Time could no longer wait another moment

Out 'n about...

2011-11-25T20:47:00.001-05:00

Oh good god, I do not like Black Friday. I find it to be the antithesis of thanksgiving and the main reason the rest of the world thinks Americans are materialistic bastards. I sit in silent protest of black Friday by sitting home most of the day. That, and not doing any Christmas shopping until the week before Christmas.

Today was an unusually nice day -sunny and mild - so I felt like I needed to enjoy it. Seemed like a nice day to walk around the city. Hit up Arsenal Cider House for some cinnamon cider. Then Jean Marc French bakery for macarons, my newest obsession. Stopped in a new shop in Lawrenceville, then met some friends for a drink at the Cantina.

Now it's home for the Pens game and some leftovers and then back out. A good Black Friday in my book.

My Theme Song

2010-08-05T08:28:00.002-04:00

Everyone has a theme song. This is mine...in every way.

Always Go With Your Gut

2010-08-02T14:27:00.001-04:00

About three years ago – around July 2007 – I woke up in the middle of the night with my heart racing. I felt flushed and out of breath. I passed it off as having a bad dream and eventually went back to sleep. I didn’t notice it happening again until we moved back to Brownsville in September 2007.

That time was pretty stressful for me. We were trying to sell our house in Clifton Heights; we were traveling over 120 miles a day for work, living in my grandmother’s basement….the list goes on. One night I woke up with my heart racing and it wouldn’t stop. I went out onto the couch to wait it out and ended up waiting a few hours. It started happening enough to where I finally made an appointment with my dad’s doctor, a cardiologist. He put me on a halter monitor for 24 hours and also gave me an EKG. The tests didn’t show anything and so he diagnosed me with panic disorder, gave me a prescription for beta blockers and xanax, and sent me on my way. I was really hesitant to take beta blockers. I don’t have high blood pressure and they just seemed like overkill. I went back to him a couple more times, once for migraines, and he prescribed some nasal spray which didn’t work.

Occasionally I’d wake up with my heart racing so I eventually started taking the xanax each night before bed. It worked for a while. Then one night in November 2009 it was really bad. I felt like my heart would explode. I felt light-headed and nauseous. I got up and took a half of one of the beta blockers. It helped a little and I was able to fall asleep around 4am. I was back up at 6am and it was even worse. I could barely function. I forced myself to get dressed and ready for work because I had to be at a convention and man our company booth. I took the other half of the beta blocker and another dose of xanax and left the house. Eventually, I did feel better, but it really scared me.

About this time I also started self-medicating with kalonapin. It was the only way I could sleep through the night. That along with the beta blockers.

Our company Christmas party was the first weekend in December. I, along with 2 of my coworkers, made the trip to Philadelphia. Again, I was woken up in the middle of the night with my heart racing….just as bad as it was in November. I had nowhere to go since we were all sharing a room, so I locked myself in the bathroom. My eyes were bloodshot – bad! I was frantically searching the internet on my iPhone to see what could be causing this. I came up empty. This time I took a whole beta blocker and waited for it to kick in. In the meantime, I was watching clips of The Office on YouTube to try and settle my mind. About 5am, I fell asleep. I felt better the next morning, but was terrified to sleep the rest of the weekend because I was afraid it would happen again.

Everyone kept telling me I needed to relax. That anxiety is in the mind. I had even tried going to a therapist to see if there was anything I was missing. I stopped drinking alcohol and caffeine thinking maybe that was the problem. It helped a little bit, but not enough for either of those things to be affecting me. The therapist prescribed Zoloft. I didn’t understand why I was getting an anti-depressant for anxiety and against my better judgment, took a dose. After 2 hours of taking one measly Zoloft, I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. I couldn’t sit still. I was pacing around the house frantically; my fingers were even moving furiously. I was light-headed and out of breath. Nothing could calm me down. I ended up making Josh take me to the ER. They weren’t able to do anything but monitor me until it was out of my system. I lay in that ER room alone for 3 hours. It felt like an eternity. I knew, deep down, that it wasn’t in my mind. There was something physically wrong. No one would believe me.

In mid-December, I noticed that my right eye was consistently bloodshot. Thinking I had pink eye, I went to the ophthalmologist. He gave me some eye drops and sent me on my way. I used the entire bottle and my eye didn’t improve.

