Food, Part One (of Two)

So, it's been over two months. Almost three. Is there hope that I'll get back to doing this regularly? I CERTAINLY HOPE SO!

On a complete tangent, I've recently become addicted to dooce.com, which has caused me to begin writing a bit like her. Basically, anytime I'm emphatic about anything, I note this by USING ALL CAPS and completely taking away any visual landscape. I apologize for this. Also, read her blog. She's hilarious. Or, at least look at the pictures of her dogs, they are freakin' adorable and hilarious.

Anyways. Clearly, I've eaten a lot of food in the past two-and-a-half months, but since I haven't updated on dinners since JUNE, I'm going to list the dinners (mainly for my own purpose, should I need to recreate them) and then go more into all the BAKING that I've done recently. So, without further ado, here's the special dinners (that I noted and / or can remember) from the past four months!

7/7/09 - Guacamole, Big Bowl of Mexican, Banana Chimichangas.

7/19/09 - (M3) Enchiladas.

8/11/09 - Gazpacho, Grilled Cheese, Peach Cobbler.

8/16/09 - (M3) Phyllo Pizzas, Orange-Cranberry Crepes.

8/23/09 - (M3) Guacamole, Polenta-Stuffed Peppers, Pineapple-Upside Down Cake.

8/25/09 - (Salads from the 101 List), Tofu Joy, Rootbeer Floats.

9/8/09 - Potato and Bacon Pizza, Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bread Pudding.

9/15/09 - Caesar Salad, Ravioli with Apples and Pecans, Oreo Panna Cotta.

9/20/09 - (M3) Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread, Mushroom and Sage Pasta.

9/21/09 - (S) Mashed Potatoes, some chicken dish (?), Cheese Puffs, Meringue. Probably so much more, but I can't remember!

9/22/09 - Home Fries, Banana Pancakes, French Toast.

10/4/09 - (M3) Mexican Wontons, Tortilla Soup, Peanut Butter Cookies.

10/6/09 - Ratatouille, Gnocchi, Apples with Caramel.

10/11/09 - (M3) Salad with Apple Vinaigrette, Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes, Butternut Squash Ravioli, Apple-Caramel Bread Pudding.

10/13/09 - Guacamole, Big Bowl of Mexican, Banana Chimichangas. (Sounds familiar...)

10/25/09 - (M1) Salad, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Vegetables, Macaroni and Cheese, something chicken.

10/27/09 - Puffs Stuffed with Brie or Boursin, Gougeres, Pasta with Roasted Vegetables, Cream Puffs.

10/31/09 - (S) Gougeres with and without Butternut Squash, Focaccia Bread, two Risottos, Roasted Red Pepper Soup, Pumpkin-Orange-Cranberry Cookies, Coconut Crisps.

11/3/09 - Roasted Chickpeas, Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese, Coconut Cream Pie.

11/8/09 - (M1) Salad, Roasted Vegetables, Rolls, Mashed Potatoes, Applesauce, meat from a crock pot, Cherry Pie.

11/10/09 - Guacamole, Black Bean Soup, Jalapeno-Cheddar Bread.

AND... That brings us to now! I'll follow (soon!) with a post on all the BAKING that has gone on recently... Really psyched!

Salads!

I know I am due for another "catch up on food" blog (as I've still got July and August to talk about. If I can remember any of those, even...) However, I wanted to show my vast reader base [pause for laughter] some interesting salad recipes. My friend, S, found these; Mark Bittman, author of the How to Cook Everything series, writes a column for the NY Times called "The Minimalist." While I haven't read too many of these, I can only assume that he's trying to get people truly back to simple, delicious food. So, without further ado, please visit Bittman's 101 Simple Salads for the Season. And then go make some.

S and I declared Friday night "food night." Original plan was to make some salads, then go see Food Inc. (Clearly we had to eat before seeing the movie, as the movie was going to make us feel terrible about everything we eat. And we're vegetarians...) Between an addition to our duo and some wine, the movie changed (to Julie & Julia,) but the salads remain.

So, I bring you: Five of a Hundred-and-One

[Also, apologies on the poor image quality... I was tweeting, so I used my phone to take the pictures.]

No. 2

"Mix wedges of tomato and peaches, add slivers of red onion, a few red pepper flakes and cilantro. Dress with olive oil and lime or lemon juice. Astonishing."

And "astonishing" it is. S has actually made this a couple of times recently, but it's just so fresh and delicious, we couldn't NOT have it at salad night. (We used lime juice, and, lacking red pepper, added a bit of cayenne.)

No. 7

"Grate carrots, toast some sunflower seeds, and toss with blueberries, olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Sweet, sour, crunchy, soft."

This was such a WEIRD combination. But it worked. SO GOOD. I joked through the meal that I kept trying to pick a favourite and couldn't; while this is true, this was one of my top three. (Of five, but whatever.)

No. 9

"Chop or slice jicama (or radishes or kholrabi) and mango and mix with coconut milk, lime juice, curry powder and cilantro or mint."

By default (lack of certain produce at Shaw's,) we used radishes here. I love love love jicama, so I was a little bummed at first. However, the little heat that radishes bring worked perfectly with the mango, curry and lime juice. Kind of inspired me to want to do more with radishes - they're so good, but vegetables that I wouldn't normally think of... (Another top three.)

No. 10

"Cook whole grape tomatoes in olive oil over high heat until they brown lightly, sprinkling with curry powder. Cool a bit, then toss with chopped arugula, loads of chopped mint and lime juice."

Again, with the lack of selection at Shaw's, we bought baby spinach instead of arugula. Then, getting nervous that spinach and mint wouldn't do well together, we made two versions - one with spinach, one without. They were both lovely. And, the tomatoes cooking in the oil smelled amazing.

No. 39

"Yukatecan street food as salad: Roast fresh corn kernels in a pan with a little oil; toss with cayenne or minced chilis, lime juice and a little queso fresco. Cherry tomatoes are optional."

And, the final of my top 3. Instead of queso fresco, we used smoked fresh mozzarella. (Queso frsco = fresh cheese = fresh mozzarella?) Which was amazing. Going forward, I'd add some black pepper. But, this was just so good...

And, there ends the Friday night of salads. There shall be more to come (salads with strawberries or cherries??? Yes, please!) But, if you decide to try any out, let me know how they go!

Food, May Massive Update.

