measly shakes. And it responded with a mild headache and general fatigue. And the worst bad breath. Definitely looking forward to tomorrow when I get to eat food. Rice cakes never looked so good.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T10:15:00.012-05:00

So I've been pondering last year's New Year's resolutions and my goals for 2012 the last few weeks. First, I didn't get much further on my 2011 resolutions since November. Second, at 160.5, I am over two pounds heavier than the first day of 2011--where I was about two pounds heavier than the first day of 2010. Yeesh, this better not be a trend. On that note, I've decided to start my reboot today. It'll be kind of a bummer to watch the Bowl games tomorrow without my usual fave snack foods but I'm pretty sure my body is craving a reboot more. Finally, I decided to narrow my focus on this year's resolutions.

When I reviewed what I came up short on, I was most disappointed with my pace in photography (even more so than my weight gain). I'm disappointed that I'm still stymied by a post-production workflow. So that's a priority this year.

Also, watching my mom's various diagnoses roll in was a sort of wake-up call. I will credit myself that I'm more active than I think my mom was at my age but I know my eating habits can roll into the indulgent more often than they should. So I'll keep my goal of breaking 150 because I know that exercise alone isn't going to get me there, eating healthier will and that's something I want to focus on this year.

Overall, I think managing my time and productivity will be key to everything. It's not just about working more, but also about working more efficiently. I feel like I've read a good bit on this and it's really about putting it into action. Then I hope to have more time for crafting, movies, and books.

In summary, my New Year's Resolutions for 2012 is:

- Manage time better
- Getting a good post-production workflow for photos
- Break 150

I know I need to break this down to a specific plan but this is the big picture for me in 2012. Anybody else got plans for the new year?

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T23:14:00.004-05:00

We flew back to SoCar to Paul who was happy to have us back. We arrived after 9:30pm and we managed to pick up a nice dinner at Al-Amir of pizza and my favorites--baba ganoush and hummus for New Year's Eve:

And well, we decided to say goodbye to 2011 with native Carolina treats, Krispy Kreme doughnuts:

See ya, 2011.

Butter Lane

2011-12-31T16:45:00.007-05:00

After that wonderful brunch we spent a little time in the Tompkins Square park playground and decided to get cupcakes on the way back at Butter Lane. They have only a couple of cake choices--vanilla, chocolate, and banana:

But offer a sweet array of frostings featuring French or American buttercream:

We had vanilla with caramel frosting (haha--bonus, popcorn!), banana with raspberry frosting, banana with cinnamon honey, and banana with cream cheese frosting. And since we bought a four box, we got a free "icing shot"--we chose sea salt chocolate.

The raspberry was a nice surprise--kind of refreshing for frosting, but they were all delicious. Sweet way to end our visit.

Maharlika

2011-12-31T16:13:00.002-05:00

Though it was a really busy trip, we were able to squeeze in trying a new restaurant that opened up around the corner from my sister's. On our last day, we had brunch at this "Filipino Moderno" restaurant, Maharlika:

For our departing meal from New York, it hit the spot. We weren't familiar with Filipino food, but it seems we were enjoying high end production of traditional food. Annabelle got the Barrio Breakfast, which featured pandesal, a delicious sweet bread which came with guava jelly and macapuno jam. Josh got the ilog breakfast featuring garlic rice (sinangag) and egg (itlog) and garlicky sausage (longsilog-longganisa)--I loved the garlic rice. :

I got the Eggs Imelda which seemed like a twist on Eggs Florentine, but instead of spinach, there was taro root leaves laing as well as grilled prawns on the side. It was delicious and the kamote home fries were perfect. Also interesting was the banana sauce instead of ketchup.

Velina had the mango stuffed French Toast, which was as good as it looked:

Augie actually dozed through our meal but woke up at the end as pleased as if he had eaten it as well!

Great food and great company made for a perfect meal.

Hanging out

2011-12-30T22:11:00.004-05:00

The cousins spent some quality time hanging out in the car, during our multiple trips and errands.

Sometimes it was just easier on the kids rather than dragging them through a Target.

Sometimes the little one was sleeping and the girl would be wonderfully helpful and stay with him in the car (I'm sure an mp3 player helped mitigate the downtime).

And when he woke up, he was in a good mood to hang out.

Hopefully they'll remember these sweet times!

Purl soho

2011-12-30T21:12:00.002-05:00

Due in part to Linda's fabulous catch, I made a trip to Purl Soho.

Unfortunately, I did not score a stack of polkies like her, but I do dig the florine Lotta Jansdotter fabrics and viewmaster reel fabric I got. Of course, I don't have a specific project for them, but they were too lovely to pass up, right?

Memories found

2011-12-29T22:11:00.007-05:00

On one of the visits to NJ I found a chest at my mom's house that I filled with, what I assumed was my precious items before I left for college:

Aside from the multiple letters, autograph books (anybody else remember those?), photos (OMG), a few plaques, and a stamp collection, I see that I felt the advice of famed "60 Minutes" curmudgeon, Andy Rooney, and a sentient porcine puppet, Miss Piggy, would serve me well after college. It also reminded me why I still love listening to "Pyromania" to this day.

I also found various report cards and my efforts for college choices. I forgot that I applied to my parents' alma mater, Michigan State University, and they had offered me a small academic scholarship if I went there:

In the end, the ride to NYU could not be topped, but that's a whole other story. Kind of made me wonder how different my life would be if I went to MSU instead. Anyone else ponder such decisions in life and curious how our lives would alter?

Busy in NJ and NY

2011-12-28T23:22:00.011-05:00

This trip up to the Northeast has been pretty busy including commutes to Jersey to visit Mom (replete with road-rage-inducing back-ups on the turnpike and Holland Tunnel). But we were able to squeeze in a few trips to the park (even if it was a little chilly):

Who doesn't love swings?

A part of living in the city I kind of don't miss is the stairs. Believe it or not, this is the easiest way to transport Augie and his stroller from the bottom floor to the 3rd floor:

And well we managed to make more than one trip for some Pommes Frites:

And for some ramen, including shio and spicy miso at Setagaya:

Our mindset was to enjoy foods that we can't get in SoCar. I know some folks unfamiliar with Pommes Frites think that they are just french fries but these are ten times better and I haven't found anything close to them in SoCal or SoCar. So we indulged a couple of times. And fresh ramen! It's perfect in chilly weather and well, a hundred times better than the boil for 3 minutes kind (though truth be told, we certainly indulge in that kind too). Hopefully we'll branch out beyond comfort food here!

We're having a Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T12:11:00.001-05:00

And we're wishing everyone Happy Holidays!

Holiday in CT

2011-12-24T22:11:00.001-05:00

We're having a great time getting ready for the holidays in Connecticut. Whether it's decorating gingerbread houses:

Or discovering fire trucks:

On way to Northeast

2011-12-21T12:09:00.008-05:00

Velina and I are headed to the Northeast to see my mom and my sister and her husband's family. As seems to be the tradition when we're traveling between the Carolinas and New York, we were delayed. But eventually we were on our way.