On December 24, Christmas Eve, we were on our way to Brownsville for the Christmas Eve festivities. I felt a tightness in my chest and upper back. It was pretty uncomfortable and I thought anxiety attack. So when I got to my grandmother’s house, I had my mom give me a xanax. It calmed me down but did nothing for the tightness. A couple of days passed and I felt no better. I was at work and started to feel light-headed and nauseous. My heart wasn’t racing, but I felt awful. I called the doctor and immediately went in. He listened to my chest and blurted out that I had pleurisy. Hmm…ok. He prescribed me cipro for the ‘infection’ and ibuprofen for the pain. After about 3 doses of the cipro, my joints started to hurt. Then they started to ache. I couldn’t sit without my legs aching. It was awful. My ears were ringing – much louder than usual. I found out these were some of the symptoms of cipro so I immediately stopped taking it.

I felt awful. New Year’s Eve was coming up and I barely had the strength to get out of bed. I felt like I was never going to get better. My mind was a mess. Every little pain, every little twinge, I freaked out. I barely slept for weeks. I spent my nights on the couch with the TV on all night. I was truly afraid to sleep. When I did sleep, I had nightmares. My body would feel like it was convulsing and I would wake up and it’d be over. My shoulders would be up near my ears and the muscles in my upper back were so tight and sore that I could barely move. On a few occasions, I tried to sleep sitting up because of the pain. My hands and feet would sweat so much that when I wore slippers, my feet would soak them. I would be sitting at my desk and my underarms would sweat through my shirts. Even at this point, no one believed that I had anything else wrong other than anxiety. I knew better.

In early January 2010, I decided to go to a new doctor. I told her about the joint and muscle pains that I believed were caused by the cipro. I told her about how awful I was feeling. I told her about all the meds I was taking. She ordered a full blood screen and a chest x-ray to see if I really did have pleurisy or something else going on. The x-ray came back clean and all of the blood tests came back normal with the exception of one - B-12. She said that the normal range was between 200 – 1100 and mine was 216. I didn’t know what to think. Could that really be the only thing wrong? If it is, why is it so low? If it is, then fantastic! I also told her about my chest and back tightness and she thought it could be something with my stomach. She wanted to get the b-12 issue in check before examining anything else. I started with weekly injections in mid-January.

It took several weeks for me to feel the effects of the b-12. Even in late January when I had to go to Oklahoma for work I was still having issues. I was in the car with 2 coworkers on the way to the Dallas airport and at one point felt like my throat was closing up and I was having a difficult time breathing. I felt claustrophobic in the car and I was stuck in there for 3 hours. After a few weeks of the injections, I noticed that I was no longer hearing my heard throbbing in my ears. It was beating “quieter” and not as hard. Then I noticed that I wasn’t waking up in the middle of the night with my heart racing. The nightmares stopped. Eventually, my “stomach issues” were gone. I was feeling normal again. Even better than normal – I had energy like I never had before…energy and stamina! I could go to yoga and sweat my butt off and not miss a beat….not lose my balance. I wasn’t nearly as clumsy anymore. My moods improved as well. I started to feel happier and more positive. Granted, it was about 2 months of injections to get to this point, but I couldn’t believe it!

I don’t remember when I have felt this good. I felt like I was near death in January…and maybe I was. Doctors don’t know everything – even if they think they do. You are your own best judge of how you feel and don’t let anyone tell you different! Get as many opinions from doctors as you feel necessary. There is a cause for every effect so don’t stop until you figure it out!

Keep the Change

2009-12-16T15:56:00.002-05:00

I got an email today from a friend that included a few pictures. The pictures were of her husband's grave - a US Veteran and photos of the "Wreaths Across America" ceremony dedicated to the US Veterans around the Country.

One of the shots showed an overall glimpse of the entire cemetery - with the small, white headstones adorned with wreaths as far as the eye could see.

The photos are sobering, to say the least. It made me think of all of those who died for what we have. How we are so unappreciative of it. How we don't realize how lucky we are. How we don't appreciate those we have.

It also made me angry. Angry that "the president" apologizes for our arrogance and strength. If anyone should be proud of our Country and what we've accomplished, it should be the president. Don't you think?

