Saturday, July 10, 2010

What About Weddings?


I want this as my wedding dress. I love Audrey and can't imagine a more perfect thing to wear anyway.
Well, my "ceremony" dress.
Yeah, so, this is what we've got planned so far:
We are going to elope, pretty much. Not sure if we're telling people about it or not, but either way, we are having a hand-fasting ceremony in Portland, Oregon as our big ceremony thing. I figure it should cut costs considering it won't be a "wedding," per se. It's like a... Family get-together!
Anyway, it's funny planning the engagement. I have no idea when or how it will happen, just that it will, and soon(ish). I'm way excited about it and just want it to happen already since we've already begun planning and I want to send out announcements (which means making them! DIY!). I wasn't sure that Dan would feel okay with me planning stuff before the ring was bought, but he told me to go ahead and start planning to my heart's content. OH, BOY, AM I!
The other day I bought a binder, dividers, notebook paper, post-it flags and some bridal magazines (RealSimple Weddings and The Knot's summer issue) and today I bought Martha Stewart Weddings- THE WOMAN KNOWS HER SHIT. How I was not aware for nearly twenty-one years of my life that she is the DIY Queen is beyond me. Tons of great ideas. Tons of flags in the magazines. Tons of sketches of our wedding invitations (I know, I've got months for those, but I had inspiration. INSPIRATION HAS NO TIME CONTRAINTS!).
The wedding binder shall become full as time goes. It was definitely a fantastic purchase, as were the magazines, and even more fantastic is the website I found the other day- Light In The Box, where you can find your dream wedding dress for under $100 (well, I mean, some dresses are under $100... Most are under $400, from what I've seen!), not to mention fantastic bridesmaid's dresses!

Sigh.
I'm wedding ga-ga. (Speaking of GaGa, I'm sure we'll play some Bad Romance at the reception!)

Exhausted, but I wanted to make a short entry.
Planning this thing is so much fun!

Santa Rosa, CA

Good Lord, Santa Rosa is beautiful! I would so much rather live there than here in shitty Eureka!
Also, I'm starting to seriously plan the wedding. More on that later!

<3

P.S. Shenae, get your butt over here so I can give you the Grandma-chic gift I bought you yesterday!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

I Feel Like

I say the least intelligent thing whenever possible.

Sigh.
Dumb.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Burt's Bees Summer 2010 Grab Bag Review

The Summer 2010 Grab Bag by Burt's Bees was just too good of a deal to pass up at $24.99 (plus free shipping since I ordered over $50 worth of products). Such a great deal, in fact, that it is now, sadly, sold out.
I received my grab bag in the mail the other day with SO MANY products in it! Not to mention, one of their Men's products for Daniel to try and a "Nappy Creme" for baby bottoms that I am gifting to my friend (who happens to be a momma!), Wendy.

Inside was a huge selection of their different lines. I got a lip shimmer, lip gloss, regular beeswax lipbalm (two, actually, by using the coupon code "WELCOME" you get a free lipbalm!), pomegranate lipbalm (I'm in lip care products up to my eyeballs), bath salt, all-in-one outdoor wash, Radiance eye cream, Radiance body/face moisturizer, a bunch of different facial washes, a natural pumice stone, a makeup bag, emery board, a cute little bee-print tin to keep lipbalm in, not to mention the other sample sized products. The value of the grab bag is AWESOME! I am definitely getting the next one (should I come across it in time!).

Also, I bought the Mama Bee body oil and so far, it's pretty awesome. I'm kind of a fangirl for Vaseline Intensive Care Vitalizing Gel Body Oil with Brazilian and Almond oils- I smell like a CUPCAKE when I use it! I also love how it stays glow-y and shimmery for hours. The Mama Bee has its own pluses:
- Dries faster. Your skin absorbs the oil fast and it doesn't feel at all sticky.
- Lemon scented. Daniel is a big fan of this.
I think I am still a Vaseline fan for this one, but I'd definitely use the Mama Bee stuff up. :) It's good, just not as delicious smelling as my ol' familiar.

Anyway, I need to go shower (didn't have a chance to this morning since my ALARM CLOCK DIDN'T GO OFF AGAIN) and apply some of that fantastic body oil- and try some more of my BB's products!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Hoop a Loop

You know hoop dancing?
Yeah, that.

Well, I've been trying to learn some moves lately. I finally made my first hoop the other day and decked it out with some yellow tape thinking it would look all bumble-bee like, but it looks more like a caution sign or something. Or Batman.

Anyway, the only place to comfortably practice hooping is inside my house- where there's no room. My yard is uncomfortable because the neighbors (lovely people who wear their pajamas all day and smoke in the doorways of their apartments- pregnant belly front and center) watch me and giggle, all the while I have men in low-riders creeping past me and staring at me turn in circles. Not fun.

Regardless, after a mini break inside here, I'm headed back out to hoop some more- in the wind. Right now I'm just doing circles, I can turn and walk while hooping. I want to learn the crazy shit that girl is doing in the video!

Anyway, tiny entry for today. More later, I think.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

an award for my blog?

I just posted a new entry and checked my old comments-
Naomi over at Naomi Chronicles gave me this little award! How sweet! (And odd that I just mentioned I wish I had more of a following... Because I'm self absorbed...)


There are some rules to this award:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award

2. Share seven things about you

3. Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs

4. Let your nominees know about the award!



Well THANK YOU Naomi! I always love your comments and your blog entries are so interesting! I can't imagine living your life, so having the very personal entries you make publicly displayed is a learning experience for me and the rest of your readers. You sound like a good mama. :)

Some things about me:
1. I have successfully raised a calla lily plant that is next to my bed while at the same time murdering a hydrangea that is sitting completely dead in my living room out of laziness and hopes that it will spring back to life, like some sort of flora-zombie.
2. I eat more butter than anyone should and I have no problems with that. I believe a life lived without butter is not really being lived at all. Ask Daniel. He will vouch for my obsessive butter-consumption.
3. I am my mother's youngest child, ten years younger than my two (half, but I don't think of it that way) brothers, and my father's only child. I am also my grandparents' (dad's parents) only grandchild, and they always wanted me to be a pageant queen. I never entered a pageant. Instead, I got piercings and tattoos.
4. I met my significant other on MySpace when adding thousands of strangers as "friends" was popular. I thought he was cute, sent him a request and an email about something or other, and we started talking on MSN messenger. Then on the phone. Our friendship and mutual crush lasted for five years before we finally got together, and it continues to grow into a more beautiful relationship all the time.
5. I love making pie crust. Something about it just feels so wholesome and housewifely that it makes my hips ache to wear a little apron and my mouth water in anticipation of the flaky, buttery goodness of a pie shell.
6. I love eavesdropping. I think of it as a sort of "found" conversation. On the bus in Portland, I used to pretend to read while listening into conversations. On the same note- Christ, teenagers have a lot to say about stupid shit.
7. My favorite alcoholic beverage so far is Gin and Tonics. Not excessively strong ones, just the regular old recipe:
1 part gin
3 parts tonic
squeeze of lime
MMM!

Okay, now, some blogs I like, that are totally deserving of some award-type love:

Definatalie (she's big time though, so I'm not going to send her an email about this little award...)
Tastespotting (another big time blog I am not going to email)

I don't read many blogs that I find I repeatedly go to, but these ones are great for different reasons.