Here's to a safe and productive trip!

When you put it like that

2011-12-20T19:56:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I finally cooked a decent meal of spaghetti with Boca Burger "meat" sauce and green beans. Even the girl thought it was a good idea that I come down from my sick-days-binge of processed food: "Yeah, I thought it was a little gross that you ate those 3 bags of gummies in one night...then finished those two bags of kettle chips the next day AND that giant Symphony bar...and then you starting making s'mores in the microwave..."

Yeesh, hearing it like that sounds a lot grosser and more pathetic than when I was actually consuming it all. Additionally, I'm not really exercising. So I feel even grosser, if that's possible. Oh and definitely already over 160 pounds AGAIN. E suggested this 7 day cleanse diet:

It sounds fairly stringent with the first two days being the most miserable--only two shakes a day and water. But she said it's to get rid of the toxins (food, stress, environmental) in the body and I feel like I've had plenty of all of it. Then she said, "think of it as a reboot" and I was sold. My body could definitely use a reboot.

Obviously I'm going to wait until after the holidays so the big question is whether to start on New Year's Day proper or wait a few days until after the Bowl games so I can properly indulge in Bowl Game food.

Either way, I'm half dreading it and half looking forward to my system getting a reboot.

Luck is turning for the better

2011-12-18T23:56:00.000-05:00

First, the big news--North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is dead. My initial reaction was relief, as if some great monster was finally slain. But before I let myself get excited about a change for the better I realized that change doesn't come easy. It's been exciting and inspiring over this year to watch people rise up against unjust and greedy autocrats, but it appears that as significant as it is to remove a poisonous head of state, putting in a new system is fairly arduous process as well. Will the North Koreans currently in power have the heart and guts to change the miserable system in place? Or are they going to try to continue the dictatorial system of their Great and Dear Leaders that has a majority of their country starving? I definitely want to be hopeful as more of this story unfolds.

Second, as opposed to last week where I was dead last in my football pool, I came in very close (but can only achieve 2nd place) this week:

The big upset of course being the Kansas City Chiefs beating the defending Super Bowl champs Green Bay Packers, ending their streak at 13-1. The Chiefs?! I'm pretty sure this week they get to own the "BELIEVE" mantra that's been making the rounds with various teams, most recently with Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. Despite losing this pick, I have to say I'm happy to lose it when it means such an underdog wins. Probably one of the few games I was excited about losing.

And finally, I think I'm getting out the fog of this cold and infection. I still have a lingering cough, which is annoying and I have a massive list of things to do that I should have been doing last week but it feels good to be conscious again.

Let's hope luck keeps getting better...

Pig swig

2011-12-17T19:28:00.002-05:00

Is it the DayQuil...

or does this six-pack look very promising?

Sick

2011-12-16T18:56:00.003-05:00

I came back from California feeling under the weather and it really came to a head by the end of the week. I'm ready to pass out armed with antibiotics, five bags of various gummies, and a few different bags of chips. I guarantee the edibles will be gone in 24 hours.

Football Pool misery

2011-12-15T07:18:00.000-05:00

Argh. Unlike my glorious overall win last year, including a few weeks' wins, this year I have only come as close as 2nd (which means nothing) in a week and have come in DFL 3 times this year, including last week. Overall, I'm currently in the middle and it's very frustrating and annoying.

With only 3 weeks left, I pushing to at least win a week. Hopefully, I'll get a good start--let's go Jacksonville!

Holiday Concert

2011-12-14T18:31:00.002-05:00

Last night was the Holiday Concert for the band, orchestra, and chorus at Velina's school. Velina was very excited (and secretive) about the side project she was working on for the show.

It turns out that she hardly played her viola at all--she was part of the group that danced around in wrapping paper with a Santa during one of the songs. Hmph. Well, it wasn't what we expected but Velina really enjoyed herself.

M Vista

2011-12-13T17:26:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Groupon, we enjoyed a nice lunch at M Vista, a restaurant which features various Asian cuisine, like delicious sushi:

Besides the classics like yellowtail and eel, they also do nouveau type rolls, like this Mojito roll in the center featuring fresh lime and whitefish:

And they still give a fortune cookie at the end:

Oh yes, please.

Goodbye SoCal

2011-12-12T22:56:00.002-05:00

As I left SoCal today, I was able to sneak in one last coffee with Linda, though Oli got juice instead:

I was also able to get a few last kisses from him, the best being "with sound". He leans in and gently puts his cheek near mine and makes the "mmmmmm" sound and eventually caps it off with a "muah". I loved it.

I actually got on a flight with a movie, "Crazy Stupid Love", which is such a rarity for me since I usually fly so many short leg flights. I fell asleep. Good thing I already saw it.

And finally, my dinner at the Chicago airport:

Does this look like a $15 meal to you? I know, me neither.

Venice Visit

2011-12-10T18:35:00.003-05:00

I was able to squeeze in another visit to LA and spend an afternoon in Venice with a friend of mine who lives in downtown LA. As suggested by the crafty Amy Tangerine, we hit the splendid Lemonade and my lovely friend treated me to an awesome lunch:

I wanted to eat EVERYTHING. I settled on blood orange lemonade and four salads:

Namely:
- Beluga lentils with house made salmon sausage, lemon & horseradish
- Watermelon radish with ahi tuna, snap peas, and sesame
- Spaghetti squash with farro and pomegranate vinaigrette
- Snap peas with edamame, sesame

They were all soooo good. Yes, I ate them all.

I also got a sandwich of spicy tuna, avocado, carrot slaw, sriracha aioli on laffa bread:

Yes, I ate the whole thing. And for dessert, this giant salted caramel macaron:

Afterwards we walked around a bit. We stopped in this Scandinavian store, Huset, and I picked up a house-warming gift for the newlyweds I was seeing later: Totally cute right?

We refueled with a couple of ridiculously delicious iced lattes from Intelligentsia:

And also hit Urbanic, where we both got these 7 year moustache pens. Man it will be a bummer if I lose this pen in less than 7 years:

And I also picked up some cute washi tape and some of Amy's illustrious mixtape.

We also spent time at the Tortoise General Store, where I picked up some cute animal mugs and color pencil set for another friend's daughter's birthday. Regretfully, no pix! I also regret not picking up the Yoshitomo Nara (hands-down, one of my favorite artists) sketch book "Nobody Knows" or this other book "Brooch" by Yoshie Watanabe and Yayako Uchida (it was like a piece of art that you could journey through) while I was there.

Well, that definitely motivates me to visit Venice again next time I'm in SoCal! Needless to say, it was a great afternoon!

Awards Banquet

2011-12-10T01:34:00.003-05:00

The blessed reason I came out was the Awards Banquet and it was wonderful. There was a moving tribute to our COO who had passed away this year and the food was fantastic. Chocolate souffle anyone?