Tacoma

2009-11-08T10:44:00.001-05:00

If your life’s about collecting other people’s faults
Well, then I’ve fucked up before, got back up and walked it off
In a house of crumbling brick and plaster walls
Feeling my way through the dark and you saw it all
Hey, now don’t take this one as a simple joke
But it’s easy to read a book by a child who pretends to be adult
Who’s always running at the mouth about each one as they walk out
But what you don’t hear is them talk about you

So watch the clouds roll in
Watch the clouds roll in
Don’t give me that shit about friends
I’ve been there for you all along
Lord, I’ll never be there for you again

Is it wrong of me to complete this disconnect
Or is it strong of me to stumble and admit I’ve missed some steps
My conscience has grown quiet and my burdens have grown less
In silence I feel most content

But I’d take you on, yeah, I’d take you any day
But to conflict with you now would waste time and energy
See I’m done with certain feelings and substance lacking fakes
I guess life’s just easier that way

So watch the clouds roll in
Watch the clouds roll in
Don’t give me that shit about friends
I’ve been there for you all along
Lord, I’ll never be there for you again

Watch the clouds roll in
Watch the clouds roll in
Don’t give me that shit about friends
I’ve been there for you all along
Lord, I’ll never be there for you again

Tim Barry

Some great lyrics....that remind me of certain people

2009-08-16T12:14:00.001-04:00

...The half-truth trails and holy lies
Of an empty heart and overflowing mouth
A plastic smile and a coward’s frown...

...Open your eyes; you are standing empty and cold.
Open your mouth if your voice can never be sold...

...I only know hearts made of stone rarely sail far
And may never reach home
And so is the cost to live dead and lost
Searching the stars to find which is ours...

- Chuck Ragan

The weather's just right for an impeachment!

2009-07-29T10:46:00.002-04:00

Please - go and sign the petition to impeach Governor Rendell. His most recent antics of holding State employee's pay hostage, getting away with indentured servitude, and using State employees as pawns has shown us all that he is not fit to be our Governor. Get him out of office NOW!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/364/petition-to-impeach-governor-ed-rendell-of-the-commonwealth-of-pennsylvania

Now...if you have a link to petition to impeach Obama...I'd love to see it.

PA State Employees

2009-07-10T15:53:00.002-04:00

So this is what we're reduced to? Wow. It makes me want to vomit....all over Ed Rendell and Dwight Evans.

I think they deserve to be paid...don't you?

2009-06-30T13:44:00.002-04:00

http://www.pscoa.org/pdf/PSCOA_Press_Release_6-25-09.pdf

http://www.pscoa.org/doc_overtime.cfm

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2009/05/state_workers_warned_budget_im.html

This makes me so angry. So angry I can't see straight. So angry that my anxiety is through the roof. So angry that the knot in my stomach will probably turn into a great, big, fat ulcer.
Grrrrrrr.

Austin Lucas - Life I've Got

2009-06-15T07:20:00.003-04:00

Well I couldn't fall asleep again, my breath was ash and sour with the echos of my rising voice that split the ears of a former lover. I'm sorry if I brought you down to the place where I've been dwelling. But I haven't learned to live without your spark. And I got to somehow live this life I've got.

And so you spit me out in a decaying world but with the faintest light to guide me. Had to walk that path I know that'll be reserved for the slowly dying. 'Cause I know how to paint the town and carry on with women. But if you think that's what I want, well girl, you're wrong...but I guess that's how I'm living now that you're gone.

SO when I call you up you cry again and with each sob, I grew bitter. Long to hear your sweetest voice that so shakes me I might shatter. Are you trying to bring me down when I was feeling so much better? Well I'll be looking for your love where it is not.

I guess I'm finally learning now. I guess I'm finally learning how. I guess I've learned how to live with the life I've got.

Back to Philly

2009-05-29T20:21:00.001-04:00

I'll be in Philly for a week starting Sunday. That means dinner at the Clam Tavern, Vietnam restaurant, claudios, the Italian market....

Then and Now

2009-05-22T10:31:00.003-04:00

Then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKs-bTL-pRg

Now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7qkEholuT8

Seriously. Do people not get how dangerous Obama is for this country??

14 trillion in debt in 100 days. Release of Gitmo prisoners into the US. What next???

Why this geologist doesn't believe in global warming

2009-05-18T08:31:00.002-04:00

Most of the current research is based on meteorological models that are inaccurate and have no real data to base the modeling upon. We have the entire geologic record for evidence of ice ages and how they relate to short 'warming' trends.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/the_coming_ice_age.html

Those who ignore the geologic perspective do so at great risk. In fall of 1985, geologists warned that a Columbian volcano, Nevado del Ruiz, was getting ready to erupt. But the volcano had been dormant for 150 years. So government officials and inhabitants of nearby towns did not take the warnings seriously. On the evening of November 13, Nevado del Ruiz erupted, triggering catastrophic mudslides. In the town of Armero, 23,000 people were buried alive in a matter of seconds.