Jane(y), author of Uncharted Territories, was in a few of my classes in gradeschool. I remember when she skipped a grade and joined my class, how weird and cool I thought it was. To skip an entire grade! She is a very interesting young lady with INCREDIBLE taste in food, music, style, what have you. I quite enjoy reading her blog.
Shenae, author of Laughing out Loud, is my Humboldt BFF. I see her most days now that we live in the same city and we have many adventures together. Tonight, I believe we are having a cooking adventure. I love her and her boyfriend and their two guinea pigs, Kabuki and Watson. They're all like my extended California family. She is OBVIOUSLY an interesting person with an interesting blog. WORK IT, GIRL.
Angela, author of High on Life, is one of my fellow 20SBs, a reader of mine and I am a reader of hers. I love how in love she is with her wife, Jen, who she talks about in most posts. She is, like me, a super-nerd and loves things like video games and lolcats (from what I can tell by her lolcatspeak). Angela is super pro-love, pro-positivity and all for equal rights, which I love. Her blog is sweet and I enjoy it, every time.
Natalie, author of Definatalie, inspires me to love myself more with all her posts. Her artwork is amazing. She is a total fatshionista, style icon, designer dream. I have sent her way too many "OMG I LOVE" tweets and such to not seem stalkerish. So I'm not gonna tell her again how much I adore her writing/art/everything.
Tastespotting is where I find inspiration for cooking when I don't know what to cook. Check it out. It is incredibly yummy looking and so well organized!

I hope I fulfilled my part of this little award ceremony! Enjoy your own awards, guys. However janky they may look. :)

The Battle of The Dishes


Dishes are a constant in my house. Constantly being used, misused, dirtied and discarded in the sink for later mass-cleanings. I would put the blame for that one on Daniel who uses more dishes than any person who never cooks anything more than bacon and eggs should, but I do the same thing, only, in my mind, I'm allowed because
I'm the one that cleans the goddamn things.


So, this morning, we wake up to Daniel's alarm clock. I get up and go pee. Daniel follows suit. We both get back in bed, turn on our laptops, lay against each other, spine-to-spine (it sounds like a cold shoulder type thing, but truly, it is an expression of our love and comfortability with one another) and we read our email, look at Woot.com, etc. Then, we both shut off the computers, turn around and with Daniel's arms around me, I lay perched against him, my leg hiked up on his legs and my head resting on his chest. As I mentioned in a previous post, this is my favorite place to be. We kiss and snuggle for a while, then he gets up to shower. I read a bit and when he gets out of the shower, I sit on the sofa with him and, still unable to keep my hands off this fine man I have acquired after years of pining, molest every part of his already-clothed body.
"So, what are you making me for breakfast?" he asks me, innocently and honestly.
I feel a pang of irritation. The voice that narrates my thoughts says, "I just made you breakfast yesterday. When was the last time you made me breakfast? Oh, right, a month ago when I complained that you never do!" Yes, my narrative voice uses a lot of italics.
Instead of saying anything close to this, I squash down all thoughts of irritation and in my I'm-a-good-little-housewife voice say, "Well, what would you like?"
Daniel, being ever intelligent and able to read my face like a large print book for mentally challenged five year olds says, "You know, cereal sounds good."
"Cereal, I can do." And so, happily, I trot over to the kitchen to get him a bowl when I see no bowls in our cupboard. They are all in the sink. I let out an angry little grunt and slide the blinds up, open the window above the sink and start scrubbing with only a slight pause to dry off the first bowl clean, fill it with cereal, milk and a spoon and hand it off to Daniel. Before returning to the sink, I point to the stove top.
"Oh, and stop," pause, "PLEASE stop leaving a pan full of bacon grease," I point to another burner, "pan full of bacon grease," point to a third burner, "and a pan full of bacon grease. It's gross and unnecessary." He nods and obviously notices my pissy mood. But seriously, leave the meaty, fatty mess for your vegetarian girlfriend to clean up? NOT. COOL.
Continue scrubbing. I can feel him looking at me, thinking, "Fuck. There she goes, having her first OCD moment of the day," as he chews his off-brand Captain Crunch. I keep scrubbing until most of the dish drainer is full. Then I grab a bowl and sit on the couch with him, anger washed away with much of the bacon grease I cleaned off the pans he's soiled. We talk about the fair I went to last night with some mutual friends (he was at work, which always makes me feel guilty for having a good time without him) and about barbecues during summertime, now that it is officially summer.
He gets up to go to work, I hug him, pressing my face into his chest (he's quite a bit taller than me) and I say, "I'm sorry for my bitchy mood. I just hate cleaning when there's so much to do."
"I know." We kiss, then we kiss again, and I run out to his car with him, barefoot and pajama-clad to grab my homemade hula hoop out of his backseat.
We exchange "I-love-yous" and "have-a-good-days" and he's off to work while I sucked up some coffee and finished reading Julie & Julia by Julie Powell. She's a darling writer. In fact, she makes me jealous of her intense fan base. Is that weird and narcissistic? That I wish I could have as a successful personal blog as she does? I guess hers was a bit more driven than mine- just a place to talk about my feelings, political views and the stupid things I enjoy.
Anyway, I get quite a lot of views on this here blog. I wonder who you all are, reading about my life.
Who are you?



Anyway, the thing I love about my relationship is it's complete honesty. We can talk about our problems with whatever is going on and deal with them. The cleaning thing is a big deal to me because it's this whole psychoanalytical thing with my OCD where I can control my own environment when I am in an environment I cannot control- like shitty, awful, disgusting and boring Humboldt County, California. My OCD went full-volume when I moved here because of multiple factors, and it has made me a much less adorable person. Daniel already knew I was crazy before he signed onto this relationship. He saw me at my absolute worst (personality-wise) beforehand, so I don't worry that me getting grumpy over dishes is going to scare him away, though I do apologize when I go bonkers. On the same note, I have seen the absolute worst of him and I still love the shit out of that man. So, we work well together. We're sticking together, no matter the weather.

I have noticed, however, when I tell my friends stories about my relationship, I tend to leave out the adorable things he does, the kind things I do for him, and I tell them the funny stories of him being a jackass and me being a bitch. For some reason, I find these stories much funnier (after they happen) than my friends do, and I end up getting asked,
"Are you two having problems?"
Which always pisses me off.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have a lot of irritation. But it isn't so bad. I have people to love, people who love me, a cute little beach shack house and a fantastic sex life.
What the fuck else do I need? :)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

LGBT Pride

June is Pride Month- Thanks Clinton and Obama!
Pride is the antithesis of shame, which we all feel enough every day about so many things. Why feel shame about our sexuality? I know that I have touched on the subject before, but I am, essentially, "bisexual." I prefer the term fluid, but for some people, less aware of sexuality's many gray areas, "bisexual" works just as well.

Gay, Lesbian, Queer, whatever you want to call it, all is related to our feelings. Feelings of attraction, love, arousal, what have you, are all just feelings. We have laws withholding feelings! How completely, stupidly, utterly, SIMPLY SILLY! The laws that are so-called "protecting the sanctity of marriage" are just keeping the legal agreement to love another person assigned to ONE GROUP of people. We allow biracial marriage, we allow different cultures to marry one another, we allow a tall man to marry a short woman, a catholic to marry a Canadian, a furniture salesman to marry an architect, doctor, Christian, Wiccan, knitter, cat-lover, dog-hater, farmer OR WHAT THE FUCK EVER but we can't allow a woman to marry a woman?

I know, this conversation has happened time and time again, I just don't understand the hatred of a group of people.

FUCK YOUR BIBLE.
God doesn't hate anyone. God loves. That what we are MADE FROM.
LOVE.
If God wanted everyone to marry the opposite sex, he wouldn't have given us the option to reject that idea and love, kiss, fuck the same sex!

Don't tell me we need to procreate. Once you have adopted every child in need of a home, without food and shelter, then we can talk. But there will always be babies, because as people, we are made to love in every way. Men, women, it doesn't matter. Who I love has no boundary of genitalia. I love who I love because I see the beauty in the person I am with, not what their body looks like.
IT'S JUST A VAGINA, FOLKS. Don't be hatin'.

Have pride in yourself. Have pride in our species and how we love. Have pride knowing that you are not one of the many who hates, but one of the many more who accepts, loves and protects our LOVE.