Here's the deal: I have well over a month of food to post about... But, frankly, my memory isn't that good, and I apparently took very few pictures. SO. It's going to be quick and dirty. Also, breaking this into May-and-June and then July, lest I get bored and don't finish ;)

Tuesday 5/26/09: White sangria, empanadas with roasted red pepper sauce.

Okay, this one, I happen to a) have pictures of and b) want to write the recipes out because it was so frickin' good. Since this was so long ago now (whoops,) I've actually been talking about these and plan on making them again - TOMORROW! So, here we go:

White Sangria

I've experimented with sangria a bit this spring / summer. Honestly, it's kind of difficult to go wrong.

Whatever "white" fruit you can find (apples, mangoes, oranges, lemons, etc.)

3 oz. brandy

2 oz. Triple Sec

1 c. OJ

1/3 c. pineapple juice concentrate

[Combine the above. Let sit - in the refrigerator - overnight.]

Add 1 c. ginger ale and 1 bottle sparkling white wine shortly before serving. Enjoy!

Black Bean Empanadas

[GO MAKE THESE NOW.]

2 sheets, puff pastry (I use Pepperidge Farm...)

1 egg

1 T water

1/2 onion, diced (small) - I tend to use "red" onions.

3/4 c. corn

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 red pepper, diced (small)

1/2 c. tomato sauce

1 t cumin

1 T chili powder

1/2 t crushed red pepper

1/2 c. "Mexican" cheese

15 oz. black beans, rinsed, drained

2 T cilantro

1. Thaw pastry sheets (about 40 minutes.) Preheat oven to 375. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Stir egg and water together in small bowl.

2. Saute onion, corn, pepper, garlic until tender. Add tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, red pepper; reduce heat to low, and cook for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese, black beans and cilantro.

3. Unfold pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface, and cut each sheet into six rectangles. Put ~1/2 c. filling, folder over, press edges with fork to seal, and brush with egg mix.

4. Bake 18 minutes, until golden. Serve with GUACAMOLE. And sour cream, if that's your thing. And salsa. And red pepper sauce [see below.]

[This recipe is something of a combination of this recipe, and a meal I had at Border Cafe.]

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Red pepper - Roast by cutting, seeding, and roasting at 450 for 30 minutes, turning once.

1. Place pepper in airtight container till cool; peel skin off.

2. Food process the heck out of the roasted pepper.

3. Add garlic, salt, pepper, cilantro, balsamic vinegar and cayenne pepper.

This was one of my favourite meals. Writing about it makes me SO EXCITED about tomorrow.

Sunday 5/31/09: Asparagus risotto, garlic bread, strawberry rhubarb pie.

If there are recipes to come, they're going to have to come from M3, as I have no idea. Particularly loved the rhubarb pie - my mom introduced me to this vegetable (fruit?) early, and I've (surprisingly) always liked it!

Sunday 6/7/09: Black bean burgers, potato salad, corn, guacamole.

M3 used the black bean burger recipe that I posted here (and we've used it a few more times since - a true keeper!) Otherwise, memory fails. M3: What potato salad recipe did you use??? (For those of you unaware, I hate mayonnaise, so I'm constantly trying to perfect a non-mayo potato salad recipe.) (HATE mayonnaise. Cannot emphasize this enough.)

Tuesday 6/14/09: Mimosas, stuffed French toast, hash browns.

Total repeat of this meal!

Sunday 6/21/09: Bruschetta, caesar salad, ravioli.

M3, was this the meal that you made that black bean sauce for??? (Clearly, can't remember. However, I can't hate anything that involves caesar salad.)

Tuesday 6/23/09: Bread with oils, garlic bread, pasta with roasted tomato sauce, panna cotta.

HA. I was looking for all these recipes - they've all been done before - and they actually all came from ONE post... A long one, but still!

Saturday 6/27/09: Red sangria.

Okay, this wasn't a meal, per say, but, as noted above, I've been playing with sangria this summer, and I think this one came out really well! (This was made for the pirate ship adventure, noted here.)

Red Sangria

Package of frozen mixed berries

Apple, sliced

2 c. Cran-Raspberry Cocktail

8 oz. Chambourd

2 oz. Triple Sec

2 T confectioner's sugar

[Combine the above. Let sit - in the refrigerator - overnight.]

Add 2 bottles red wine. Pour over ice. Enjoy! (And make sure to eat the fruit!)

Sunday 6/28/09: Garlic bread, pasta with sun-dried tomato / pesto sauce.

Fail memory. Mmmm, food.

Tuesday 6/30/09: Veggie lasagna, garlic bread, strawberry shortcake cake.

This was in celebration of UJ's half birthday! Lasagna was the first Tuesday dinner I made. However, this cake is truly amazing! It's so light and fluffy - I've made it a couple of times now, and I always feel like I could eat the whole thing myself... Luckily, this hasn't happened... YET. (And, I didn't change a thing!)

Okay. That's it for tonight. I've been watching Code and Lyle play all evening, and I may explode from the cuteness, so you can expect something on that soon!

Oh... And food from July! Goodness!

Lyle!

So, I believe that I've declared myself a dog person before here... And I'll hold to that.

However, my roommate recently got a cat. And he is SO FRICKIN' CUTE. Even though his new favourite game is to swipe at toes with his talons. SO FRICKIN' CUTE:

K named him Lionel. However, when she told me this, she threw out, "It's kind of like 'Lyle,'" which sealed that I would call him Lyle forever. See, one of my first memories of living with K was one evening, we were watching the Discovery Channel (we're cool, srsly,) and a show called "Walking with Dinosaurs" was on. In this show, we were introduced to the Liopleurodon, who was killed by some other giant, prehistoric sea monster. But, we called him "Lyle." We then proceeded to go to work the next day and try to find him online. Googling "Lylepleurodon" resulted in nothing, which clearly meant that I was going to figure out what this creature was called. Obviously, successful, and K and I sometimes still bring up our sea monster friend, Lyle.

Lyle, the prehistoric sea monster, Lyle, the kitten, whatevs.

He and CodeDog seem to be getting along okay. Sometimes Lyle hisses at Code, but it's all in good fun. This is my favourite picture of the two of them (so far):

Lyle: Too fast for the camera!

Ummm... Hello?

Riiight... Remember when I was proud of blogging for several days straight? That clearly went to hell. BUT, trying to get back into it. I only have a few moments right now (totally owe someone a letter of recommendation...) but, as I haven't blogged for, what?, well over a month, there's a decent amount that I can randomly spurt out in just a few sentences!