(Sorry for the photo of the half-eaten dessert, I just about inhaled it when I realized I wanted to take a picture of it.)

And bonus! K., who bid farewell in June, was in town and joined us for the get-together afterwards.

Sigh. Just like old times!

My Secret Santa efforts

2011-12-09T07:05:00.004-05:00

My Secret Santa efforts were a bit thwarted as I was traveling in and couldn't really pack anything to do my usual decorative adventures like in 2009 or 2008. My recipient had put down sun and beach as interests so I tried to create a sunny theme by absconding with these decorative balls from my friends and attempting to spray paint them yellow and orange. My plan was to hang them from her ceiling like little sunshiny orbs. Unfortunately, it appears I should have primed them first:

Fail. My first day as Secret Santa, I simply gave a lotto scratcher (which I heard won her a dollar--hooray!). Then my friend L, suggested making a beach scene with supplies already there. BRILLIANT. That night, magic happened--I felt I got my Secret Santa mojo back. What do you think of this little office beach?

Including a wave on her door--yes!

On the following days, I gave her a mixtape CD, an iTunes card, and for the gift under the tree, a jump rope she asked for and this cute hypotrochoid set (anybody remember Spirograph?):

I also had the opportunity to help another Secret Santa whose recipient, S., loves Marc Anthony and candy. I found this close-enough look-alike at the dollar store, gave him a microphone made from a rolled-up post-it, and put him on a stage of candy that said "Marc Anthony Sings S. Sweet Something".

Man, I LOVE Secret Santa!

SoCal time with Linda

2011-12-08T22:01:00.002-05:00

I got to spend some time with Linda, where she made the most delicious cupcakes ever--Salted Caramel:

Wow, they were perfect. The cake was delicious and she managed to get the top just a little crispy and then the frosting was the perfect addicting combination of salty and sweet. She says she got the recipe at Sprinkle Bakes so I aim to try to recreate these myself someday.

We also had a little fun with Siri on my iPhone 4s:

And of course, a little PocketBooth fun:

Oli even indulged me:

Would have loved to spend more time with my beautiful crafty friend, but grateful for the time I got!

Secret Santa!

2011-12-08T22:00:00.002-05:00

I managed to convince my workplace to do an abbreviated Secret Santa while I was out there and they were down with it! I was so excited--I just love the opportunity to do a little something nice for someone you may or may not know so well. And well, it's pretty nice to get sweet surprises everyday too.

On Day 1, I received some sweet "coal" (peppermint bits rolled in chocolate) and a $5 Starbucks card--awesome way to start a Monday:

On Day 2, I got this fancy Green Tea soap and cute memopad keychain:

On Day 3, some sweet Ghiradelli chocolates, Christmas candle, and this wild "instant vase":

On the final day, under the office Christmas tree:

I got the Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows part 2 DVD!

Thanks to my Secret Santa, K! It was perfect.

Getty Center

2011-12-07T23:32:00.002-05:00

I managed to convince a friend to take a trip up to the Getty Center. I made a trip before with the girl and her friend, but when led by two 5th graders, I didn't get to check out a lot of the pavilions. After going through it, I have to say that for such a richly endowed museum, I'm a little surprised how sparsely curated it is. On the other hand, it makes for a very doable day visit. This piece struck me the most:

It's called "Christ and the Adulteress" by Valentin de Boulogne (French, 1591-1632). It's the scene from the Bible, where an adulteress is brought to Jesus to confirm that she should be stoned. And Jesus writes on the ground and says, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." First, one of my favorite Biblical stories rebuking self-righteousness as righteousness. Second, I'm fascinated by the use of light in this painting. The informational placard says the artist was influenced by the dramatic light and realism of Caravaggio and I'm drawn in, not only to the dramatic lights on Jesus and the Adulteress but also the state of dress and body language of the Adulteress. Finally, I just love the composition overall of innocence and judgment, dark and light, and cruelty and hope.

The other piece which grabbed my attention was this 1950 sculpture "Angel of the Citadel" by Marino Marini (1901-1980). I love that this had a sign that said "Do Not Enter" because I could see all sorts of great photo ops ranging from oblivious parents putting their kid on the horsey to a clever hipster mimicking it saying "so EXCITED to be here!"

The exhibit that my friend and I were struck by the most was a temporary photography exhibit by Carrie Mae Weems entitled "From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried" where she overlaid 19th century African-American portraits with a powerful and, at times, poignant, narrative. Wish there was a catalog or that they allowed pictures--I highly recommend it if you can make it up there before the exhibit leaves March 11, 2012.

But frankly the best part of the Getty Center is the Center itself. The architecture and gardens are amazing and then, there's the view of LA:

And it's pretty awesome when the sun goes down too:

Happy Birthday Augie!

2011-12-07T07:19:00.002-05:00

Enjoy the big One, Handsome!

On a plane to SoCal

2011-12-04T10:59:00.002-05:00

I'm off to SoCal for our company's Awards banquet--looking forward to seeing everyone and eating at my fave vegetarian places.

Skimming the airline magazine, I am in love with this beautiful point-and-shoot, the Fujifilm X10:

Even if I had the money to burn, I couldn't justify getting this camera for myself considering the DSLR and awesome glass I already own BUT if I did have the money to burn, I'd love giving this as a gift to my friends. Honestly, I love this little camera like some folks drool over jewelry. Gaaahhh! I just want this beauty around my neck, I'm sure it would great on me!

Wedding Reception in Columbia

2011-12-03T23:25:00.002-05:00

We were fortunate to be invited to the wedding reception of the owner of our gym, E. and her softball team coaching wife, T. These lovely ladies actually went up to New York to get married but wanted to celebrate with all their friends and family in South Carolina. They were dressed in elegant black and white and they had an entourage dressed in a rainbow of colors. Before they made their entrance they had us guests line up, Soul Train style. Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" played and the entourage came dancing in with the happy couple making their happy entrance:

Later in the evening the brides and entourage performed a choreographed dance to Chris Brown's "Forever":

Definitely cute, fun, and can't help put a smile on your face.

On top of that, T's softball team put together their own choreographed dance together to LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It":

Needless to say, like the whole wonderful night, it was awesome.

Big Gay Ice Cream

2011-12-02T00:57:00.008-05:00

I took a break from NJ and drove up to New York for a night. My sister and I decided to check out Big Gay Ice Cream down the street from her apartment. It started as an ice cream truck and was famous for their interesting combinations like vanilla soft serve with dulce de leche, sea salt, and chocolate:

It was delicious:

Worth the trip!

I bring Trouble

2011-12-01T07:39:00.002-05:00

On my last trip to SoCal, one of the friends I stayed with pointed out that whenever I stay with them, something goes awry with their home--unannounced water shut-off, unexplainable sulfur smell emanating out of their kitchen drain, etc. Well, apparently, my gift for trouble has branched out from the Golden State to the Garden State.