Love is what we're made from. Have pride in THAT.

unknown source

a PositiveNation cover


by Suo Me

all of these photos were found via Google and none of them belong to me.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Where Is My Mind?

I've had this problem my entire life.
I will write down in my journal, diary, blog, whatever, the events of my day. "I did this, then this, and I am happy/sad/angry/lonely/loved/full/tired/WHATEVER" but then not go into the beauty, poetry, details of my day.
And so, today, I'll tell you some small details, because the small is what makes up the big.
FOREWARNING: The next bit is a little feminist, a little "bloody" and if you don't want to read about my menstrual cycle, stop reading now. I'll mark the next section, period-free, for you.

This morning, I woke up a few times with that cold burn in my groin that is commonly referred to as cramps. But "cramps" is just such a simple word for something so unbearable.
"I have cramps," says, to me, "I have a small pain that women deal with, all the time, it's no big deal, but just so you know, I have a CRAMP."
Cramps are like a hot curling iron, twisting your uterus into balloon animals and then forcing it to squeeze out fluid, meant to hold a child, and having the fluid tear the walls of your uterus apart. Every month, we go through this, skinning of our organs, and we make it through, every time. And every single time this week arrives, I think, "Goddamn, I forgot how much this sucks."
So, when I say cramps, I mean... Well, you know now.

*OKAY, YOU CAN START READING AGAIN NOW, MENSTRUAL-FEARING FOLK:
This morning, I woke up with cramps. I moved around some to find a comfortable position and snuggled into Daniel's chest, which is totally, completely my favorite place to be. Ever. When we lived with his family, laying on his chest was the only private place I felt I had. It is where I talked to my partner, listened to his heart and lungs- the things that keep him alive and loving me- and where I cried when I missed my family and friends, when I felt like we were stuck in that awful situation. Daniel's chest is where I go at the end of every day and rest my everything. That is where I spent the first moments of my day. Sometimes, he will be somewhat awake when I first start moving around, and some of those times, like this morning, he will wrap his arms around me and hug me while he goes back to sleep. That is what makes our house a home. Daniel.

So we get up. I start boiling water for my coffee in the teapot he bought me this week, and he goes in the shower while I check my email.
Does anyone else do this? Call it "email" when really, you mean, "Facebook, Gmail, all my webcomics, my blog for comments/views, my networks, Craigslist, all the blogs I follow," etc.? Well, I checked my "email" and he came out in his little boxer briefs.
"Hello, handsome." He hears this more than he should, really. I'm going to inflate his ego.

I ask him what he wants for breakfast and he says cereal. He gets the bag of store-brand cereal out and I get him a bowl and the milk, which I spill. We get the organic stuff that has cream on the top, which you stir into the milk, and when I broke through the cream, the milk went everywhere. Daniel made a comment about it ejaculating on me, and then noticed that my fortune cookie from last night said, "You look pretty :)." He then mentioned how our food is getting frisky with me and that it was no fortune, just a fact. Awww.

I put together a lunch for him and told him to stop spending so much money on going out for lunch ($200/month). That if he bought lunch at work today, he would be wasting our groceries AND his money. He put a sandwich in the bag. I complained that I will have to clean the entire house by myself today and how unhappy I was about that, so he did a few dishes. That was a nice gesture, but I meant sweeping, mopping, scrubbing down the counters/stovetop, organizing the spare room, changing the sheets on the sofabed in our living room, etc.
I appreciate his help with things like that, but I wish he'd do more, and without me asking. Nothing ever gets done unless I ask him to do it.
Sigh.

This Thursday is his grandmother's birthday. We are expected to be there for whatever awful restaurant she chooses (there are some we cannot go to because she makes racist remarks to the waiters). I am betting: a buffet (she's old AND severely obese, loves buffets), Rita's ("Chili Relleno, extra rice, NO BEANS!") or Marie Calendar's (where they have one vegetarian option- the alfredo. Man, I hate chains).
I mean, it's her birthday, so she can choose whatever she wants, I'm just not looking forward to going. She always tells him, "I feel like I'm losing you! You never visit!" We have been living on our own for just over a month and we've seen them more than once a week, which I do not enjoy. She will complain about something, say we're ignoring her, tell us she wants to give us money because she doesn't want us to "go without," and tell me she likes my shoes. Yes, she compliments me, and I am always gracious and tell her thank you, and I make small talk with her, but... See, I don't like spending time with my own grandparents (only two of them are alive and one has Alzheimer's- I love her very much, but she just doesn't exist anymore, and one is a pain in the ass). I'm not close with my family and I think it's weird that Daniel's mother and grandmother are so prevalent in his life- especially since he couldn't care less about if they are or not. He loves his family, but he doesn't want them in our business 24/7.
They also think that we're theirs. Instead of me having any family at all (no, I'm not too close with them, but I'm close with my father and I still care about my mother, but I'm okay with not seeing them too often), they are under the impression that we will spend every holiday with them and that we will never leave this awful, piece of shit town. Very frustrating. We plan on moving to LA, Seattle or maybe somewhere farther within the next year and a half. I wouldn't mind going home to Portland. Man, I love that place.

Anyway, now that I have shared some personal details, some ranting, and my coffee is cold, I'm gonna publish this posting.
See y'all later.
<3

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Teakettles and Other Things

I am sitting here
In your robe and slippers
Drinking tea
From the teakettle you bought
For me
And thinking

"This is the life I have always wanted."

No, not sitting in your robe
Wearing your slippers
Not having to be the one to pay for my teakettles
But to be sitting here
In our home
Wrapped in things
So personal
Being here
In this life that I am living
With you.

I am sitting here
In your robe and slippers
Drinking tea
From the teakettle you bought
For me
And thinking

"This is the life I am living."

Monday, June 7, 2010

avoiding the TACK.

Tacky is a word my grandmother used a lot when I was a child. To be honest, I had tacky taste, so it was appropriate, especially for on old woman who didn't want to tell me I was straight up ridiculous and tasteless.
So, tacky.

Today, I bought (with Daniel's approval even!) a large, maybe 3 foot tall, framed faux painting (a print that has texture added) of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Yep, the one on the left, only I found that image on Google.
Anyway, I have never been fond of the whole "poster" look for art. I am not a pop art kinda gal (think more vintage, modern, cozy and warm looking) and I'm trying to figure out how to work this piece into my home. Any ideas for complimentary pieces? (Only cost $13, so there's no way I was leaving without it)
I just hate the idea that I will be one of... those girls. The ones with Audrey and Marilyn on their walls. Next to their leopard print fuzzy pillows on their red microfiber sofa, from Ashley.

No, no. I will not be. I will work Audrey into my home and she will CLASS THIS SHIT UP.

HARUMPH!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Broccoli and Cheese died and went to heaven in a Pie.

When I get sick, I end up craving homemade goodies. I crave them pretty often anyway, but this time around, my cold begged me for split pea soup and savory pies.
After rocking my vegetarian split pea soup recipe, I tried a new sort of pie-
Broccoli Cheese.
With some extras.
DELICIOUS extras. Really, they are more bonuses than anything.

Here it is!

Make the crust yourself. Yep. I talked about how easy pie crust is in an old post, and you can find the recipe there, too. Trust me, you've got this.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

After you've chilled your dough, roll it out and put it in a 9-inch pie pan. Layer as follows:
Swiss cheese
Fresh spinach
Cheddar (I used mild, but sharp would be yummy too, I'm sure)
Sprinkle a thick layer of broccoli
Cheddar
Onion slices

After you've got that layered, mix up 1 c. milk, 1/4 c. flour, 3 eggs, salt/pepper, onion powder and either fresh garlic (I did fresh) or powdered. After the egg is beaten well and the mixture looks somewhat even, pour it over your pie until it looks full- you might have some leftover mix.