Therefore, I give you, notable parts of my past month-and-a-half:

1. First food. Wait, no, that'll get its own post. I'll summarize it by saying: I ate a lot.

2. 5/25/09. Memorial Day was spent in S'ville with S, M1 and UJ. Mojitos, tons of food and sitting on a deck.

3. 5/30/09. We finally had our Nostalgia Party. Between the awesome prom dresses (see below!) and the photo albums and home videos (featuring M1 at the zoo, M3 cheering, UJ singing "I'm a Little Teapot," etc.,) it was a hilarious evening!

4. 6/7/09. There was the Week of Baseball. M3 and I got work tickets to a Sunday afternoon game, then we went to the Tuesday night Yankees game (which we won,) and then we went to a Diamondbacks game in Phoenix on Friday! Loved each and every game.

5. 6/12/09. I went to Phoenix! First time in Arizona. M3 was going to visit her sister, and M1, M2 and I tagged along... You know, across the country... Was a weekend full of food, hanging out, playing with sister's dogs, baseball, tubing - lots of fun!

6. 6/19/09. I had dinner with a high school friend. Not that this is incredibly noteworthy, but I hadn't seen Meredith in, literally, years, so it was cool to catch up with her.

7. 6/20/09. Then came Movie Week. So, I saw two movies in a week, not that notable, but I don't see movies that often, and we went to Cambridge, 1 before both. (Love that place. Possibly I go to movies because of Cambridge, 1.) Saw The Hangover - hilarious - and My Sister's Keeper - total chick flick, exactly what I was hoping for.

8. 6/25/09. I got an iPhone! Turning into a true Mac-lover. Certainly love my new phone. At least till I dropped it and broke it. Luckily, the lovely people at Apple replaced it without question! Winner!

9. 6/27/09. Pirate Ship! Last year, for M1's birthday, she organized an outing involving a pirate ship. Basically, you bring the drinks / food / whatever, and this ship totes your around Boston. Despite the mist and chilly weather, I had a blast!

10. 6/29/09. NEWEST. BIGGEST. TATTOO. I'm getting a half sleeve. I had the first three hours done last week, and I'm so frickin' excited about it. I'm going to save pictures for later, as it, frankly, looks unfinished (I actually have had a couple of people say "It's not done yet, right?",) but it's going to be awesome. Next appointment is in less than two weeks.

11. 7/3/09. Movie Day / BBQ. It was discovered that UJ hadn't seen Step Up, and I hadn't seen The Departed. We remedied this all in one afternoon, and then headed to the N. End for a BBQ with some of UJ's friends. Lovely.

12. 7/4/09. Happy Birthday, USA! Per usual, we went down to the Esplanade, convened with the masses. After finding our nice little spot in the grass, we broke out the sangria and food, played Hearts for a few hours, and just enjoyed the weather and people-watching.

13. 7/5/09. Happy Birthday, M1! Three-cubed! Woo! To celebrate, we picniced in the Public Gardens. Again, fabulous weather! (Knock on wood.) Everyone brought food, and, once again, I stuff myself. It was awesome.

Okay, that's the quick and dirty. Lots of food to come, as well as (hopefully) some interesting stories... Till then, just know I'm alive!

Something New! Food!

... Oh?  Food's not a new topic?  Well, whatever...

So, I haven't babbled about the lovely meals that M3 and I have made recently.  However, there have been a fair number of dinner cancellations due to conflicting plans.  Here comes summer!

Anyways, here we go!

Sunday, April 19th

Guacamole, Taco Salad, Strawberry Shortcakes.  After a bit of a stressful search for taco bowls, M3 settled on adding tortilla chips to salad...  And it was delicious.  Lettuce + black beans (with chili powder) + tomato + corn / onion salsa + magical chipotle dressing.  Yum!  Later, there was strawberry shortcakes...  Which just remind me of summer...

Tuesday, April 28th

Salad, Bread with Oils, Strawberry Fettuccine Alfredo, Trifle.

I was trying to determine what I was going to cook for this week...  Luckily, I was having drinks (at The Globe - love it) with M1 and S, who had just returned from hanging out with her family for a week.  S's mother is a pretty phenomenal cook, and it's definitely worn off.  In between planning the restaurant that we're going to open (?,) S went through the meals she had cooked while home...  One including a fettuccine alfredo with, ready?, strawberries.  Neither M3 nor I had done an alfredo yet, so I figured it was time to try!

In keeping on the strawberry theme, I started with a salad - spinach, strawberries, red onion and pecans.  Simple.  As a spin on garlic bread, I roasted some garlic and mashed it in olive oil, with some oregano; there was also a spicy red chili oil, which was awesome (though this came directly from a bottle, so I can't take any credit there.)

The, the fettuccine alfredo.  I didn't really make any edits to this...  So, obviously, it was incredibly healthy.  (I can feel my arteries clogging again, just thinking about it...)  I don't know how impressed I was.  It tasted really good, but I was fairly unsuccessful in getting the cheese and cream to mix, resulting in hunks of cheese.  (I mean, there are worse things in life...)  I felt a little better about this after M3 talked to her chef sister, and Chef Sister said that it was tough, or you had to use crappy ingredients...  One thing I will note: I would not advise reheating in the microwave - there was distinct butter-cream-cheese separation.  Ew.

And, to end the theme, I made trifle.  Basically, layering chocolate cake, vanilla pudding, Cool Whip and strawberries / raspberries.  Mmm...

[Sunday, May 3rd]

I just have to note this night, and retell the stories that M3 related to me.  I ended up with a company ticket to the Bruins game this night, so I wasn't able to make it to M3's this night.  (First family dinner I ever missed!  Sad!)  However, my absence opened a whole new world to M3: Meat.  Apparently, this was a little more overwhelming than I ever considered.  Upon proposing this to Chef Sister, CS responded with "All I can think of is hunks of meat.  Like steaks and pork chops.  Meat."  Same thing went to J, who responded "Chunks of meat."  I'm not entirely sure what resulted (I think it was steak,) but I doubt there were less than three types of meat in the meal!