Just a couple of miles down from my mom's home, there was a police standoff for a few hours yesterday. When I passed by around 4, there were some Philly news vans, and the road was blocked off. There weren't many details in The Trentonian, but apparently a distraught man, originally from Florida, fled from a Pennsylvania road stop (possibly with a gun), and ended up holing up for a while on Jones Farm, which ironically is run by the NJ Department of Corrections. Fortunately for all, the stalemate ended peacefully with the suspect turning himself in and I get to edit my reputation of bringing resolved trouble wherever I go.

Welcome to Ewing

2011-11-30T22:55:00.008-05:00

For the most part, I grew up in the idyllic suburbs of Trenton, NJ. The township was Ewing, but at some point after I graduated and moved to NYC, Ewing seceded and became its own entity and now, technically, I'm from Ewing.

Near our neighborhood, is Jones Dairy Farm, a minimum security prison farm run by the NJ Department of Corrections.

They actually produce dairy products bought and sold in the state of New Jersey. One of my clear memories of my adolescent years was my friend's mom firmly declaring that we should stop riding our bikes past it in the summer time in our shorts.

When I was senior here, we had one Advanced Placement class, Calculus. By the time my sister graduated here, they were up to three. I wonder how many they have now.

One summer I worked as a waitress for Stewart's Root Beer, but now it's a Greek restaurant:

I remember my boss saw me fill a soft serve cone and he said I put too much in it. He said it was unnecessary to fill the cone and just start it on the lip of the cone. From then on, he made me weigh each cone I served making sure it only weighed 3 ounces.

There used to be a lot of industry in town, including a Fisher Body plant for GM, but it's gone now.

But now there is a Kung Fu/Tai Chi school (they let me work out there a couple times this week):

And now there is a sushi place here:

I had their salmon teriyaki bento box for lunch:

And had a fortune cookie for dessert:

Starbucks = Sweet internet

2011-11-29T21:27:00.002-05:00

Treated myself to a Peppermint Mocha and helped myself to the internet after a rainy day here--sweet.

Big Monday Adventures

2011-11-28T21:16:00.003-05:00

I love a good sandwich and hoagies (or heroes or subs) are my hands-down fave. So when in Jersey, I feel I should be allowed to treat myself to a good one, so I went to Primo Hoagie:

I got the Cheese Deluxe:

Man, it hit the spot. In hindsight, this is definitely heading in the opposite of one of my resolutions (finishing a bag of Milanos last night didn't help), but so good. I think the crusty bread really makes it. That and just the right amount of oil and vinegar to brighten the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and peppers. I would love to eat another one right now.

Also headed to the local library:

Internet at last! I centered some of the pix from the previous posts (it was driving me crazy) and I'm actually getting sucked into a book (Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell) here (which at least sending me in the positive direction for a different resolution). Since I can't check it out, I hope it's still here tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Sunday night

2011-11-27T23:29:00.014-05:00

Mom doesn't have Internet (I've been posting with my iPhone), but I did watch another one of my many football picks go horribly wrong on one of her 12 channels:

Yes, I finished those Milanos and yes, those are portraits of me and my sister from a vacation to Cape Cod decades ago. I remember it being a great family vacation. My dad was excited to have an artist draw our portraits on the spot. I think I was 11 and my sister about 2. I remember we went to an all-you-can-eat clambake on the side of the road. See? I told you it was a great vacation.

I also found the gumption to replace this dinosaur of a microwave:

With this one:

So worth it. The old one took forever to heat up food. And gotta love those "Express" buttons. What an improvement 30 years makes.

Happy Birthday and Rest in Peace, Dad

2011-11-27T13:00:00.003-05:00

For what it's worth, this is the only way our kids will know Dad.

He passed away less than a month before Velina, his first granddaughter, was born and he also didn't get to meet his first grandson, Augie.

Or properly PocketBooth with him:

(Don't worry, Dad would have been cool with this.)

Some PocketBooth fun

2011-11-26T18:17:00.003-05:00

A little PocketBooth fun with Augie, though I couldn't quite get him hip to the concept of making different faces for each snap:

Though I certainly had fun trying!

On the plus side

2011-11-25T21:15:00.001-05:00

I get to see this adorable guy:

Who lifts spirits other than just mine:

Going to NJ

2011-11-25T13:30:00.003-05:00

Mom finally got seen by a doctor after a number of years and she has a laundry list of afflictions that just made me want to run for 5 miles and eat nothing but carrots and celery. So she's not feeling super. But everything can be manageable. Going to meet up with Mom and Sis and help her feel better.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T23:47:00.002-05:00

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving!

BTW, these Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Parmesan are keepers:

Courtesy of Real Simple:

1. Heat oven to 375. Oil a shallow 3-quart baking dish
2. In a large bowl, toss:
- 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4" rounds
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Pour into baking dish, cover tightly with foil and until tender, about 45 min.
3. Then remove foil and sprinkle with mixture of:
- 3/4 cup of chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp of fresh thyme leaves
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
and bake uncovered until pecans are toasted, about 10 min.

If you find the canned yams or the sweet potato casseroles topped with marshmallows too sweet, this side dish is a nice balance of sweet and savory with the help of the Parmesan and fresh thyme. And the crunchy pecans were a great pop too!

They balanced nicely with my "dirty" mashed potatoes:

AKA, too-lazy-to-peel-so-many-potatoes.

I'm always on the lookout for something new and relatively easy. Anybody have new dishes they tried for Thanksgiving?

Bend the rules sewing

2011-11-23T22:01:00.001-05:00

I recently took this book out of the library for some more sewing inspiration, Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol:

Velina had a friend over and I thought the "No Cash Wallet" would be a good project for the girls and they were game. They both have a little sewing experience but it was easier for me to cut the fabric pieces for them since I did it from measurements rather than the pattern. But overall, they did a good job, though one can see it's not so easy to sew straight:

They enjoyed picking out the fabrics for the outside and inside:

Overall, a good job, right?

Do you Smash?

2011-11-21T19:06:00.003-05:00

The latest craze in scrapbooking are Smash Books. Truth be told, the concept isn't new but I have to give a mad tip of the cap to their marketing. Here is their killer video that just gets you hooked:

Even the girl got hooked! So then I figured I definitely have enough paper and other supplies, including a Bind-It-All , so why not make our own Smash Book? I found a great tutorial for a near replica of a Smash Book on Francine Clouden's blog, but we decided to try her lovely simple spiral-bound journal first.

Ta-da!

Here are some of the papers Velina chose--LOVE these polka dots:

I was crazy about this bird paper--glad it's being used!

Velina also chose this lovely flower paper--man, what was I saving it for?

And here is some of her "smashing"--spontaneous penny art:

And some pix of her friends that she cut and wrote around:

Smashing, right?

Regional orch

2011-11-20T08:24:00.000-05:00

Last spring, Velina made it into the the County Honors Orchestra. Recently, there were tryouts for the Regional Honors Orchestra. A Regional Honors orchestra encompasses a number of counties and there are four total in the state. Velina was the only one from her school that made the cut (she was 8th chair Viola):

I have to say their performance last night was really enjoyable--I credit the selection as well as the talented kids--I even shelled out $20 for the CD and look forward to listening to it. I really hope she sticks with playing the viola!