Put your pie in the oven for an hour an ten minutes, checking the crust at about 50 minutes. I have a wonky oven and I'm still getting used to using it, but my pie took about an hour-ten to cook.

Let cool for about ten minutes and you are done!
Delicious. My omnivorous partner said it was incredible. I served this with potatoes cut into halves, sliced almost through and covered in butter/garlic/pepper homemade spread, baked. (The weird looking purple things in the pan next to the pie)
Wonderful dish. It would be well suited for Thanksgiving, as well.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Housegirlfriend

I am something of a housewife, only I'm not married yet, and thusly, I am a housegirlfriend.
Granted, I have my job, working with children, and for the first half of my day each weekday, I am a mommy, friend, counselor, teacher and mentor to children with developmental disabilities. This probably gives me a really ridiculous sense of maturity, but I come right back down to Earth when I complain to my boyfriend about his messy habits, tell him how to clean dishes properly (with a towel that has been washed and doesn't leave lint all over the dish) and that he needs to clean up after himself. Yes, all of those nags are pretty basic, but since I have OCD they are a little more manic. I know I'm not perfect, but I also know I'm the cleaner one of the two of us.

Keeping in mind that I am a housewife in training, I am on the hunt for:
cheap groceries
great recipes
an amazing area rug (graphic)
someone who will clean my messy kitchen
an adorable apron, preferably less than $10

Send me any great (vegetarian) recipes you may have!
(mini post today)

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Michelle Williams- Fashion Icon

Michelle Williams did not make my heart go all a-flutter the first few times I saw her on Dawson's Creek. Granted, she was a very cute little actress, but she just... Lacked. You know, that sump'n sump'n.
Then, I saw Synecdoche, NY (the film) and saw her incredible layering of emotion. My first impression was totally wrong- she didn't lack- her character's personality was a lacking one and she played it well. She takes a character and fills it out like a blank coloring page, a brand new box of Prismacolors and some serious devotion.
MW is becoming more and more the fine actress with all of the independent acting she has done, taking up the attention of film lovers, directors and fellow actors everywhere. More than that, she is getting some serious page time in magazines and love online because of her impeccable fashion sense.



Along with keeping her look modest and sweet, she manages to push the envelope from Audrey Hepburn to urban style with ease. She pairs vintage style dresses with chunky shoes and simple handbags to create a look that transcends trend and ventures into the land of iconic. Her hair varies from bobs to waves and everywhere in between. When I look at her, I see Twiggy and Edie Sedgwick but somehow still maintaining the classic beauty that is Audrey, Katherine and Bette. Her looks are effortless, timeless.

Yes, it is true, I have fallen in love with Michelle Williams- Fashion Icon.

Friday, May 21, 2010

man, I smell a lot of shit. (also, awesome day at work)

Literally.
Dealing with teens/young adults who need help toileting means me smelling a
LOT
of shit.
Which is totally okay. I mean, it certainly isn't preferable, but whatever.

Anyway.
That was just a thought this morning when one of my consumers took a big dump. Cute, I know.
But it's the job!

Speaking of my job, I was asked by the program director to accompany one of the consumers to her meeting. He said "with her doctors." I assumed, oh, four or so people, plus the director and the owner.
I was so wrong.

I arrived, was rushed to the upstairs of a downtown professionals building, and there were like, ten people. Waiting. They gave me a "visitor" badge, which went below my employee ID badge, and we were hurried into a small conference room with, I kid you not, about fifteen people who were, in way or another, this consumer's teachers, therapists, behaviorists, doctors, mother, my boss and so on. Then, on the television were a panel of doctors from San Francisco. Seriously. We were camming with all these influential doctors and discussing this consumer's behavior, personality, etc.
And I was there to play with her during this time (this consumer has Autism) and basically keep her distracted during this supposedly three hour meeting.
I got out a drawing pad and we drew to her heart's content, which was mostly outlining her hand, sometimes my own, and filling entire pages with color (shading an entire page). At one point, she stood up and walked to the door. Of course, everyone watches us, and I had been directed to take her out if she wanted to go, prior to the meeting beginning (I had about ten minutes of prep for this meeting). I followed her and said, "would you like to go on a walk?" She opened the door.
I walked out in front of her and put my hand back for her to hold, and she closed the door in my face.
This was funny, go ahead and giggle.
The entire panel of doctors, my boss and program director and I all laughed.

I went back in after a minute, sat down in a different place and eventually went back over to draw with her some more. After a while, she notices the ink all over my hands from drawing and holds my palm up in front of her face, licks her hand and does the motherly spit-wipe to clean me up. Yes, it was sort of yucky, but mostly it was adorable. She was looking after me. Or maybe just exercising her OCD.
Either way, hilarious.

Afterwards, a few of the doctors approached me.
"You were amazing!"

... Um... Huh?

"You were! She was so QUIET and focused with you! You were incredible!"

In the elevator, the program director and my boss told me I had done a perfect job, my boss gave me a high-five and they told me the consumer's mom seemed to like me. On the way back, the program director offered to buy me lunch and drive me home (I walk). I took him up on the offer and we got some bagels and coffee.
He told me impressing "big wigs" like those doctors was a big deal and impressive in itself.

And so


I FEEL FUCKING AWESOME!

Hello, weekend!
I'm so excited!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Hello Goodbye Hello Goodbye

WELL HELLO! And welcome to my new blog, Attraction and Subtraction.
Previously known as Found Fancy (FF), this is a blog full of personal details, decor tips/discussions, cooking, recipes, fashion, but most of all, inspiration.
I talk a lot about my relationships (romantic, personal, what have you), living situation (brand new two bedroom duplex with the love of my life, Daniel!) and work. Well, not so much that last one.
ANYWAY,
I had to move to a new domain because my other one, well... It had been compromised.
Read my back posts (I imported my old blog) and you will see what I'm talking about.

Well, enjoy! I hope you like the new title.

xx
Callan

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Privacy

I posted a Yelp review of a local salon.
The owner, who cuts my boyfriend's mother's hair, read it and talked to her about how I "only" gave him 4/5 stars (he charges a bit much).
So, now she knows I have a Yelp profile, and what was on my Yelp profile?
A link to this blog.

So, here's a warning:
K.K., if you're reading my blog, it's a bit of an invasion of privacy.
Sure, it's public domain, but it's something I do anonymously and a way for me to journal things. So, if you're reading this, you are reading my journal. You might not like what you read here.
I hope you will choose to respect my privacy.

I'm considering changing blog domains now.
Ugh. Uncomfortable.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Feel I'm Alive

Sometimes, the title of my blog posts are just whatever lyrics I hear when I enter the field.

Daniel and I have successfully lived in our new home for a whole week today! Happy one week anniversary, house! We love you so much. *BEAR HUG*

Our home is a small one. It has a general living area in which we can entertain, enjoy media and eat. Connected is a small, open kitchen with two squares of counter, one of which is taken by the dish drainer, and three cabinets. Yes, small kitchen hell, BUT I AM A GENIUS.
I trolled Craigslist and found a sweet little breakfast bar on wheels with two stools for $60. Seriously good deal considering the baker's racks I was checking out on Amazon were about $75+ and didn't come with extra seating. Bonus: the bar is exactly the height of our counters and matches the kitchen. Extra bonus: the stools are the perfect height to be used as two mini coffee tables! The bar caps off one counter while I have a wire rack blocking the oven on the opposite side. Our kitchen is slightly separate now, and our daybed-sofa is AMAZINGLY COMFORTABLE. For serial snugglers like me, there is no better solution. We have about... 15 pillows on it (I just counted), a big snuggly blue blanket and some pretty sheets for guests.

Tonight is what I'm hoping to be a little date night for me and Dan. I think I want to stay in and bake us up some yummy dinner and watch a movie. Maybe some homemade mac n cheese and a veggie tart? Yum.