Tuesday, May 5th - Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Burrito / Taco / whatever-you-want-to-call-them, Banana Chimichangas.  Cinco de Mayo fell on a Tuesday, which means everyone came over and drank margaritas!  For food, I basically just made lots of "Mexican" things and let people put them together as they pleased.  So, there were chips, salsa and guacamole to begin, then black beans, tortillas, cilantro, cheese, onion, sour cream and corn were added.  (Possibly more?  I can't remember...)  To round out the night, I made Banana Chimichangas again!

Sunday, May 10th

Caesar Salad, Fire-Roasted Tomato Pasta, Garlic Bread.  M3 put together everyone's favourite Italian dishes.  I was a little hesitant on the caesar.  Don't get me wrong - I love, love, love caesar salads.  However, this means that I have extremely high expectation of caesar dressings - I have been disappointed more than my fair share in the past.  However, M3 found a delicious caesar dressing - from Brianna's.  (This brand also makes a delicious vinaigrette - I highly suggest you try them both.)  She then had a recipe for a fire-roasted tomato pasta sauce from a magazine; it was from an ad for McCormick, so I was able to find it here!  Just mush these up a little and serve with pasta - Yum!  (Add garlic bread, of course.)

(As usual, there may have been dessert, but I cannot remember!)

Tuesday, May 12th

(Guacamole,) Tofu Joy!  This dinner had been a long time coming...  It just had to come to me!  S introduced this to me years ago, back when she used to be an honourary roommate when I lived in Quincy.  The results are delicious, but it's also incredibly fun to make.  Basically, these are just fresh spring rolls, wrapping all ingredients in rice paper.  As I actually had to call S to be reminded of what we put in these (it had been awhile since I had made them,) I figured I'd go ahead and write a rudimentary recipe:

Ingredients: bell peppers, cucumbers, peas, tofu, apples [all julienned,] mint, Thai basil, lettuce, rice noodles, peanuts

1. Cook rice noodles, and rinse in cold water.  (All ingredients in this recipe, with the exception of the tofu, should be cold.  I think.)

2. Saute / heat / cook tofu strips in Hoisin sauce + duck sauce + a bit of soy sauce.

3. In a large pan, filled with hot water, dip the rice paper till it is soft (but not too soft...)

4. Wrap whatever you want in the rice paper!  Dip in sweet chili sauce, or Hoisin sauce, or duck sauce... Or some combination thereof!

Tuesday, May 19th

Bruschetta, Pizza, Panna Cotta.  I realized we had never done pizza, so that obviously needed to change.  I also think I had in my head that I wanted to make panna cotta, so I needed something kind-of Italian to go with it!

First, bruschetta.  I love bruschetta.  I used this recipe, with a few edits...  I made the tomato mixture ahead of time and refrigerated it overnight.  (I think this allows the flavours to combine a little.)  I added two cloves of minced garlic to the tomato mixture, as well as doubling the basil, and adding some salt and pepper.  I brushed my bread with olive oil and toasted it ahead of time, then rubbed it with a clove of garlic.  Yum!  One thing, I used a crusty baguette, which I wouldn't really recommend - it got a little on the hard side.  Stick with a thicker, softer Italian bread.

Pizza!  I made a crust, using this recipe.  My recipe came from a magazine, so here it is:

Pizza crust

Zucchini

(Plum) Tomatoes (~7)

salt

pepper

16 ozs. Fresh Mozzarella

olive oil

fresh basil

1. [I actually made two pizza from this, but only one with zucchini.]

2. Roll out crusts on cookie sheet.  (Sprinkle sheets with corn meal first.)  Let relax for five minutes.

3. Add zucchini, tomatoes, sprinkle with salt, pepper (and minced garlic!)

4. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.

5. Top with cheese, and bake for 5 minutes, till cheese just melts.

6. Drizzle with oil, top with basil, and pop back into oven for just 1-2 minutes.

7. Enjoy!

[Note: This involves a lot of wet ingredients, so try to drain them as much beforehand as possible.  I'd also suggest tilting the pizzas to drain when pulling them out of the oven.]

Finally, panna cotta!  M3 and I made this for Thanksgiving last year (take that, Pumpkin Pie!) but I hadn't attempted it since then.  In the end, this is way easier to make than I originally thought.  You can find the base recipe here...  And then do whatever you want with it!  At Thanksgiving, we added Oreos to it.  This time, I made a simple berry sauce to pour over it.  (Heat half berries with 1/3 c sugar and 1 t vanilla.  Blend.  Back to stovetop, plus rest of berries.)  I find this smooth and creamy and delicious...  Far and away my favourite dessert in recent history.  If only heavy cream and half and half were healthier...

And, that's caught up on family dinners!  Suggestions for  next Tuesday???

Erm... And Peter's Graduation

Remember when I was good at blogging?  Oh, okay, maybe I was never good, persay, but I did ramble more than once every other week...

Even about food!  I haven't babbled on about food for awhile now...  And you know there have been some dinners since last time.  But, I'll save that for "next time."

This time, I'd like to congratulate my littlest brother (who doesn't read my blog) on his graduation from college.  Congrats, Petey!  This is my lovely family with the newest "adult":

Simon, the middle child, and I reminisced about some Peter stories over the weekend.  I won't spend too long on them, but here's a taste of why we're so proud of the youngest sibling...

Fourth Grade - In Virginia, we have standardized testing.  I'm not sure if it's changed since I was in elementary school, or if there are earlier tests, but the Iowa tests are in fourth grade.  Or they could be called something else - it doesn't really matter.  Every fourth grader takes these tests.  The Iowa tests (as I am going to call them) have several parts, one of which is an essay.  During his year, Peter's essay questions was something along the lines of "You have a box.  What's in it?"  Simple prompt.  Kid could have written anything.  A new toy, a puppy, a helicopter, a computer, an original raft from "Oregon Trail"...  Anything.  What does my brother do?  He turns in a blank piece of paper.  When the teacher discovered this, she pulled him aside - heaven forbid he hurt the school's average test scores - and asks him what was going on.  His reply?  That he didn't have a box, so how was he supposed to know what was in it?  Even after the teacher explained again that it was a creative thing, he wouldn't write anything.  Eventually, they called my mother in, and she walked him through writing the essay.

High School - Peter didn't like English or Social Studies.  (I can totally respect this part!)  I'm not entirely sure what prompted him to fail his first class, but, after doing so, and then going to summer school, he realized that summer school was way easier than normal school.  Obvious thing to do?  Fail all the classes that he didn't like, take them in summer school and get better grades than he would have during the normal school year.