For ninety percent of the last million years, the normal state of the Earth's climate has been an ice age. Ice ages last about 100,000 years, and are punctuated by short periods of warm climate, or interglacials. The last ice age started about 114,000 years ago. It began instantaneously. For a hundred-thousand years, temperatures fell and sheets of ice a mile thick grew to envelop much of North America, Europe and Asia. The ice age ended nearly as abruptly as it began. Between about 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, the temperature in Greenland rose more than 50 °F.

We don't know what causes ice ages to begin or end. In 1875, a janitor turned geologist, James Croll, proposed that small variations in Earth's orbit around the Sun were responsible for climate change. This idea enjoyed its greatest heyday during the 1970s, when ocean sediment cores appeared to confirm the theory. But in 1992, Ike Winograd and his colleagues at the US Geological Survey falsified the theory by demonstrating that its predictions were inconsistent with new, high-quality data.

The climate of the ice ages is documented in the ice layers of Greenland and Antarctica. We have cored these layers, extracted them, and studied them in the laboratory. Not only were ice ages colder than today, but the climates were considerably more variable. Compared to the norm of the last million years, our climate is remarkably warm, stable and benign. During the last ice age in Greenland abrupt climatic swings of 30 °F were common. Since the ice age ended, variations of 3 °F are uncommon.

For thousands of years, people have learned from experience that cold temperatures are detrimental for human welfare and warm temperatures are beneficial. From about 1300 to 1800 AD, the climate cooled slightly during a period known as the Little Ice Age. In Greenland, the temperature fell by about 4 °F. Although trivial, compared to an ice age cooling of 50 °F, this was nevertheless sufficient to wipe out the Viking colony there.
In northern Europe, the Little Ice Age kicked off with the Great Famine of 1315. Crops failed due to cold temperatures and incessant rain. Desperate and starving, parents ate their children, and people dug up corpses from graves for food. In jails, inmates instantly set upon new prisoners and ate them alive.

The Great Famine was followed by the Black Death, the greatest disaster ever to hit the human race. One-third of the human race died; terror and anarchy prevailed. Human civilization as we know it is only possible in a warm interglacial climate. Short of a catastrophic asteroid impact, the greatest threat to the human race is the onset of another ice age.
The oscillation between ice ages and interglacial periods is the dominant feature of Earth's climate for the last million years. But the computer models that predict significant global warming from carbon dioxide cannot reproduce these temperature changes. This failure to reproduce the most significant aspect of terrestrial climate reveals an incomplete understanding of the climate system, if not a nearly complete ignorance.

Global warming predictions by meteorologists are based on speculative, untested, and poorly constrained computer models. But our knowledge of ice ages is based on a wide variety of reliable data, including cores from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. In this case, it would be perspicacious to listen to the geologists, not the meteorologists. By reducing our production of carbon dioxide, we risk hastening the advent of the next ice age. Even more foolhardy and dangerous is the Obama administration's announcement that they may try to cool the planet through geoengineering. Such a move in the middle of a cooling trend could provoke the irreversible onset of an ice age. It is not hyperbole to state that such a climatic change would mean the end of human civilization as we know it.

Earth's climate is controlled by the Sun. In comparison, every other factor is trivial. The coldest part of the Little Ice Age during the latter half of the seventeenth century was marked by the nearly complete absence of sunspots. And the Sun now appears to be entering a new period of quiescence. August of 2008 was the first month since the year 1913 that no sunspots were observed. As I write, the sun remains quiet. We are in a cooling trend. The areal extent of global sea ice is above the twenty-year mean.

We have heard much of the dangers of global warming due to carbon dioxide. But the potential danger of any potential anthropogenic warming is trivial compared to the risk of entering a new ice age. Public policy decisions should be based on a realistic appraisal that takes both climate scenarios into consideration.

David Deming is a geophysicist and associate professor of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma.