Mini post because I am needing to get gussied up.
Pictures sometime soon!
<3

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

GOOD NEWS!

Daniel and I are getting that duplex! Two bedrooms and high ceilings! WOOO!!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Long Time, No Post!

this post has been removed because I can no longer trust the internet.

Monday, April 5, 2010

The Ex, Work and Coffee.

By "The Ex," I mean Daniel's. We call her "Clifford," as in, "The Big Red Dog." She's a redhead (I certainly don't hate on the gingerfolk- a lot of them are hot. She, however, is not), if you hadn't guessed.
She has been a little gnat in our lives this past week.
A few days ago, Dan's phone got an obscene voicemail around 11:30 from some guy saying he was fucking Clifford silly, coming on her face, etc.- LOTS of graphic detail. Gross. So, I googled the number.
It was from Clifford's work.

The next day, we went to said workplace and spoke with the manager about their phones were being used. The manager was very interested in the subject and now the owner of the store is involved. All I can say is: You reap what you sow. And she is reaping a big pile of manure.

Can't say I'm totally devastated by it.

Today, Clifford called Daniel, after telling him she had deleted his phone number, to tell him she was oh so sorry and would he pretty please drop the complaint against her and her coworkers? (Two other workers were involved in this phone call) Daniel was wavering and saying he really appreciated the apology but I was furious and told him to tell her she made her bed and she needed to lie in it. And so, he told her just that. He then told her to forget he ever existed, never contact him again, delete his number, forget him. She said okay.
Ten minutes later, he gets a text.
And another.
And another.
And, I'm not kidding, another.

He had told her at this point if she continued to bother him, he would file a harassment charge, but we both feel that it is unnecessary, so he is simply informing her workplace of her incessant phone calls and text messages.

if only you eating the bitch was a solution to the problem, Mr. Crocodile.


Later, he mentioned how his mother had talked to her, and does so often, knew Clifford was moving to SoCal and that she had called his mother to talk about what happened. This infuriated me. I already feel like his mother doesn't particularly like me, and now I find out she's chatting away with his ex? So uncomfortable. If my mother were talking to my ex like they were still pals, I would be furious, uncomfortable and irritated. I asked him why he wasn't upset by their continuing friendship and he said he was but couldn't do anything about it.
I asked him to talk to his mother about his feelings on the subject.

I realize I am very whiny, but the thing is- this is my blog. It's a journal where I can talk about my selfish feelings and irritations and not worry about them.

As for work: I LOVE IT! The staff is so kind and the kids are great. Granted, getting one of them out of bed was incredibly difficult, but eventually she got up (after bribing with chocolate). You wouldn't think of some of the incentives that these kids get, but hey, what works, works.
I'm exhausted from waking up at 5am, but I'm certainly not upset about it. I loved my work day and am honestly bummed to be home. And bummed that Dan is at work.

I drank about eight cups of coffee today.
So. Sleepy.
More tomorrow!

NaPoWriMo Day 5

I have to remind myself of peace.
To take things as they come,
To flow with the changing tides
And to live without control.

I never live in present time.
Constantly in a state of daydreaming
Thinking of what could be,
How I wish things were,
Who I wish I was,
But
In truth
I am happy.

I am happy with who I am, but I'm not perfect.
I love my life, but there are things I'd change if I could, but I can't.
I never take what I have for granted, but sometimes I forget to be thankful.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

To The Girl Who Used To Date My Boyfriend: NaPoWriMo Day 4

I apologize for how poorly put together this poem is... I'm angry at the moment, and after being upset about today's events, I'm just worn out.
More details on the subject later.


To the girl who used to date my boyfriend-

At age twenty one,
you should have grown
Out of this childish stage
Of selfish decisions and acting in rage
Against another human, improperly chosen
To deal with your arrogance, naivety and boredom.
If ever there was a waste of a phone call,
It would be the ones you made to him last Fall
Begging for help, love, rides and affection
When just the thought of your name would kill any man's erection.

You broke up eight months ago
and in that time you've shown
How little you can be trusted
And in turn you got yourself busted
For inappropriate calls from your work place,
Revenge that has blown up in your face.

I'm not surprised that a girl like you
Would stoop to what you're trying to do
But fortunately, my situation's intact
I have no reason to worry about that knife in my back
Because in the end, I won the man
Not to mention I wrote this bitch-ass slam.

Love Your Body: Anorexia, Bulimia and Women.


I've always thought anorexia and bulimia were such interesting diseases. Not in an "I WANT IT" sort of way, just curious. Human coping mechanisms and conditioning are so strange and always changing. Of course, every girl has her "fat days," days where, no matter what, she just feels lumpy, ugly, too much whatever. As Natalie Perkins of Definatalie says, "a case of the not-good-enoughs."

Why is it that, as women, we think the only path to beauty is through a size two? Or six? I mean, I'm a sixteen and I feel very comfortable most days. I'm also a vegetarian and I love yoga, bicycling, hiking and hoop-dancing. I want to learn to roller skate. My weight/size do not reflect my total lack of healthy habits so much as they reflect my body's natural shape and mass. Of course I could lose weight and be smaller if I truly wanted to, but as much as I hate the struggle of finding jeans at regular shops, I don't mind my size. I love that my hips are a woman's and not a young girl's. I love the round bits, my breasts, having a booty, my shape. The wiggly bits aren't as appealing, of course, but I love them too! In fact, I feed them every day ;)

PrettyThin is a website where girls can go (I imagine guys can too) for "Thinspiration." I'm sure, since we all know how to use the internet these days, that you know what thinspiration means. This is a community site, like Facebook or Myspace, where girls can share stories, tips, photos, etc., all about anorexia. Does anyone else find this alarming? I understand that everyone going through a disease needs a support system, but not in support of their disease!
The girl on the right of this photo is someone we might see in a fashion, home & garden or fitness magazine on stands today. The girl on the left is someone we immediately view as too thin, sickly, unhealthy, underweight, or whatever you want to call it. Now, understand I am not saying the girl on the right is unhealthy, I am simply saying: how long until the girl on the left is considered "normal?" If we are putting these ads anywhere, we are normalizing them and making them more and more common. Anorexia is a disease. Bulimia is a disease. It is not a way of life or living- it is a fast track to death.
I remember when I was sixteen or so and I was going to a dance club every weekend. I would get ready for a while, go downtown, hang out with friends, dance for hours then go home at 5am and crash- all without eating. Eating became less important and I suddenly noticed I had lost weight! Suddenly, I realized that the less I ate, the smaller I became, and that was intoxicating.
At first, I just skipped a meal a day, and loved that empty feeling in my stomach, but over a short period of time, I stopped eating except once a day, and I made sure it was in front of my mother so she knew I was eating, and at different times of day. I lost weight, of course. After a few weeks, I realized what I was doing. I was heading into a lifestyle I didn't want, and as low as my self esteem was at sixteen, I knew that being overweight was a better option than dying of starvation. I began eating again, normally, and have ever since.

Lastly, telling someone with anorexia that they need to "eat a cheeseburger" is very unproductive. Absolutely no one needs a cheeseburger. What we all need is more confidence, less stress on our weight and some healthy, delicious food to fill our bellies.

(That last line was a little pro-vegetarian, I'll admit, but seriously, hamburger is gross)

Saturday, April 3, 2010

STANZAS!

Friendship brought me close to a heart
Love lost invited me in,
Four hundred miles apart
And true love was to begin.

Though instinct told me to stay away
I lept toward the warmth of this,
Anxiety tried to lead me astray
But I was saved with just a kiss.

Now we look upon the year
Plans made and set in time,
I no longer have to fear
I have found what is mine.

Friday, April 2, 2010

More stream of consciousness than anything.