And in what did this all culminate?  Peter now has a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech.  And he graduated Magna Cum Laude!

... And the rest of the family exhaled loudly...

Comment That Made. My. Day.

Walking Code down the sidewalk, same old, same old...  There is a woman with two fairly small children (under five years old) coming, so I pause Code, cross my fingers that he won't bark at them, and wait for them to pass.

As they're approaching, one of the little boys goes, "Whoa!  That is a big dog!  ... And he has claws!  Like a dinosaur!"

Cody got compared to a dinosaur.  LOVE IT.

Thank you, small child, for making me smile.

Boston + Sports + Jennifer

Dear Boston Sports Teams,

Why, more often than not, must you lose when I actually attend a game?  I've seen tons of great plays and cool games on television...  But when I am actually there?  Nada.

I can cheer pretty loudly.  I'd just like for you all to have the opportunity to experience that...

Love, true love,

Jennifer

Springtime in Boston!

I. Love. Today.  It is finally Spring!

There were teases of it before (and perhaps this 80-degree day is also a tease,) but I absolutely love the feeling I get each Spring when the weather finally becomes warm and sunny.

And the people come out in droves!  Code and I are going to go join them!

"Are you going to get a new phone this summer?"

Last Saturday, M3, E, M2 and I went on a bar crawl - Bar Golf.  (That's another story.)

At the first bar, I went to text M2 quickly, to figure out where she was.  As I was putting my phone away, M3 asked me if I was planning on getting a new phone over the summer.  (M3 and I have the same phone, which we got weeks apart, so she figured my contract was coming to an end.)  I replied that, yes, I'd definitely be looking into a new phone, contract, supplier, I wasn't sure, but definitely a new phone.

Minutes later, M3 and E both had their phones out, texting or something.  (Does this happen to anyone else?  Everyone around you is checking their phone, texting, etc. and you have absolutely nothing to do on your phone.  But you pull it out anyways.)  To not feel left out, I pulled out my phone, too.

And promptly dropped it.

I've almost never dropped my phone before (mostly because I rarely use my phone.)  M3 said no worries, just pop out the battery, stick it back in, all would be fine.

Nope.  Screen was completely blank.

After repeating this a few times, M3 turned to me and said, "When I asked you if you were getting a new phone over the summer, I really meant 'tomorrow.'"

After a brief dilemma (do I break down and get my lusted-after iPhone?,) I eventually decided to finish out my contract with Sprint and then go month-to-month till the next iPhone version comes out.

My new phone?  The Samsung Rant.  So far, I'm mostly loving it.  Given that I hate talking on the phone but enjoy texting, the key pad is the best thing that's happened to my phone since... well, since I got a phone.  (Note: As with the camera, I'm not asking for a lot out of my electronics.  Can it text?  Yes.  Awesome.)  I was able to get Tetris on the new phone without paying again, which was awesome, and I got some sa-weet ringtones ("Yeah!" and something by A R Rahman, my new obsession.)  I neglected to read reviews before buying the phone, but I've definitely noticed some issues with freezing, even after only a few days.  I'm going to see how things go in the next week, but I've got thirty days to exchange it, so I'm not chained down (yet.)  That being said, I've never been chained to my phone, so freezing once in the while isn't the end of the world!

Still lusting after the iPhone...  Soon...

Free Time... What to Babble About???

So...  This week, most of my friends have out-of-town things going on...  Which leaves me alone with lots of free time...  Which is strange, as, for the past month or so, I've had plans probably five of the seven nights of the week (at least.)

I realized that I have a free night.  I'm mostly caught up with my DVR, so I thought I could write a little about... something.  But what?  My blogs till now have been about strollers (yeah, I gave up on that,) FOOD or quick notes that were inspired by events in my life.  (coughdogpeemancough.)

But NOW.  I said forever ago that I'd babble on about my new(ish) camera.  And maybe my new phone, too.  Gadgets galore!

SO, I got the new camera three months ago.  I originally wanted a DSLR, but then I walked into a Best Buy and saw this:

Not going to lie.  Sometimes I buy things because of how they look.

It's beautiful.  Less than half an inch deep, completely sleek.  The entire back of the camera is the viewing screen...  Which is a TOUCH SCREEN.  So far, the battery hasn't died, the flash works, the screen is huge, the memory hasn't been full...  And, did I mention?, it's beautiful.

My one complaint is that it has a weird thing with light.  It tends to wash out pictures a bit, especially if the picture's taken by a light or a window in daylight.  I'm kind of betting this is something that I can adjust with settings.  That, however, would involve reading the User's Manual.  Ack!  (So, if anyone knows anything about this camera, advice, please!)

Long story short: I love the camera, but I'm not asking for a whole lot.

Religion!

My life lacks religion for the most part.  That hasn't really changed, but a couple of weekends ago, I did attend a Passover Seder and an Easter supper.  (Anyone miss that those both revolve around food?  No?  Just checking.)

Saturday, April 11th - Passover Seder

E has been hosting Passover Seders for three or four years now.  Her parents comes down from Maine, her aunt and uncle join, there's some friends and cousins...  In the end, there are about twelve people crowded around a table in her living room in S'ville.

These dinners always involve a) drinking wine and b) reading the Seder text.  (I have no idea what it's actually called.  Which is terrible.  I've read it three or four times now, and I have no clue.  It talks about the Jewish people and the Seder plate and the oppressed people...  Well, wiki's entry covers most of it.)  We take turns reading the text, which generally results in some yelling about where do people begin and end in the text.  Hilarious.  (There's also mention by the Christians in the room - lead by E's uncle - about how this isn't their "thing."  Also hilarious.)

I must insert something of a cool story here.  This year, E put an orange on the Seder plate.  Someone commented that this was strange, so it was told that (and, no, I don't have dates, names or locations straight here) some old male said that women belonged on the altar (is there a Jewish term for that?) "like an orange belongs on the Seder plate."  So, it has become some sign of female empowerment to have an orange on the Seder plate.  Yay, ladies!

In the end, I'm always a huge fan of these gatherings.  I never had a big family growing up, so to have a gathering of all these people of different generations is lovely.  (Plus, there are no actual kids, so it's great to be on the same "adult" level as everyone in the room.)  Given E's family, politics are always brought up - this year was distinctly different, thank you, Barack!!!