A Week in Hawaii

2009-04-29T14:51:00.000-04:00

This is going to be long. So grab a mai tai, sit down, and relax. You can follow our story photographically by checking out my pictures on flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gneiss_girl/sets/72157617316161232/

We left Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning and landed in Kona, Hawaii around 4:30 that evening. Kona’s airport is like none I’ve ever seen. It’s all open – as in there are no walls, just a collection of small hut-like structures. It’s pretty cool – and very easy to navigate. We headed over to the rental car area and were pleasantly surprised that we were given a Jeep. The rental car was free with our hotel package and we weren’t sure what we’d end up with. A Jeep would give us full access to just about anywhere on the island!

The drive to our hotel was about 30 minutes. There isn’t much between the airport and Waikoloa Village – just a lot of basalt.

We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. It’s 62 acres of paradise with beautiful landscaping, exotic birds, museum-quality art – which is Thai, Japanese, and Chinese influenced. The place seems like it goes on forever with winding rivers for the mahogany boats and the twisting lazy river pool. There is also a bay which comes into the property and wraps its way around into a small cove where you can go snorkeling, kayaking, etc. I guess if you’re the resort type, you wouldn’t have to leave this area. There are tons of restaurants and shops and great beaches. But of course, we’re the more adventurous type. We come back from our vacations needing another week of just laying on the couch.

After we checked in and dropped our things at our room, we got back in the Jeep and headed down to Kailua-Kona for dinner. Our first stop was Kona Brewing Company. One thing we like to do is find local breweries and sample their wares. It’s nice when they serve food as well! I was wanting more of an authentic Hawaiian dinner. Honestly, I have no idea what that is, but in my mind’s eye; it was fresh fish and exotic fruits. KBC’s menu was pretty typical for bar food, although, I had their equivalent to a po’boy sandwich and the Longboard Lager. The sandwich was pretty good, but I’m not really a “sandwich for dinner” type person. I can’t seem to remember what Josh had – and this was before I started writing things down on my iPhone to remember. I do know that he had the Porter. Neither one of us was crazy about the beer and hoped this wasn’t the start of a week long of mediocre meals.

Believe it or not, there is a Wal-Mart on Hawaii. Even more insane is that we stopped there before heading back to the hotel for the night. We picked up some sundries and some beer. How nice that you can get it anywhere down there, but I digress.

We crashed pretty hard when we got to the room. It was about 4am Pittsburgh time and the jet-lag was kicking in.

Wednesday morning we got up and saw there was a voicemail on our hotel phone. It was the concierge. She said to meet with her before 2pm and she’d give us a gift and some information about the island. She recommended a couple of restaurants, Huli Sue’s in Waimea and Café Pesto in Hilo. Our plans that day were to head over to Volcanoes National Park and those restaurants would be on the way there. So after our little meeting, we headed north on Route 19 and made our way to Waimea. We got there around 11 and Huli Sue’s didn’t open until 11:30. We poked our heads in a few stores and grabbed a coffee, then went to lunch at Huli Sue’s. Huli means BBQ in Hawaiian and they had quite a selection of BBQ pork, ribs, chicken, and beef brisket. I ordered the brisket and it came with hand-cut fries, and homemade cole slaw. The slaw was really good and had a nice creamy dill dressing. The brisket was tender and their BBQ sauce was really good. They also had a sauce called “Chili Water” which consisted of vinegar, red chilies, and pineapple. Yummy! I had a pineapple-mint iced tea to drink. I need to figure out how they made that! Josh had the sampler plate and the chicken and pork were very good. I stopped in a small store next door to pick up some coffee that a co-worker had requested and we were on our way.

We left Waimea and got back on the road towards Hilo. We stopped at Akaka Falls National Park, which is just north of Hilo. I pulled this from Wikipedia – because you should learn something too!

Akaka Falls State Park is a state park in Hawaii, located 11 miles north from Hilo(at the end of Highway 220) on the Island of Hawaii. It includes ‘Akaka Falls, a 442 ft. tall waterfall. ‘Akaka is the Hawaiian name for this feature. “‘Akaka” means "A rent, split, chink, separation; to crack, split, scale". The accessible portion of the park lies high on the right shoulder of the deep gorge into which the waterfall plunges, and the falls can be viewed from several points along a loop trail through the park. Also visible from this trail is Kahūnā Falls.
Local folklore describes a stone located here called Pōhaku a Pele that, when struck by a branch of lehua ‘āpane, will call the sky to darken and rain to fall (Pukui, Elbert, & Mookini, 1974). Lehua ‘āpane or ‘ōhi‘a ‘āpane is an ‘ōhi‘a tree (Metrosideros polymorpha) with dark red blossoms. ‘Akaka Falls is located on Kolekole Stream. A large stone in the stream about 70 ft upstream of the falls is called Pōhaku o Kāloa (Pukui, Elbert, & Mookini, 1974).