Maus

2011-11-18T23:04:00.009-05:00

I know this is a graphic novel, but I'm counting it as a book (book #5 of 10 for my New Year's Resolution, fyi). Really well done. Despite its "comics" form, the author/artist really conveys the gravitas of the Holocaust as well as the heart-aching aftermath of the lives of some of the survivors. I started reading it and couldn't put it down. I recommend it.

Vista Lights

2011-11-17T23:20:00.003-05:00

Tonight we checked out Vista Lights, where there is a tree-lighting ceremony and shops kick off the holiday season.

We kind of dug the S'more's station set outside Longhorn's:

You just grabbed a marshmallow (already put on a stick) and toasted it over the fire:

And assembled the rest with the graham crackers and chocolate:

The girl dug it too:

And the nice tree lit up with one of the shortest speeches ever (which I totally appreciated as the temperature was dropping fast into the 40s):

Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner at Miyo's:

With a very nice dessert:

And by that I mean--I hope the fortune comes true!

Is this a sign?

2011-11-16T23:19:00.004-05:00

that I really need to get crackin' on one of my New Year's resolutions?

Yeesh, I was stuck behind this truck for a mile. A long, slow mile.

Finished, finally: The Now Habit

2011-11-15T23:43:00.005-05:00

I finally finished this book I borrowed nearly half a year ago, The Now Habit (a book to overcome procrastination--oh yes, I totally see the irony):

Besides being more productive in general, or at least productive without the proverbial gun to my head, I'm aiming to be more efficient with my time for not only things I have to get done, but also things I want to get done.

Which of course, made me think of my New Year's Resolutions for this year:

- At 158 (about 2 pounds heavier than last year's New Year Day), I AGAIN aim to break 150

Argh, not even close. I managed to gain weight during the year but only drop back down to the 158 I am today.

- Manage productivity better: declutter and manage time better

Ok, honestly, I think I've gotten much better with the decluttering. I already got some positive comments from friends and family who have visited me now (and knew me before) and said I have definitely improved on decluttering. To my credit, I have really enjoyed having less stuff and often look for ways not to accumulate more stuff and still see what I can get rid of. One of my new favorite websites this year has been Unclutterer to help keep me in that mindset.

In terms of time management--hopefully this book will help me.

- Get a better workflow for post-processing photos (I have no trouble taking lots of pictures, it's the uploading and clean-up editing that takes so much time and daunts me)

Epic fail. Not even close.

- Get comfortable with flash--yes, including my 580EXII

Finally, a Yes!

- Do 6 photo shoots (including post-processing) in 2011 (including one inspired by the beautiful Tim Walker book my sister gave me)

Not close again. I did one planned shoot and one learning shoot this year so far...but didn't produce finished pix.

- Make stuff (using the stuff I moved out here to SoCar) - focus on upcycling

Okay--not bad here, I'm going to give myself a Yes. I had my porch redo, I upcycled a stained sweater with a patch, made French Macarons, and of course, made zippered pouches for my big project, "Crafting for Alzheimer's", where I used up a nice portion of my fabric stash. And best of all, now I'm really itching to do more...

- get out more--especially with the girl

This I could do better. Except a trip to the beach during her spring break, our excursions have been mostly for errands and taking her to her activities--though I will qualify that conversations, games, and any time I get to have with her has been quality, considering how much more time she likes to spend talking and hanging with her friends.

- read 10 books in 2011

Falling short so far--I have a near dozen books I have started that I haven't finished. In terms of finished books I read: This is Where I Leave You (by Jonathan Tropper), Bossypants (by Tina Fey), Ape House (by Sara Gruen), and The Now Habit (by Neil Fiore). Yikes, let's see if I can finish 6 books in 2 months.

- watch 12 good movies in 2011

I'm going to say Yes on this one. I did catch up on bunch of movies: Young@Heart, Pulp Fiction, Source Code, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, The King's Speech, The Social Network, Bridesmaids, The Town, Beginners, Crazy Stupid Love, Tree of Life, Cedar Rapids, Due Date, Horrible Bosses, and Bad Teacher. Though I wouldn't necessarily rave about all 15 of them, I'd recommend the first 10.

- write more

Well, this was vague, wasn't it? Write more than what? Hmm, I'll give myself a pass on this one. That's one thing confirmed from the Now Habit--much more specific goals.

Okay, let's see what I finish in these last 2 months of 2011!

The dance

2011-11-12T08:30:00.003-05:00

The girl had a fun time at the dance and even acknowledged my presence in pleasant, non-horrified manner. She and her friends had a great time just hanging and jumping to the music. Sigh. Like mother, like daughter.

Despite getting more familiar with my camera and flash together this week, I wasn't able to use them because the printers the PTO was printing photos with didn't accept my CF card. So I ended up using a different camera with a fixed on-board flash that I couldn't swivel, re-direct, or adjust the flash exposure compensation. The pictures were a bit blown out with the flash but the seasoned PTO mother who has run this "photo booth" before assured me that the kids didn't even notice that. I did get informed (and told to re-take pictures) that the kids couldn't make "hand signs" of any kind in the pictures, so going forward I had to keep an eye out and tell the kids to keep the hands down. I was a bit disappointed that the pix weren't as well exposed as I had wanted (and practiced for) but another PTO mother thought the pictures came out great and like how I composed them. And more importantly the kids loved them. So I'll take it as a good learning experience and hope I'll get to do it next year.

On your way, you pretties

2011-11-11T07:11:00.004-05:00

For the girl's dance, I opted to make these chocolate dipped pretzel rods. So much quicker and easier than baking cookies--plus they're a nice combo of salty and sweet, rather just sweet. At my age, I can't handle so much pure sweetness. I'm banking on some kids feeling the same way. Otherwise, I wonder if these are the equivalent of apples and pencils being given out to Trick-or-Treaters?

Getting ready

2011-11-10T07:28:00.002-05:00

I scored a chaperoning gig for the girl's 7th Grade dance. Like last year's dance, the girl is thrilled.

But besides setting up the cafeteria, providing gift cards for door prizes, donating to the sandwich trays, and baking a dessert, I am going to be one of the official photographers there taking group pictures! So I'm boning up on my flash use:

Kind of really excited!

Temptation Be Gone

2011-11-09T07:28:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while when when there is tempting junk food in the cupboards (thanks to my optimistic expectation of Trick-or-Treaters), I think, "this has just got to be out of here." And for some reason, the most efficient way I come up with late at night is to stuff my face with it. I have managed to apply this "method" to bags of chips as well.

Anybody else use this method for clearing out junk food? No? Just me?

My $100 cup of coffee

2011-11-08T20:16:00.000-05:00

Velina goes to an orthodontist that came highly recommended and he seems very popular. It's a very nice office, which includes complimentary coffee and a nice selection of popular magazines in the comfy waiting area, like People and O, not just those lame free ones that the pharmaceutical companies publish.