A brief note on the food...  I can't (won't) eat most of it - brisket, potatoes (cooked with meat,) matzo soup.  However, E's aunt made a beautiful and delicious salad.  My favourite part of Passover?  Charoset.  I have no idea how E and her mom made it, but here's a recipe - apples, spices, nuts, sugar, red wine - yum!  Since the beginning, I've made Chocolate Chip Meringues, which always go over well.  (Notes: Pinch of salt.  I had to do the oven thing twice to get them baked through.)  Easy and delicious!

Sunday, April 12th - Easter Sunday

M3's Sunday dinner turned into Easter supper - a lovely excuse to make a lot of food and get together a bit of a bigger group than usual!

That being, said, we had a bit of a hard time coming up with what Easter supper consisted of.  I can't remember growing up eating Easter supper, so...  I looked online.

All combined, our dinner ended up consisting of: (ham,) roasted potatoes, deviled eggs, guacamole (new tradition!,) asparagus, pineapple bread (made by M2) and cherry pie.  Yum yum yum.  There was also Easter candy, but I think we were all too stuffed to eat any of it!

Really enjoyed this weekend... and all the food it involved!

Food Catch Up!

So, I just went to upload my pictures so that I could ramble on about food for a bit...  And I discovered pictures of other events from the past couple of weeks!  It was a nice reminder that I do things (possibly) worthy of pictures other than eat...

That being said, on to the food!  (There is a lot of it.)

Sunday, March 29th

"Big Bowl of Mexican."  This is officially one of my new favourites.  I believe M3 created this after returning from Mexico and missing all of the flavours...  So, she just put everything into a bowl.  It was / is spicy and delicious!

As I clearly got this "recipe" (it's a bit of a make-it-up-yourself thing!) I shall share:

- Corn, sauted in lime juice, with chili powder and cumin and garlic and a bit of olive oil

- black beans (with jalapenos - Ortega does a can of these)

- Rotel, lime and cilantro (this salsa-type thing)

- rice

... Mix altogether, heat, eat!  Actually, heat up a tortilla to eat it with.  And, you know me, add some guacamole!

[I'm pretty sure there was a dessert - M3 always does dessert - but I don't have a picture, and I can't remember!]

Tuesday, March 31st

Eggplant parmesan, garlic bread.  This was my night, and I was trying to do something that I hadn't done before...  I'm not sure that my friends were that excited about eggplant, but they at least pretended to be happy!  And I thought it was great!

I used this recipe.  Slight alterations: I only used two eggplants.  Sweat the eggplant before making (coat in salt, let drain for ~30 minutes, rinse in cold water.)  I baked the eggplants for 10 minutes / side.  Go!  Enjoy!

Thursday, April 2nd

Rice and veggies.  More importantly: scorpion bowls.  M1 started with the idea of fruit salad, which lead to scorpion bowls, which lead to (sorry, I forget) some Asian-inspired sauce with rice and veggies.  Yum!

M1 decided that scorpion bowls should be her signature drink.  Which I am all for.  This evening, we made them according to this "recipe":

1 part rum

1 part Malibu

1 part vodka

3 parts Orange-Mango-Pineapple juice

maraschino cherries!

We decided that the 1 part alcohol:1 part juice was a bit strong, so we splashed a bit more juice in there...  Delicious!

Sunday, April 5th

Guacamole, enchiladas.  M3 made enchiladas, as she did in our very first family dinner.  (Let's all take a moment to reminisce.)  Awww...

Cheese and tortillas and chilis and spicy goodness!

Again, I'm sure there was a dessert, but I can't think of what it was to save my life!

Tuesday, April 7th

Lasagna, garlic bread.  Following in M3's footsteps (and by request from KJ,) I made lasagna, as I did in week one.

Also, I made garlic bread.  But, differently.  By "differently," I mean "I bought frozen Texas Toast.  It was a bit sacrilegious - I've almost always made my own garlic bread!  But, having been fed and REALLY enjoying Texas Toast, I broke down and made it myself.  And I'm just happy that I did.  It was delicious.

Tuesday, April 14th

Black bean burgers, potato wedges.  Haha, this was another one that I told my friends about, and there was a slight hesitation before the "That sounds good!"  Putting vegetarian options on meat-eaters is, understandably, not always that exciting.  But I think they like it!!!

Here's the recipe I used: Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers.  And, the slight changes I made (all based on the reviews): Rinse and dry black beans before mashing.  I squeezed the moisture out of the onion-pepper-garlic puree through coffee filters.  I doubled the recipe, except I used three eggs...  And I added more chili powder.  Also, I found that they needed a little longer than 10 minutes / side in the oven.

I found these delicious - and, possibly the best part - they freeze great, so I've had them for leftovers a couple of times since, and still have a few more!

That's all on food for now...  And I haven't covered Passover and Easter!  (What can I say, it was a religion-filled weekend...)

Chair Launch Party

Ha.  "Chair Launch Party."  They have those???

Yes, yes they do!  And they serve wine at them!

I'm not entirely sure if this kind of an event is unique to modern designers, but, apparently, modern companies hold launch parties for new items.  I'd never been to one before, but this one seemed to be fairly open-to-the-public, so maybe it's just a case of knowing it's happening?

Anyways, M3, M1 and I headed down to the Kartell store a couple of weeks ago.  (A store which you could somewhat often find M3 and myself with our faces smooshed against the window on our walk home after some bars...)  Kartell manufacturers lots of items, almost all (if not all) made of plastic...  Actually, the company was founded as a plastics producer (chemistry!,) only later moving into furniture.  They were launching the Papyrus Chair:

I'm not a huge fan (it reminds me of the '70s,) but I love being around modern stuff.  (The brothers who designed this chair did actually design one of my favourite sofas: The Alcove.)

After going in and having our names checked off of the guest list, we grabbed some Proseco, and began to wander around the store...  At which point the photographer they hired for the event began following us around, as evidenced here.  M3 and I knew a fair amount about the furniture, but it's always fun to touch the pieces!  And be reminded of what more you want...  And this...  And this...  And this...  And this...  (JK on the last one!)

Kartell apparently has begun making jelly shoes, which was new to me.  Not entirely sure how I feel about these, but if you're going to wear jelly shoes, they may as well be made by Kartell!

In the end, it was a funny night...  Walking around, drinking, and trying to pretend that I fit in with the crowd that showed up.  Other than the free drinks and some good chats with friends, I did leave with my new favourite picture of myself:

... Never mind the retro chair...