Inside the foresty of our blankets lives a love only you have ever known, though I've shared myself with others.
The love you see is fully me, not a representation of some fantasy that I expect you to carry,
Not a caricature of who I am,
No dancing smoke between my eyes and yours.
In you, I trust completely, and you receive me
Lovingly,
The way a hand might accept a yolk;
Carefully and gently but strong and sturdy.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Every day feels like a new line in my own personal almanac

Each breath, a burst of air to lift my balloon into the sky, for me to fly high above the world, this girl, above what's happening
and seeing what is to come,
What may be undone,
The edges of the sun.

NaPoWriMo


I will be participating in NATIONAL POETRY WRITING MONTH this year! Or at least, I'm going to TRY. The deal is: 30/30! Thirty poems, one each day for the month of April. Those are the only rules! Haikus, slam, prose, whatever! I recommend you try it out as well. Any writing exercises help you grow as a writer.
Check out the website here!

Longer post later. I need to get my poetry on.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Fancy Little Ring... NuvaRing, That Is.

This posting is about birth control and I will be talking about somewhat graphic material.



I have been on the NuvaRing for about five months now. As I began my adventure into this form of birth control, I decided to research it a bit. Of course, as a girl, I consulted my friends about their birth control options. (Much like the women in the NuvaRing ads do) My friend, Aimie, told me she LOVED it, that is was easy, she never had to worry about taking a pill, and you don't gain weight from starting it. Gotta admit, I like all those. No girl wants to gain weight while she's getting used to sleeping with someone! I'm comfortable with my body and size, but no, I don't want to put on ten pounds for any reason.
Next came watching the ads for the pros and cons- they always list the possible side effects, and of course, I wanted to see if there were any different from ol' faithful, THE PILL.
It seems, after my mini-investigation, that NR is basically birth control made easy. Once a month, non-latex ring (I'm allergic to latex) that delivers a "low dose of hormones." (though there has been some speculation on this, read more about the lawsuits and possibly deadly side effects that may be associated with NuvaRing)
As a woman, I worry about my reproductive organs and what I am doing to them by taking hormones. We all know that blood clots can happen. Stroke. Heart attack. Scary stuff. No one wants to take this stuff that could kill them, buuut... Who wants a baby when they aren't ready at all?
So I called up Planned Parenthood and made an appointment to get birth control. I asked the clinician if NR was safe- she said yes. What risks might be higher- she said no risks, but more likely I would experience an excess of vaginal fluid, that it was the most common side effect.
She was right.
Along with that, I have virtually no natural lubrication and for the first two weeks, sex was so painful I just couldn't do it. I googled this and found that many women can't have sex for a while/at all if they're on NR because of a thinning of mucous membranes and vaginal lining (though I don't know if that is a fact, it is what I have read. If you would like to know more, google probably has more answers for you).
It has, for the most part, eliminated my sex drive. I still have sex (CONSENSUALLY, mind you!!!) about 5-6 times per week, but it's not until a few minutes into it that I become aroused. This, of course, bothers me. Maybe this has something to do with no natural lubricant being present, or vice versa, and though I don't mind astroglide, I gotta say, sex is just better when you don't have to apply lube.
As far as my hormones go, PMS has been an interesting ride. I get extremely depressed, feel self-hatred (which I did NOT feel before), get excessively angry for next to no reason and feel a lot of pain (PMS, mind you, not period time). My period used to last for three days and now last 6-8, but is so light I don't need to use tampons, just panty liners. It still hurts just as much as before, only now, instead of two days of cramps, I have five.
When I called Planned Parenthood to ask about my extremely dramatic mood swings, they told me to take vitamin b12- I take a multivitamin every day, faithfully, which has 200% of my daily b12. Sigh.
I am waiting this birth control out for a while longer, because as much as it irritates my body, taking birth control pills makes me nauseous, every single day.

Maybe you have a different experience with the NuvaRing, but this is mine. I want women to be informed about what they are consuming.
Share your experiences here if you'd like; I'd love to hear about your variances.

Dancing.

I hoop dance. Well, sort of. I'd really like to hoop dance. Currently, I know how to turn in a circle, walk the hoop and I can ALMOST do a vertical lift. I would love to learn more, but classes are expensive and my hoop buddy goes back to Iowa this week. To live. Boo.
That brings me to another subject. Making friends in new places. Without a job or school, it is incredibly difficult to find people with similar interests. My only friend here, Shenae, works seven days a week and the only day I can hang with her is Monday, but soon she'll be taking a cake decorating class that I haven't the money for. Sigh.
But today!!! I have a job interview!! I have no idea what to wear, I'm terrified I'll fuck it up, and of course,I feel no one will ever hire me because of what that horrible corporation did to me about a year ago (fired me and lied about the reasoning, denying my unemployment and making me getting hired nearly impossible).
I miss working. I miss money. I want to get out of this horrible, tiny, loud house. I miss having my head together. I miss not crying every two days because I'm so stressed out.
I miss Portland so much. 
Here, there's the ocean and all this beautiful greenery, the fresh, salty air, but as soon as I step into my "home," I'm a big mess of stress and irritation. I just want to put duct tape over everyone's mouth and sip a cup of fucking coffee in silence. Seriously, if I go in the kitchen to sit at the table and read, Dan's grandmother will come in, and in her thick, old woman from New Hampshire accent and: ask me about: the cats, when Dan will be home from school or work, what time he works tonight (which she will ask him three times later today), what we're eating for lunch, did I make him breakfast, ask if I've gotten the mail, tell me her daughter is a horrible housekeeper, tell me the kitchen is disgusting, she will do some dishes, ask if there is "something good to eat," (meaning fried chicken, chocolate or something else full of fat) and eventually YELL, "OKAY, I'LL LEAVE YOU ALONE."
You may think I'm embellishing, but, no. Not even one little fiber. That is my day, only just two minutes of it. imagine about 16 hours of that. You'd want to duct tape her mouth, too.
I realize a lot of my blog is me complaining about this shitty house and how much I hate my life in its current state. Yeah. I do. I know. Sorry.
On the bright side, it is only a matter of time until I talk about our wonderful new home, our future wedding (I have a big ass file of pictures to share), kittens (OH, WE ARE GETTING KITTENS), and other fun things.
Also, I watched Dancing With The Stars for the first time with Dan's mom last night. Weird. I mean, it's interesting I suppose, but it's so... Odd. Pam Anderson was sort of sweet rather than her regular skankpop self, Jake from The Bachelor seems to be a total douche (but he did choose Vienna, so I should have known), and Buzz was ADORABLE. I was so mad that he got a 12/30. He was a good little old man dancer!
Well, now it's time to shower and prepare for this interview. Cross your fingers for me! I neeeed some money, dammit.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Good Almost Afternoon!

Dear Bloggers and Readers,

Today, I woke up to my boyfriend's incredibly annoying alarm clock (his phone, Batman theme ringtone. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Batman, but NOT at 9am) and then the kitty jumping in our bed and snuggling for roughly two minutes before zooming out. After about ten minutes or good morning snuggles, my phone rang and I answered in my "I've been up for hours!" voice. It was a place I had emailed last night about a job, requesting an interview! YAY!! (an Autism care center for children)
I am going crazy living here. Living with your significant other's (from now on, we're say S.O.) mother, your pseudo-mother-in-law, is an awful idea. Not only are MILs crazy with their empty nest syndrome, but they are passive aggressive as hell! And I do understand- as a generation raised by women who were raised by women, we try to raise our sons to be the best men in the world. The men we never had! So no matter how amazing a girl is (and I'm not all that amazing), she's never going to be good enough for one of the Saint Sons.
And, yes. Daniel is wonderful. I love every bit of him to pieces, but his mother... I like her. I do not love her. I do not feel she is 100% accepting of me. She also knows very little about me, and to be honest, I don't mind that. I used to be a very loud, outgoing person, but these days I'm a bit more reserved and introverted. I like having secrets. Like, I'm bisexual. I have dated women. His mother does not know that. My mother knows. My siblings know. Dan knows. Dan's mother does not.
Another thing she has no clue about: we are planning our marriage. The reason she doesn't know is- we live with her. Neither of us thinks it's a grand idea to tell her about it while living here. It would be too much and I know she would do that disbelief thing that mothers are so great at, where they dismiss everything because their own psychosis won't let them let reality sink in. I have a mother, I know how they work.