And as anybody who has experienced orthodontic expenses, you can be sure I like to get there early, get my hot cup of coffee, and settle in with some gossip rag to get my money's worth.

Ka-ching. I'm winning, right?

And they're off

2011-11-07T07:45:00.000-05:00

I finished making the zippered pouches for my Crafting for Alzheimer's fundraiser:

Including adding the tags:

And wrapping them up for shipping:

They're going out today (except those I'm still waiting on mailing addresses)! Thanks again!

READaissance

2011-11-04T07:56:00.001-04:00

The girl had a READaissance at her school last night, celebrating literacy through the arts. She was asked to read a poem as part of one teacher's celebration:

Of course, very proud of her.

iPhone App: Pocketbooth

2011-11-02T22:22:00.000-04:00

Ever since I upgraded to the iPhone 4s with a front-facing phone, I've been having fun with Pocketbooth. It has the fun pacing of the old-style Photo Booths and with the front-facing camera, you have an idea of when the camera is going to go off and you can see where you're positioned. I had actually gotten this app while I still had the 3G (which only has a rear-facing camera) and it's not nearly as fun without the front-facing camera and if you include yourself in the pix, you're pretty much guessing whether you're in frame and when the picture is being taken. The only hitch is that the front-facing camera is not nearly the quality of the rear-facing one. But I found the black & white fairly forgiving and captures the fun of Photo Booth pictures:

As well as the "1975" setting:

But most of all, it's just fun. And currently, it's on sale for 99 cents. At that price, I gifted a few to some folks who I know upgraded to an iPhone 4 also--hope they have fun with it!

The Drawing! Crafting for Alzheimer's

2011-11-01T22:27:00.005-04:00

A big THANK YOU to everyone who donated to my Crafting for Alzheimer's effort. 15 beautiful people donated:

Into the drawing mug they go:

And the folks getting a zippered pouch are...

Nancy, Sandra, and Faith!

And because I'm feeling soooo crafty, another name:

Maureen! So Nancy, Sandra, Faith, and Maureen, please e-mail me (OneCraftyMother@gmail.com) the address where you want to receive your handmade zippered pouch! There were no repeat first names so if you donated to my page and your first name is Nancy, Sandra, Faith, or Maureen--it's you!

Again, thanks to EVERYONE who donated or sent me encouraging words--your support means so much to me and really inspires me.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T23:58:00.002-04:00

We went to a party on Saturday night hosted by an associate professor to celebrate her grad student's thesis defense and it was also a Halloween party! I convinced Paul that we should go as the remaining original members of KISS (which would make this about the 4th or 5th time I've donned Paul Stanley's face paint):

For some reason the girl and her friend opted out of being the rest of the band. Weird, I thought teenagers wanted to be cool.

Then today for Halloween, I dressed as Alex from the movie, "A Clockwork Orange":

This is my attempt at emulating the McDowell's famous face from the poster:

But I think I ended up just looking like his cookie-baking mom. I enjoyed a chai (remember that from the book?) at Starbucks to cap off the costume:

I remotely partook in the annual costume contest at my workplace and vocal reactions fell in two distinct camps: 1) I have no idea who you are (including the college kid who took my picture at the Starbucks) and 2) I remember that movie...ugh.

I didn't win the costume contest this year (winners were Regan from The Exorcist and Quorra from Tron) and perhaps it was due in large part because half the folks didn't know who I was. Or maybe because my costume was pretty simple and lo-fi. Or maybe because it wasn't outside the box enough--Violent nihilistic rapist and murderer? So Frances.

In any case, I still LOVE dressing up for Halloween and loved wearing it for the trick-or-treaters we had. Hope everyone else also had a great Halloween!

Last day to donate to my crafting for Alzheimer's effort!

2011-10-31T07:32:00.002-04:00

So many thanks to those who have already donated to my donation page! Almost at my goal and loving an opportunity to share handmade love, i.e., zippered pouches! This is my final rally for any donations (no matter how small!) as I come closer to reach my goal through today, Monday, October 31! Drawing is tomorrow, Tuesday, November 1! Thanks again for helping save the world!

Still Crafting for Alzheimer's!

2011-10-28T13:36:00.004-04:00

So much thanks to those who have already donated to my donation page! Already at 13 donors--and hoping for more as I cut material to make more zippered pouches! I received word that the final cut-off for our WalkTeam is through Monday, October 31! So there's time to donate until then--I'll be drawing on Tuesday, November 1! Thanks again for all your support!

I Would Love Your Support as I Craft to End Alzheimer's

2011-10-26T07:51:00.011-04:00

Even though I can't physically join my company in the Walk to End Alzheimer's this Saturday in California, I decided I still wanted to help raise funds for it--by crafting instead of walking. I started my own donation page for the Walk to End Alzheimer's. I would absolutely appreciate any support from encouraging words or stories to donations of any amount to my page.

Though my experience isn't with Alzheimer's, those who know me really well know that I have long personal experiences with someone close slowly losing himself or herself psychologically/mentally. In my conversations with those where Alzheimer's has affected their families, it seems a lot of the traits are shared in that it is absolutely a brutal mix of shock, heartbreak, fear, anger, helplessness, guilt, and disappointment. Sweet memories and all-too-rare glimmers of lucidity sometimes transcend such a vicious cycle, but frankly it's familial love, devotion, and responsibility to that person (and sometimes a touch of dark humor) that keeps one grounded in resolve that can run very thin and brittle. And honestly, sometimes that isn't even enough to keep some of the hopeless thoughts running through the mind. And additionally, what compounds the stress is the general attitude towards mental health still reduces it to a punch line or a boogey-man affliction that should simply be avoided or locked up. Such popular perspectives and sentiments like these are truly isolating for affected individuals and families.

So it remarkable and encouraging that due to the success of such groups as the Alzheimer's Association (the benefactor of this Walk), significant strides in research have been made where there are better medications, better pre-treatments, and better diagnoses for those with Alzheimer's. And just as powerful, more stigma is removed the more is done to support such research. I hope, by virtue of piggybacking, more attention will be paid and less stigma applied to other mental health and brain function issues.

So who's with me? Can I entice your support with a cute handmade zippered pouch? Measuring roughly 4-5" by 10", it's perfect for candy stashing, pens and pencils, travel toiletries, makeup, cords, etc. It even comes with a lovely tag that says it's been handmade by yours truly and supports the Alzheimer's Association. Ready to gift!

For every 5 folks that donate (and no donation is too small--I know this economy has affected everyone) to my page by THIS Monday, October 31 (updated date) (sorry I know, just a few days--such short notice!), I will craft a zippered pouch and randomly select a donor's name for each of them--a 1 in 5 chance! And even better, for each donation of $50 or more, I'll just make one for you--a 1 in 1 chance!