Once we got into Hilo, we made a few stops – Hilo Hattie’s (a suvenier store), the mall, Jamba Juice, and Wal-Mart. Josh was looking for a long-sleeved t-shirt or hoodie and can you believe, he couldn’t find one! We also stopped at Hilo Harley Davidson to pick up some t-shirts for my parents and then drove over to Volcanoes National Park. We stopped in the visitor’s center and I found a park ranger to ask what we needed to see. She circled a few places on the map, but since it was nearly 5:00 and raining, we realized we weren’t going to get to do all of those things today. The sun sets at 6:30 and we had no rain gear. The ranger suggested driving back up towards Hilo and getting on Route 130 South. The road ends where a recent lava flow covered the road. From there, you can hike to the coast and view the current eruption. You can get as close as a mile away and all you can see is steam. The lava is flowing through an underground lava tube into the ocean, creating huge clouds of steam. When the sun sets, you can see the bright orange glow of the lava reflecting off of the steam clouds. The basalt is rugged and you need a flashlight to get out of there at night. Once we got to the parking area, several vendors were set up selling t-shirts, posters, photographs, stickers, and other volcano suveniers. I’m still bummed that I didn’t pick up one of the “Go With The Flow” shirts. The hot dog/taco stand that we saw on the way in had already closed, so we drove back to Hilo to find dinner. After several thwarted attmepts to find dinner, we ended up at Café Pesto. It was recommended by the concierge, but I wasn’t in the mood for Italian. Josh wasn’t feeling well, so he wanted something basic and that worked. I had wild mushroom and artichoke pizza and took home a slice of coconut tart. We made the long drive back to the hotel – nearly falling asleep at the wheel.

Thursday morning, we had our timeshare meeting at 8am. We were tempted with the idea of being able to travel anywhere in the world with our home base in Hawaii for just a couple hundred dollars a month. The timeshare unit in Waikaloa was nicer than our house. Like I said, it was very tempting. All in all, it’s just not right for us right now. Maybe some day, though. After our meeting, we decided to make the trip to the green sand beach. From what we were told, it’s down near South Point and about 5 miles to the east. Hmmm…ok. The green sand beach is actually called Papakolea Beach. The only other green sand beach in the world is in Guam. *Nerd Alert* The sand is green because it is rich in olivine, which is an abundant silicate mineral in volcanic rock (basalt). Since olivine is very resistant, all of the other minerals have been washed away, leaving mostly olivine. This beach is the result of the erosion of a cinder cone, not a typical lava flow.

Before we headed out, we stopped for lunch in the Kings’ Shops near our hotel. We went to Merriman’s Café which had received tons of great reviews and has won many awards for best restaurant on Hawaii. They use only locally and organically grown vegetables and local free-range meats. I can still taste it – I had the grilled mahi mahi on ciabatta with spicy aioli, cilantro, and Waimea tomatoes. OMG. It was one of the best meals I had. The fish was tender and even juicy and the tomato was one of the best I’ve eaten…like a home grown garden tomato…but better. Josh opted for a burger – he’s not really into fish. After lunch, Josh wanted to get some flip-flops, which in Hawaii are called slippers. Yes, yinzers, Josh bought flip-flops and he wore them nearly every day. Even on the plane home. For you non-yinzers, men in Pittsburgh don’t wear flip-flops. Ever. They even want to wear socks and shoes to the beach. Yeah, you learn quickly in Hawaii that this does not happen.

From South Point, you can walk to the beach through a rolling, grassy hillside or you can drive – but only if you have a good 4WD vehicle. The roads are nothing but huge ruts in the soil, jagged paths through lava rock, and nearly vertical decents. I think Josh was not happy that I decided to drive! I think he bounced off of the door and seat 100 times or more….grunting each time. I was driving as slow as I could – but the road was just that bad. You can see the cliffs for the beach from a distance, so we parked the Jeep and started walking. I nearly died when I saw the vertical 500-foot drop down to the beach. You have to wind your way down – and there is a small set of stairs near the top. The climb down wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked and when I hit the sand I went right into the ocean! Finally I had gotten to the beach! The only other people there was a father and his daughter. She kept climbing up the sand and sliding down into the ocean. It was such a serene place – but it was getting dark and we had to make the treck back on that dirt road. Josh drove out and he got lucky by finding a shortcut – although he said it was because of his excellent drving skills.