Absurd.

Dear Little Man, Thanks for reminding me that there are jerks in the world.  -Jennifer

So, this morning, like every morning, I was walking Cody.  We were on the final block of his walk, he lifted his leg and marked some house.  No biggie.  This happens approximately ten times a day, and I'm not including his actual bladder-relieving pees.  We continue.

In a couple of steps, we are about to pass a man.  By "man," I mean "jerk."

Jerk: Did your dog just pee?

Me: [Confused.  I mean, stupid question.  Was it supposed to be rhetorical?] Ummm, yeah.

J: That's not good.  I know that's not your house.  Is it?

M: [If you know, why are you asking?] No.

J: That's bad.  You should take your dog in front of your house to pee.

M: Ummm, okay.

J: It's not the dog's fault.  It's the owner's fault.  The dog doesn't know any better, so it's the owner's responsibility.  Do you understand that?

M: [This is actually something I agree with, so I nod.  Even though he was being a condescending a-hole.] Yes.

[Possibly there was another exchange, but in the interest of not hitting him, I tried to move along.]

J: See the difference?  One is being a good, nice person, and the other is being a pig.

M: [As I'm retreating.]  Got it.  And thanks for calling me a pig.  It's been awhile.

And now I've been thinking about this since I got home.  There are several other ways I have since thought of to respond to the jerk:

1. Punching holes in his theory.  Have you had a dog?  Clearly not, as you must know that you can't walk a [male] dog around, more than a block, without him marking his territory.  So, am I expected to pace in front of my house so that he only pees there?  (This is a hilarious image, given the number of dogs that live in the South End.)  Also, I don't own my house; so is it fair for him to pee there?  If not, where do I go?  Or do you believe that one shouldn't own a dog till they own a house?  (I actually suspect this jerk wasn't a dog person and would prefer that no one own dogs...)

2. Be as condescending to him as he was to me.  Did you have a bad weekend?  Did a dog once pee and kill your prize-winning [flower]?  Did Mommy and Daddy never let you have a dog?  Ugh.

3. Punching him in the face.  I'm just saying, I bet it would have felt good.

Okay, I must get on with my day, now.  Hopefully it'll continue better than it started!

And, for the record, I plan to let Cody pee pretty much wherever he wants.  Yes, I can control where I take him, but as far as starting and stopping his bladder...  Nope!

Restaurant Week, Spring 2009

Does other cities have Restaurant Week?  I'd never heard of it before Boston, but I've only really lived in a couple of other cities.  Regardless, it's a fabulous idea that should be wider-spread.

What is Restaurant Week?  First of all, it's actually two weeks, and happens twice a year (Winter / Spring and Summer / Fall.)  Three-course dinners are set at $30.09.  Lunches are $20.09.  There are generally two or three choices per course.  Drinks aren't included, but some pretty amazing places participate in this.  Basically, I try to use Restaurant Week to try out fancy, expensive places that I generally wouldn't be able to afford (or, well, to let myself afford.)  Also, it's great to be "forced" into getting a three-course meal - how often do you eat out and get appetizer, meal and dessert?  It doesn't never happen, but it's certainly not frequent for me!

3/19/09 - M1, M3 and I went to Banq.  We'd been there before, but only for drinks.  (Tip: Just say "no" to the Hot Mess.  Hilarious name, bad drink.)  The architecture in there is absolutely stunning...  And actually the reason that we declared that we needed to return!  (I asked our waiter who designed the place, but I only half got the name and don't have the patience right now to really search for them.  So, deal with this image!)

So pretty!!!

Appetizer - Beet Salad.  Okay, kids, I'm not really a beet lover.  That being said, this was my first try, and they were huge.  I pictured beets as slivers.  These puppies looked like tomatoes.  Seriously, I got the salad and asked my friends, "Where are the beets?"  (Note: Most of my choices are limited due to the fact that I don't eat meat.  Restaurants are usually good about making me something without meat, even if it's not on the prix fixe menu.  But, little choice.)

Main Course - Zucchini and Tofu Steak.  Yum!  This was over some noodles, and absolutely delicious.  Best of all?  It was big enough that I had leftovers for lunch the next day.  (And they didn't openly scorn me for asking for a doggie bag.  I always feel weird doing so in fancy places...)

Dessert - Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake.  Okay, it wasn't bad or anything, but I can do better.

Overall: Great experience!

3/25/09 - Again, M1, M3 and I went to Sorellina.  I had heard amazing things about this place from multiple people, so I was psyched to try it out.  The decor was lovely...  The food and service, not so much.  Our waitress came over and asked if we wanted anything to drink seconds after we had been seated.  Maybe this is good service (?,) but we hadn't had time to look at the wine list, so it was a little preemptive.  When we did order wine, it must have taken fifteen minutes to get to us.  Service throughout the night was less-than-stellar.  M1 got soup as her appetizer...  It came with no spoon.  M1 ordered a coffee with dessert...  It never came.  It was just like this through the entire meal.  And, then, the food...

Appetizer - Salad, with pear.  This was my favourite part of the meal, and a great salad.  Greens, pear, craisins, it was delicious!

Main Course - Vegetarians get the shaft here.  I got what I believe was pasta, cauliflower, green beans and some green leafy thing.  If there was a sauce at all, it was maybe a butter sauce.  Basically, I can (and have) made better pasta sauces at home in five minutes.

Dessert - Not idea what they called it, but it was chocolate pudding.  I do enjoy chocolate pudding, but...  M1 and M3 got an "apple tart," which they equated to an apple muffin from Dunkin Donuts.  Dessert = no.

Overall: I wanted to love this place...  Maybe it was because it was Restaurant Week, and they knew people wouldn't be paying the full prices, but how do you expect people to return to your restaurant if their first experience kind of sucked?  Seriously, the best thing there were the plates, which were beautiful. That being said, I wouldn't say no to returning for a fun drink and the parmesan truffle fries...

It's Been Awhile...

I'm almost intimidated to begin trying to catch up on all that's been going on.  But, being busy has got to lead to more interesting blogs than "I did nothing this week," so here we go!  I'll begin the catch up with, what else?, food!

Tuesday, March 10th

Potato salad, tomato soup, grilled cheese.  Mainly, I wanted to make a tomato soup, as I found a recipe that got rave reviews...  And, given my soup pickiness, I liked that there was no way to screw up any of the ingredients!