Trust me when I say that these are handcrafted with love, learning, and just a smidge of swearing! And isn't it a nice time to get a headstart on the holidays? Hope you'll support my efforts!

I plan on posting the drawing this Tuesday (updated)--so beautiful donors, check back in case the donation page doesn't send me donor info--thanks for any support!

Made these

2011-10-25T06:31:00.004-04:00

So after my initial lesson with Linda, I got crafty on my own--using the ridiculous stash of fabric that I already have.

Most are with what I deemed a complementary fabric lining and I actually nailed down the concept of getting the zipper right:

Not bad, right?

Well they weren't exactly Michigan State

2011-10-24T23:59:00.001-04:00

Well the Jaguars actually won out but the score was a dismal 12-7 and a pretty wretched game of fumbles and turnovers, so I didn't win the pool, ugh.

At least I'm getting better--on to next week...

Way to go Michigan State--Let's go Jacksonville

2011-10-24T07:35:00.002-04:00

This might be a great football week for me. There was the incredible last second finish to the Michigan State win over Wisconsin and I finally have a chance to win a week in my football pool if Baltimore wins by 8 points or less AND the total score is 40 or over tonight. Even if Jacksonville wins, I still need the total score to be 40 or over.

So let's go Jaguars and please score a LOT.

OC recap: Breakfast at your Desk fundraiser for Alzheimer's

2011-10-22T18:40:00.000-04:00

My office back in SoCal is doing a TeamWalk this year for Alzheimer's. Even though I'm not able to do the Walk, I wanted to do a fundraiser while I was out there. So I did what used to be my annual "Breakfast at your Desk" fundraiser, where a group of us would make and deliver a breakfast of say, quiche, bacon/veggie sausage, potatoes, fruit salad, hot beverage, and juice. Also I would make a sweet treat for later.

Since I was traveling I didn't attempt to make anything that required a lot of baking. So I decided on chocolate covered oreo cookies. But I jazzed it up with a little inspiration from Linda:

Linda kindly shared some of her X and O sprinkles:

I also planned on making little origami boxes to house one each white chocolate and dark chocolate Oreo:

Linda even gave me some baker's twine to complete the cute package:

But I didn't leave myself enough time to make so many origami boxes so I ended up delivering them in cupcake liners instead. Here is my plate (though I swapped out the bacon for veggie sausage) and unfortunately, as one of the last served, I only got a smidge of the awesome breakfast potatoes:

I also struggled with the coffee-maker (we had only whole beans and I wrestled with the coffee grinder) which resulted in delayed breakfasts but everyone was very kindly patient with us. Thanks to everyone for making it a success!

OC recap: Getting crafty with Linda

2011-10-22T18:12:00.008-04:00

I loved the pouch that Linda made me so much, she said she'd show me how to make them because they're "so easy" to make. The usual tacit part is "so easy for her". But I actually made these two lovelies with her guidance:

Of course, I goofed up on the zipper on this one:

And then I watched her make these cute cupcakes:

Which was another cute project of hers I wanted to rip off...

Augie recap

2011-10-21T23:02:00.000-04:00

During his all too brief visit, my sweet nephew covered all the cute bases, including sleeping:

Bathing in the kitchen sink:

Wearing footie pajamas:

Being super cute with his cousin:

Sleeping like a spider monkey in his carrier with his auntie:

Trying to partake in his auntie's Thai Iced Tea without the concept of how to use a straw:

Bathing in a real bath tub:

And this hilarious pic that was made when the girl was gently putting her hand up to the baby's face and the camera caught all the motion blur:

Aww, Augie, you always make me smile.

OC Recap: A day with Raider Nation

2011-10-20T22:26:00.002-04:00

I ended up spending quality time with friends who are big Raider fans, including my first afternoon at Killarneys, a Raiders pub in Huntington Beach. Being around devout fans when their team wins (they beat the Jets) is always going to be celebration.

On top of that, at a birthday celebration later that evening, I actually met a former Raider who was wearing his ring from the 1980 SuperBowl, Cedrick Hardman:

I think what was most fascinating about Mr. Hardman (other than the impressive fact that he still holds the sack record for the SF 49ers) was that he went to college on an engineering scholarship! And then he went on to be a first round draft pick. Wild turn, right? Anyway, super nice and down-to-earth man.

Despite the reputation, I have to say folks in Raider Nation can be pretty darn nice.

Jealous?

2011-10-19T22:04:00.000-04:00

Now I know that companies roll out certain lines of their stuff regionally, so the question is, do you have this in the grocery store in your town?

Kinda wish you were in South Carolina now, right?

iPhone 4s

2011-10-18T23:01:00.000-04:00

With a heavy heart, I had to drop off my sweet nephew (and my sister) off at the airport early this morning. My sadness was mildly mitigated by the arrival of my new iPhone 4s--an upgrade thanks to my employer, hooray!

I also made the switch to Verizon--real excited about being able to connect almost everywhere. I was a bit anxious about syncing and getting this guy started and actually ended up calling a friend to kick start me. It worked. Unfortunately, I had to sync about 3 times as I kept going over the 16 GB--I deleted songs but I really need to get more bare bones about the music I keep on there (yeesh, it doesn't seem like I've got 12 GB of music on there). Also I came upon the term "digital clutter" and I totally know that applies to my apps. With so many free apps, I'll download them, amuse myself for a few weeks, and forget about them. So I can definitely easily pare down on the apps I don't really use: Magic 8 ball and two sudokus? And as much as I use Dictionary.com on my PC, it's not as handy on my iPhone as I don't really do much writing on my iPhone--and that one is a real memory hog at 127 MB.

I haven't explored all the new things about the 4s--and since I'm upgrading from a 3G, there is a lot of them, like video, front-facing camera, 8mp camera, and a new thing called Siri. Siri is supposed to be this ability to understand your tasks by speaking them but I'm a bit skeptical, despite the video making it look so easy. But I'm game to give it try.

But the immediate next step is to get this precious baby in a protective case. Good excuse to make a trip up to the big city, Charlotte, and hit the Apple store and hang with a friend!

Football pool mojo

2011-10-16T23:30:00.001-04:00

Well this guy was happy the Patriots won:

Though his auntie would have been happier if they won by the spread.

Ugh, my picks have been absolutely dismal to mediocre this year. I am just not getting solid vibes on my picks this year. Unlike last year, I am absolutely floundering in the bottom third of the pool and the gap has grown to 9 between me and the leader in the overall.

And worse, I think I jinxed my dear Lions--though I thought they'd win, I didn't necessarily think they'd win by the spread. And then, Detroit ended up losing all together. On top of that, the Schwartz-Harbaugh "Oh no you didn't!" exchange! What have I done?

Yeesh, here's hoping my picks get better, fast...