On the drive back, we stopped in Kailua-Kona for dinner at Quinn’s Almost by the Shore. We were basically flying blind with restaurants – using Yelp! to research restaurants and reviews. Quinn’s seemed like a place that the locals go – small bar/restaurant with surly waitstaff and a basic meat/seafood/pasta menu. I had the grilled Ono and shrimp with garlic butter linguini and steamed veggies. The Ono was really good – it’s a firm whitefish and tasted similar to chicken. Josh had ordered the ribeye, and it was pretty tough, so he wasn’t too happy with his meal choice.

Friday we got up at 4am to catch a plane to Oahu. I had planned this trip weeks before and knew that I wanted to hit the North Shore, Diamond Head, and the Byodo-in Temple. We picked up our rental car and headed out. Our first stop was Aloha Shopping Center in Honolulu. It wasn’t even 9am, so nothing was open. I guess we’re not getting breakfast here! We drove through Honolulu and Waikiki and couldn’t find anything that would be quick to grab to eat. So we made our way to the Valley of Temples and spotted a McDonald’s. Oh the humanity! At this point, we were so hungry, we could eat McDonald’s. The temple was across the street, so this was really our only option.

From there, we drove up to the North Shore. Our time on Oahu was really limited. We had about 12 hours to do everything. On a recommednation of a “nestie”, Sara, who used to live on Oahu, we had lunch at Kua Aina Sandwich Shop. They specialize in burgers with intersting island toppings. After lunch, we walked around Haleiwa stopped in a few shops, stopped at the beach, and then had shave ice from Matsumoto’s, also on the recommendation of Sara. She suggested the rainbow with ice cream and condensed milk. This really sounded bizarre, but I tried it anyway. Wow! Condensed milk on shave ice is awesome!! There was a line out the door of Matsumoto’s – so it must be the best in the area. As much as I didn’t want to, we had to leave Haleiwa and we headed back towards Honolulu to Diamond Head. Diamond Head is a volcanic tuff cone that was transformed into Fort Ruger in 1909 to defend the harbor. Fort Ruger is now just a shell. You do have to access the top via the same switchbacks and stairs that were used as part of the fort. You also have to climb through the bunker area near the top to get outside and to the peak. You can almost see the soldiers at their posts with telescopes and guns at the ready. The top gives you a spectacular view of Honolulu, Waikiki, the harbor, and surrounding mountains. The climb was worth it. I think once I hit the top of the last flight of stairs, my heart was near 200 bpm!

The day was winding down, so we headed back to the Aloha Shopping Center for dinner. Sara had also reocmmended Don Ho’s for dinner there. It was so nice. The restaurant overlooked the harbor and the sun was setting. We both had pupu. Mine had fried calamari, coconut shrimp, and mahi mahi. It was too much for me to finish! Josh had teriyaki beef skewers. We flew back to Kona around 9pm and I fell asleep on the plane.

Saturday, it was back to Volcanoes National Park. We had bought a small cooler and stocked up on lunch items at the amazing grocery store near the hotel. Amazing because it had everything – gorgeous produce, sundries, all of your typical groceries, and alcohol. On the way through Waimea, we saw a large BBQ trailer with rotisserie chicken, ribs, and pork. They were serving plate lunches – which consisted of your meat of choice, macaroni salad and white rice. We had the rotisserie chicken and it included a half chicken! It was the best chicken we’ve ever eaten. I guess the picnic lunch in the cooler will have to wait!

At Volcanoes NP, we hooked up with one of the rangers and they walked us to the crater overlook to see Kiluea erupting. She also gave us some information about the park and how they are trying to eradicate the introduced plants and animals on the island. Apparently, they are destroying the native ecosystem. We didn’t get to see Kiluea spurting any lava that day, but she sure was smoking! So much so that there were warnigns all over the park about the high levels of sulfur dioxide in the air. Yum – air that smells like burnt, rotten eggs. We hit the Jaggar Museum and the steam vents. Since the air was so bad and visibility was down to mere feet, we didn’t spend a whole lot of time here. We went back to the visitor’s center to find out how to get to the black sand beach. The ranger told us that his favorite black sand beach is Punalu’u, just south of the park. Punalu’u is one of the main beaches that the endangered hawk-bill sea turtles come to rest. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any sea turtles. We may have just been there at the wrong time of day.