That subject is way too intense to stay on it much longer, so, new one: My hippie cake!
The cake I made the other day using that caramel sauce.. It turned out AMAZINGLY good, but not at all how I had planned. I didn't check to see if we had all the ingredients because we always do. Unfortunately, we didn't by the time I needed to add them. Sigh. So, I was adding the four eggs, but we only had three. To google: Egg substitutes in cakes. Google's answer? Applesauce or bananas. I used a ripe banana. Then, adding the three cups of flour, we only had one. After looking around for a while, I found a container of what LOOKED like whole grain flour, so  used that. It turned out to be whole grain pancake mix. I mix my cake and make it different colors in separate dishes- red, yellow, blue, green, orange and purple. Put it in the oven and while it's baking, I make the frosting. Two cups of powdered sugar, a stick of cubed butter, almond extract and almond butter and OH MY GOD- this is the best frosting ever. Seriously. Amazingly delicious. Wait for the cake to cool, frost, caramel on top and MMM. It's like squishy, sweet, creamy banana bread- tie dyed banana bread.
Sadly, no photos yet, but should I get some, I will add them.
I know, photos make a blog shine, but this is just a quick update before I go about my business of showering and getting ready to drop off resumes.
Cross your fingers for me! I really need a job so we can move out.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Caramel!

Caramelized onions are a wonder. They make grilled cheese sandwiches better, pot pies more tasty, and add a brilliant flavor to JUST ABOUT anything. Caramel is very much the same. It makes things sweeter while adding that wonderful taste, adds a nice gooey, smooth texture and provides a lovely color. Oh, caramel, in all your forms- I LOVE YOU.

I just tried my hand at making caramel for the first time. I was nervous, especially since the recipe warned to wear long sleeves, glasses and have a bucket of ice water ready for my scorched hands, as if it was inevitable that every cook trying to make caramel for the first time would definitely, absolutely, positively fuck it up.
GUESS WHAT, INTERNET? I didn't fuck it up. At all! *glee*

The recipe goes (this is a recipe for caramel syrup, and the only credit on the page is to "Peabody"):
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. water

Melt the sugar in a heavy skillet.
Umm... On what temperature? How long does it take? Well, I suppose I'll wing it.

Add boiling water to sugar once it is a deep golden color. (Stir in slowly, do not burn yourself.)
Thanks for believing in me, recipe.

That's it! So I followed the directions, and fifteen minutes later, VOILA! Caramel syrup.
I think the key to the right temp. is keeping the sugar HOT, HOT, HOT. And seriously, stir that shit contstantly! If you don't it can turn into a giant, massive ball of burnt sugar. Not the goal here.
When adding in the water, STIR!! Add very small amounts at a time or just pour really gently. It took about a minute or so to stir in the entire 1/2 cup of water. Take your time.

Well, I'm going to go back to making my cake now, but I was just so excited I had to come tell you guys about it. Once my cake is done, I'll try to get some photos so you can see it in all of its intended glory.
<3

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Pesto Tofu-Feta-Caramelized Onion-Pot Pie

Comfort food is my best friend. It is also the reason I have a size 16 ass and I'm okay with that. I love food, my body loves to be fed. Things work out, and I have some killer curves to show for it.
Along with mashed potatoes, chocolate, peanut butter and the like, I love good homestyle cooking. My dad's side of the family is from Alabama and my mother's from central Oregon (desert land - barbecues and stews!) so I grew up with a lot of yummy food. Being a vegetarian, I've adapted some of their dishes to suit me and I've made up some of my own, like this pot pie. I never had homemade pot pie growing up, and as an adult I've been terrified of making pies because of the dough. It just seems so fragile and special and easy to mess up, but, let me tell you a secret-
IT'S AS EASY AS PIE.
... Yeah, I really just made that joke. But it is truly so easy! No wonder that saying has been around so long! Now, I promise, no more horribly cheesy jokes. Probably.

To the hesitant meat-eaters: I know, it doesn't sound too appetizing, but trust me, it is amazingly yummy. My boyfriend even said it would have been ruined by the presence of meat, and he's the kind of guy who would add bacon to pretty much everything, including chocolate chip cookies. Yes, that has happened (and according to him, they were amazing). If you REALLY hate the idea of eating a savory pie with no meat, add in some marinated chicken, but I think you'll enjoy it without.

To start this pie, you'll first need to make a crust. I use this simple recipe and it works well every time.
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and diced into cubes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup ice water

Mix the salt and flour together in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter slowly (I usually do this by hand, adding a few cubes at a time) then let mix until it looks like large, coarse crumbles. Add the ice water a tablespoon or so at a time and mix until you have a large ball of dough. I use a Kitchenaid for this and it works wonderfully for this purpose.
Now, take out your dough, try not to handle it too much and wrap in plastic wrap. Put in the refrigerator for use later.

For the filling, you will need the following:
*feta cheese
*pesto marinated tofu OR your choice of savory faux meat (go for something Italian inspired)
1 carrot
1 parsnip
3 stalks celery
1 potato (I used yukon gold)
1/2 red onion
a handful of shelled peas
vegetable broth (make sure it says vegetarian if you're keeping this dish meat-free)
cumin (about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp)
rosemary (1/4 tsp)
fennel seeds (1/4 tsp)
freshly ground pepper (a whole hell of a lot)
corn starch

* I used a thin layer of each. Hard to say exact amounts, but use what you think will be good. You can do this, you gorgeous and brilliant cooking machine. FEEL the right amounts out. I believe in you.
Another side note: I live in Humboldt county where the pre-marinated tofu is aplenty. I bought mine at the store. If you want a yummy faux meat suggestion, I LOVE Morning Star Italian Sausage. Just brown in a pan and crumble into the pie. It would be very yummy in this recipe.

Slice the onion into small strips and add to a small saucepan with a a bit of olive oil to caramelize. Put the heat on LOW (on our stove, I used heat level 3 out of 8) This takes pretty much as long as the rest of the filing takes to cook, just make sure you stir the onions often to keep them from burning. You want to go for a dark caramel color. The picture included is not mine, but a great example of what I'm talking about. Here's an article on how to caramelize if you're nervous.
Chop the vegetables (sans peas, obviously) into chunks. Once all are chopped, put in a large pot.
Pour in 2 cups water (this cuts down on salt from the broth). Use vegetable broth to just cover the vegetables.
Add seasonings. Bring to a boil. Wait for vegetables to be tender (use a fork to poke the potatoes. Once they're done, everything else is, too) and then start adding cornstarch*, just a little at a time until you get a thick mixture, with the broth resembling gravy. Stir constantly while adding cornstarch. Remove from heat when you get the right consistency.

* To ensure your cornstarch doesn't show up as flakes in the broth, as it will if you add it straight to boiling water, mix it in a bowl with cold water before adding.

Now, time to roll out your dough! Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove from refrigerator and break the dough ball into two halves.
Roll each one out until it looks big enough for your pie pan (I recommend a 9.5" pie pan, but use what you've got). Fill in, add the top pie crust, poke holes to vent heat and pop in the oven for exactly 30 minutes!