Sweet cousins

2011-10-13T19:19:00.002-04:00

Getting a dose of sweet Augie and watching him and the girl feed the lorikeets at the zoo:

OC recap: Eating with Linda

2011-10-11T00:55:00.006-04:00

After getting off the plane in SoCal, I went to Linda's where she had toasted up some bread and brie:

What a friend, right? And she even endured my Native Foods fix! I enjoyed the vegan Posole myself (I know there are some abuelitas out there clutching their hearts at that concept) but she joined me for some watermelon fresca:

We also decided to make macarons together. Unfortunately the first batch was a bit overwhipped--see how these caps are holding their stiff shape too much? They don't flatten or bake out. The second tray was much better (of course, forgot to take a pic).

But they came out lovely--check out the "feet" on these! We tried 3 different fillings: nutella, raspberry jam, and plain whipped cream. Because the macarons themselves are quite sweet, the plain whipped cream won out. So good.

For comparison, here are some macarons from the Trader Joe's that are really close to the ones in Paris:

They're a lot smoother on top, which I attribute because I didn't use blanched almonds when I made the almond flour--definitely going to splurge on those the next time. But honestly, our homemade macarons came pretty darn close, right?

I'm back

2011-10-10T22:20:00.001-04:00

I feel like planes are either sweat boxes or freezers. This time back: freezer. I tried to jelly roll myself into my jacket like a little pill bug but the only relief came when I dozed off:

Considering how much time I spent in SoCal, I did accomplish what I needed to, but I feel like I could have done or seen more. I hit a point in my last few days there where I wasn't able to coordinate or commit to anything very well because I was waiting to hear from a contractor or vendor, when honestly, if they called back, wouldn't I have been able to schedule around any commitments I made? Ugh, I guess I'm not good at multi-tasking or is there another word for this useless reticence?

Also in a fit of "eating food I can't get in SoCar", I really gained a few LBs. And due to an injury, I couldn't exercise and burn any calories. Scared to get on the scale.

In the meantime, comforting myself with a little Yoghut:

Nothing like some Peach White Tea and plain Tart yogurts, raspberries, strawberries, mochi balls, and strawberry & mango juice balls to help reassess the day.

Off To Cali

2011-09-23T05:04:00.003-04:00

I'm off to SoCal to help Nana get ready for her move. I also aim to spend time with friends, eat a lot of Native Foods, and catch some indie films while I'm out there. Man, is Tree of Life still playing? Any recommendations?

French Macarons

2011-09-22T19:40:00.003-04:00

French Macarons! Sigh. I love these sweets--the look, the taste...they just convey the concept of a little gift of sweetness. Since they are usually filled with raspberry or buttercream or ganache, they are best enjoyed fresh and aren't available at a lot of places. In terms of making them they can be a bit labor-intensive and tricky.

Ever since I saw a recipe in Martha Stewart Living in 2009, I have been obsessed with making them myself. Side note: apparently they're called Macaroons in France, but are called Macarons everywhere else to distinguish them from the other cookie largely consisting of shredded coconut, also widely known as the macaroon. Not living near a bakery specializing in European pastries finally pushed me to make them.

One of key ingredients is almond flour and rather than buy it online, I googled how to make it myself and landed at PastryPal. Not only did she advise making almond flour at home but also had a Macaron primer! So I ended up trying her classic almond macaron with vanilla buttercream. Though I struggled with the vanilla buttercream, I love how these came out--look at those smooth tops and beautiful "feet"!

Unfortunately, the lesson learned the hard way was to bake one sheet at a time. I put both baking sheets in the oven at once on two different racks and the second tray didn't bake all the way. So then I had a tray of caved-in macaron halves:

For better or worse, they did not go to waste as I ended up eating a bunch of these halves "nacho-style" with leftover vanilla buttercream. Ugh, not a pretty picture.

Then I decided to try the Martha Stewart recipe. Interestingly, still quite labor intensive but I found it focused on whipping the egg whites longer and the oven was at a higher temperature. Unfortunately they ended up looking like little meringues with semi-risen "feet", instead of smooth macaron halves. Though I discovered I did like raspberry filling:

I'll probably go back to the PastryPal recipe but I look forward to experimenting with different flavors and probably will invest in blanched almonds so my almond flour won't be speckled with the almond skin so I get that perfectly smooth macaron look. Stay tuned...

Young@Heart

2011-09-22T19:16:00.001-04:00

Finally, watched my NetFlix movie: Young@Heart

This documentary about senior citizens in a singing group that covers rock songs by the likes of the Ramones and Sonic Youth was well-received when it first came out in 2007. Since the success of Glee came after this movie, it also has an element of being ahead of the game in terms of putting a twist on modern rock and pop songs. Unfortunately, it also has the burden of sometimes appearing as a novelty, kind of like the way you'll awkwardly laugh when a toddler repeats a string of swear words. The video of their version of "Stayin' Alive" is so tongue-in-cheek, it bordered on being condescending to me.

But the movie is still an inspiring story. Some of these seniors dedicate themselves to sing together as if it's something they live for--sadly, the concept of death and near-death is not lost in this documentary. And clearly, they enjoy singing (even though they are sometimes frustrated with the songs or lyrics). And sometimes the songs really work. The Ramone's "Sedated" certainly has a humorous restlessness that really clicks with this chorus. And Coldplay's "Fix You" sung by a member of this senior chorus resonates with the gravity of long life experience that is simply moving.

Overall, I give this movie a B. Enjoy it on NetFlix because by the time I watched this DVD it became available as a streaming movie. I know, time to return the DVD finally.

Netflix

2011-09-21T21:49:00.003-04:00

Once again, I am late to the party. I joined NetFlix in December (of 2010)--opting for the magical streaming and 1 DVD-out option for the rate of $11/month that everyone raved about. I had been wanting to see a bunch of movies and I've been talking with a friend who watches movies voraciously and has seen dozens of arthouse and foreign films and another friend who I managed to watch the entire first season of "Dexter" with (through her Netflix). In terms of my streaming use and as someone who loves films, I'm disappointed in myself that I haven't watched a single streamed movie completely and have been watching more tv shows. And as much as I'd like to say I've finally seen all the Ken Burns documentaries or caught up on "Lost", or "24", I have to confess that my streaming history reveals episodes of "South Park", "Family Guy", and the "David Chappelle Show" instead.

In another regard, I must be NetFlix's dream customer. I have had the same DVD for months--and if I wanted to follow the rules of rounding, it'd be more accurate to say I've had it for almost a year. And of course, there was the infamous rate hike.

It made big news this summer that NetFlix would start charging $7.99 each for streaming and for 1-DVD-out, raising my current set up to $15.98. Apparently they're separating the two services into two separate bodies, and will rename the DVD-out entity as "Qwikster". Yeesh, nothing like actual dollars to make me move my butt and actually watch the DVD that would have been a better value to purchase brand new at Best Buy and then donate it to Goodwill. Twice.

So I've decided to switch to streaming only and maybe when I actually watch more than a movie a month, I'll treat myself and get the 1-DVD-out service as well. But for now, I've got the rest of this month to watch the one DVD I have out now. Don't worry, it's on my to-do list.