And, what goes better with tomato soup than grilled cheese???  NOTHING, that's what.

...Except maybe a huge baguette.  Whatever.

To the recipes.  I wanted to make a potato salad, even though it didn't exactly go with the meal.  I don't do mayonnaise, so finding a good potato salad recipe has always been a challenge.  I didn't love this one, either, but I also only included the potatoes.  (No pepper, olives or artichoke hearts.)  If anyone has a good potato salad recipe, PLEASE SEND IT TO ME.  I would pay you if it was close to the potato salad that I got back at Cafe Europa in college.  Seriously, if you're in Charlottesville ever, go there, get the potato salad.  SO GOOD.  (Also get the tomato basil soup.  Perhaps that's why I made potato salad and tomato soup together...  Reminds me of Cafe Europa.)

I made this creamy tomato soup - I would not use butter, though.  (Not a fan of the oily film it creates.)  For grilled cheese, I had some nice, rustic white bread, beautiful heirloom tomatoes, and some tomato-basil cheddar.  Delicious!

[Also, look at my fun plates!  M3 got "samples" from a new supplier that she's working with - Working Class Studio - and distributed them.  Such fun!  And I love love love square plates...]

Thursday, March 12th

Salad, asparagus, garlic bread, bean pasta.  M1 wanted to make a fun pasta sauce, and found this recipe from Barilla!  Obviously, she changed the pasta shape (love mini shells,) used vegetable stock in stead of chicken stock (thanks!) and we sprinkled a three-cheese blend on the top, instead of ricotta.  Yum!  I really liked all the vegetables that worked together in this sauce - broccoli, sun dried tomatoes, white / cannellini beans (which I rarely think to eat...)

She also made a salad and garlic bread, and we roasted asparagus - coat in olive oil, toss with salt and pepper, oven!  (I also have to think that this must have been a pretty healthy meal - good for us!)

Sunday, March 15th

Guacamole, fajitas, pineapple upside-down cake.  M3 made guacamole, which I'm extremely grateful for, as she's never been huge into guacamole herself, so I have to assume my guacamole-loving presence may have influenced that slightly.  She also found a tip - if you make guacamole and throw a pit back into the mix, it'll stay green longer.  (Brown guacamole just isn't that appealing.)  In the end, I think we're both still on the hunt to make guacamole as spicy and good as Wholly Guacamole!

Fajita makings included: tortillas, guacamole, black bean / onion mixture, peppers / onions, salsa, cheese, sour cream...  And some steak thing that was apparently amazing...  If only I ate meat...

I would like to state here and now that I love "create your own" meals.  With all the different tastes of our little group (I don't do meat, M1 doesn't do spicy, M3 doesn't do... a lot of random vegetables,) being given a lot of different things that will all taste great together, but being able to leave out what you don't personally like is just great!

For dessert, there was upside-down pineapple cake.  One of my favourites!  (Pineapple obsession?  Me?)  Actually, the maraschino cherries may be my favourite part...  Add some coconut, we've almost got a pina colada!

Sunday, March 22nd

Spicy mac and cheese, garlic bread, apple cobbler / strudel.  In the absence of M1, M3 jumped on making something spicy!  She loaded mini bow tie pasta with cheese (at least three kinds, though I forget which,) green chilis, tabasco sauce, chili powder and paprika.  It was delicious, and I, traditionally, do not do mac and cheese!  (This, though, is referring to the kind from the box - the powdered cheese kind of creeps me out.)

[I'm also realizing - garlic bread comes up again and again in our meals.  It's just so frickin' good!]

She also made some apple dessert - apples wrapped in pastry dough of some sort.  It was delicious.  And I am hugely sorry for forgetting my camera this night!

Tuesday, March 24th

Salad, butternut squash risotto, pistachio gnocchi, "white forest" cheesecake.  Mine!  This meal was inspired by Ivy, which is currently my favourite restaurant - small plates (meaning you can try a lot) and a wine list where most of the bottles are $26 - what's not to love???  They recently changed their menu, though, discarding of the two dishes that M1 and I always got when we went.  So, obviously, I needed to try my hand at these.

[I made my first salad (of these dinner series) that didn't involve fruit - spinach, red and green peppers, purple onion, tomatoes...  Simple.]

I had made butternut squash risotto before, on "Risotto Trio" night.  It turned out lovely, once again.  The other dish that we loved was this pistachio gnocchi.  In my head, at least, Ivy's was still better than mine, but that's not to say it was bad.  I found a recipe for Pistachio Cream Sauce, so I threw this over gnocchi (from Trader Joe's!  I'm on a huge TJ kick currently!)  The results were pretty good...  I'd perhaps suggest a bit less cream (?)  And there were tons of leftovers to last me for several days!

Despite my poll claiming I was going to let people vote on the first cheesecake that I was going to make, well, I couldn't wait a week!  So, I made the White Forest Cheesecake (white chocolate, maraschino cherries.)  I'm going to hold off posting a recipe for this - I made several substitutions on ingredients, and the result was quite sweet.  (Note: One should not use maraschino syrup as a substitute for cherry flavouring.)  Not bad, I mean I ate half of the 9" cheesecake, but I'd definitely make some changes when trying it again!

That being said, as predicted, I had all of two votes for my cheesecake poll.  I saw at one point there were three votes, two for the "Cookies & Cream" version, so I'm declaring that the winner - project for next weekend!

And, with that, I'm actually off to M3's for Sunday night dinner.  As of this afternoon, she didn't know what she was making.  But I love surprises - especially when they involve food!

Busy!

I got another one of those emails from my mother late last week - "We haven't heard from you in awhile. Just wondering how you're doing." And then I got a voicemail [Note: Hate voicemail.] from my mother on Sunday saying exactly the same thing. As if I needed to be reminded that things are busier than I'd like and that I'm a terrible daughter who hasn't talked to her parents in, well, over-a-week.

Seriously, though. Of the past nine evenings, I've had plans on EIGHT of them. Maybe to you social butterflied out there, that's no big deal, but this is coming from homebody Jennifer! I generally try not to have plans two nights in a row. (Eight of nine calculated to more than two in a row.) How did this happen???

And... I've got plans for the next three nights!

(Woe is me. I have fun things going on. I know, I know, I'm only half complaining!)

And, with that, I shall leave you again! Hopefully I'll get the chance to actually write about some of my happenings, rather than just allude to them! And, you know, call my mother...