I know, phone pictures are horrid, but they are what I have to work with now. You can't see the amazing color (much more brown) or yummy filling- but this pie is delicious.
I served mine with a side of mashed sweet potatoes/cauliflower (tons of butter and sea salt, MMM). Goes well with blackberry wine. Also, feel free to change the cheese and type of tofu I used. I think this turned out amazingly, but you might not like feta or tofu, or parsnips for that matter! I added in the parsnip because I never eat them and I am trying to branch out. Why not eat more veggies? I am a vegetarian, after all! I also added the side dish of sweet potatoes and cauliflower because I've never made them and I'm a picky eater that tends to turn up her nose at new things. Surprisingly, they were delicious! The sweet and savory taste of the potatoes was amazing and complimented the caramelized onions so well. Try new things, branch out, find new things to love and eat in comfort. The worst that can happen is that you don't like something and you don't make it again.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, whether you use it as a guideline for your own pot pie creation or you follow it exactly. Trying new things is good for us, it teaches us about ourselves, surprises us and when you're cooking, makes you feel so accomplished!
Until next time, happy cooking!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

More AMIGURUMI!

Dear Reader(s),

Yesterday I sat back down to the crochet needle and decided to freestyle an amigurumi. I wanted to make a sugar-skull-type doll. I started making a flower (I have never made one before) and that turned into my doll's hat. She is a little skeleton with lipstick, eyelashes (stitched, that is), teeth and a ribcage, a rose collar and skirt. Along with her hat. She is rather adorable, though just slightly on the lumpy side. But who am I to judge?

Today, I started again, this time making a sort of acorn-shaped body for.. I wasn't sure when I began. In white sugar & cream yarn, I made a small body and then decided to make a purple version of the shape, just smaller. I decided, after finishing these shapes, that they were to be owls.  Adorable little white and purple owls. I used the button eyes that you sew on after closing the doll, rather than the eyes that you poke through with an anchor (which I used on my sugar doll). The photo included is a mobile upload that I took after finishing my owls. I hope you enjoy it.

Right now, I am sitting on a sofa covered in amigurumi books, though I didn't use any for my recent dolls. I like to look at them for ideas, and yes, I will use the patterns at some point, but right now I'm learning how to do the basics of doll making and I really like the ability to deviate from my original plan. Yes, I have a problem with commitment. At least when it comes to projects.

Speaking of commitment, Dan and I are doing so well. He is a total sweetheart. We spend a lot of time together and, surprisingly, don't get sick of one another. Granted, yesterday, in a fit of PMS and his post-work exhaustion, we had what my mother may call a "tiff," (by the way, auto-correct didn't highlight "tiff") and were irritated for a few minutes, but those things are always resolved quickly.

That's it for fancy things. This blog post has been written over two days of ignoring my duties of writing.... But it's time for lunch.
Talk to you soon.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Fanciful Followers

I just visited my blogspot for the first time over a month, and I have followers! (Imagine a shocked and excited face, please.)



So, I'd like to thank you for adding me to your blog list... It means a lot. It means that the things I have to say are important to someone, if only for one minute, and that's nice. Thank you.
Since you were nice enough to subscribe to my blogging, I thought I'd share something new with you: my creative writing short story work as of late.
I write short stories for fun, and right now, I am working on dialogue. To do so, I had to set up a scene in order to have a conversation that a normal person may have, and I wanted to explore the feelings and meaning behind the conversation itself, because really, when do words just mean the definition that they hold? Words are complex creatures. Words are like wine- they may be just one flavor, but within that flavor are many subtleties that aren't apparent at first.
Long story short (ha, get it? It's a short story. Oh, the irony...) here is my newest short (ULTRA short) story, The Beginning.
I hope you like it.

He dialed her phone number carefully, like each number was a syllable in expressing his affection.
The way her phone rang in time with the beating of his heart, he felt that there was no way she wasn't his soulmate. What is a soulmate, anyway? Someone who we are matched to perfectly, soulfully, just... Fully. But a soul, so difficult to define, much like the people who possess them, is it just a fleeting thing, or does it continue after we expire? Does love continue after it expires?
"Hello?"
"Shannon! Hi!" Could she hear the way his voice rippled through her name?
"Hey, Lance. What's going on?"
"I was just, here, thinking about you- or, that thing you wanted to go to this weekend. The art... Thing, downtown?"
"Oh, Arts Alive! Yeah, what about it?"
He drew his breath fast so he could just get the words out of his mouth,
"Did you want to go? Um, with me?"
"Sure! It's at six. Meet me at the gazebo?"
"Sounds good. Oh, hey! Maybe, if you want, we can go to dinner first. At like, four thirty? I don't have any classes that day, so, I'm free, I don't know what your schedule is like though, so..."

"Dinner..." He listened to her voice for hesitation, but it only sounded like thought, "I think I'm free. Let's plan on it, but I'll let you know for sure by Friday. I'll talk to you later though. Gotta go to work."
"Talk to you later."
As he lowered the phone from his ear, he watched the screen change from a clock moving forward to a stopped one, blinking, and her name fade from black to red and then disappear. The waiting, the conversation, the inevitable end and then her absence felt like a relationship that had run its course. And in that there was beauty.
The beautiful potential of a beginning.



Now, for some FANCY!

Lately, I've been going stir crazy, and so I like to daydream about mine and Dan's future home together. I want one gorgeous, wooden edged sofa with some sort of lovely upholstery that contrasts our robin's egg/espresso scheme. A mustard or something. I want mirrored end tables (but you know that!) and a big, beautiful clock. Or maybe this one.

Good golly, this is a pretty living space.

We recently bought a bookshelf, and it has made a huge difference in my ten-by-thirteen foot world. (Our room is tiny) Dan was not aware, however, that bookshelves are not places to dump literature. No, no. They are places to carefully place beautiful things and books and clean regularly. Not that I clean regularly. Our floor is currently where my half of the closet is residing. What? It's not easy to pick the right sweater sometimes, and I was rushed! There was a birthday party to be had! Speaking of birthdays, let's talk about cakes. The cake I made last night (I worked on it from 11:30pm-2am).
A boxed mix and a can of frosting, simple ingredients and a preheated oven began my adventure into the land of baked goods last night, and I had every intention of making a simple, boxed cake. I'm never proud of making boxed mixes, I feel like I'm cheating and besides, homemade is better. We all know that. Unfortunately, I was feeling lazy but wanting some chocolate, so I grabbed the Betty Crocker box and added some egg, oil and water and BAM (and extra cocoa, chopped maraschino cherries and some juice from those), there was a cake. Then I decided I wanted to make it pretty. So, as the cake cooled (a bundt cake, might I add), I looked up how to drizzle chocolate. This involved tempering and adding of shortening, but I didn't have any way to measure ounces, so I used my womanly intuition and judged with my eyes as I used a casserole dish to "double boil" (with hot tap water) the baking chocolate and shortening. It turned out perfect! After that, I poured some leftover whipping cream and some vanilla into our whipped cream charger and put that in the fridge. Amazingly enough, I didn't even have to double layer the frosting (for the crumb layer)- the cake didn't crumble at ALL! After frosting it all over, I made it look uniform and grabbed the melted chocolate. With a whisk, I drizzled it like crazy (this did get chocolate on EVERYTHING, including Dan's bunny slippers that he put on my feet earlier) and it turned out very well. Then, eight whipped cream peaks and chocolate dipped strawberry slices and VOILA. I made a gorgeous cake. This never happens to me. I make yummy cakes, never pretty ones.
And lemme tell you, this was yummy.

Anyway, I'm sorry I don't have photos of this delicious cake (which I named The Bleeding Heart, since the strawberries look like, you know, bleeding hearts...). I have misplaced my digital camera. Maybe somewhere in my carefully planned chaos.

Thank you for reading my stupid musings, and thank you for subscribing. It really does make me feel special and warm and fuzzy. <3

Until next time.
get a free hit counter
Provided by website-hit-counters.com .