When we were leaving Punalu’u Beach, Josh spotted a coconut on the road. Knowing my insane desire to find a coconut with a solid center (thanks, Les), he pulled over and I picked it up. It had water inside. Damn. He saw another one – with the husk still on it, so I picked that one up too. Damn. We took them both with us anyway. We continued south to get back to Kona since we would be meeting Josh’s friend Joe for dinner. We stopped along a scenic outlook area north of South Point to try and crack the coconuts. The area is nothing but jagged basalt, so we thought that would work. Josh got the coconuts open and we had a quick snack of coconut and mango (from the cooler).

There was one last stop I wanted to make before going into Kona. I wanted to see the tikis at Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park. This is also called the City of Refuge. Hawaiians who broke a kapu or one of the ancient laws against the gods could avoid certain death by fleeing to this place of refuge or "puʻuhonua". The offender would be absolved by a priest and freed to leave. Wow…good thing we don’t have places like these today! It was getting dark so, I took a bunch of pictures and we left…but not before I severely twisted my ankle. I thought it was broken. I heard it crunch when I fell and I couldn’t get up for several minutes. Josh brought the car over and put me in it. He found an empty potato chip bag and put ice in it. Hey – it’s called improvising!

We got to Kona and met Joe at his apartment. We also met Joe’s girlfriend, Priscilla who is originally from Oahu. We chatted a while and had a beer and then they took us to Big Island Grill for dinner. That’s where I first tried POG – pineapple orange guava juice. Yum! The food was very good too. Afterwards, we picked up some beer for the boys and Priscilla and I had amaretto and OJ and we headed to the beach to hang out. It was a nice night and so relaxing to sit by the ocean and just have a good time. My ankle was feeling a lot better! Those guys do have the life and I wanted to smack Joe when he said he missed Pittsburgh. You can’t even go to North Park with a beer without someone hassling you…everyone is just so uptight in the northeast.
Sunday we got up and headed over to Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel for their breakfast buffet. My mom had told me about it from their trip there and I wanted some macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup. The buffet had changed quite a bit since they were there, so I had to order the pancakes seperately – but they were still really good. After breakfast, we headed over to Hapuna Beach. It’s a public access beach and we got there early enough to find parking and a good spot on the sand. The beach is postcard perfect with golden sand, blue water, palm trees, and lava rock walls flanking the cove. Don’t let anyone kid you, the sun is intense! In 2 hours I was Hawaii brown and Josh was burnt to a crisp. The water was perfect – crystal clear and a bit warm. I just swam and floated and had to force myself out!

After the beach, we drove out to Waipio Valley. Waipi'o Valley is a valley located in the Hamakua District on Hawaii. "Waipi'o" means "curved water" in Hawaiian. There’s a 25% grade hillside that you can either walk down or drive down with a 4WD vehicle. I couldn’t do much walking with my swollen ankle, so we drove. It was nothing! They have hills like that in the South Side Slopes! At the bottom you can either turn right or left. We turned right and drove out to the coast. There’s a black sand beach there and a bunch of people were surfing. When we got back in the Jeep to check out the other road, we saw a guy running towards us. He signaled and I told Josh that he wants us to stop. He said that he had just *ran* down the entire hillside because his girlfriend had left her hiking boots at the bottom. He was in flip-flops. He asked if we could give him a ride back up the hill, so we did. We never made it to the other side of the valley, so we missed the waterfalls there. He told us that he and his girlfriend had walked 14 miles through the valleys and that he did it in flip-flops because he had left one of his hiking boots in someone’s car. When we got to the top, his girlfriend was waiting and they asked us if we could give them a ride to a restaurant just a few miles away. We got to talking and turns out that Dave and Sara are from Vancouver and were hitching and hiking their way though the island. Dave had gone to school in Hawaii for astronomy, so he knew his way around. They wanted to be dropped at Tex Drive In – which has these doughnuts called malasadas that are filled with bavarian crème, chocolate, or strawberry. They bought us some malasadas and we sat with them for a few minutes and we were on our way.

The beach really took it out of us and once we got back to Waikaloa, we were just ready to relax. We were sort of tired of all of the BBQ, teriyaki, burgers, etc. and actually wanted something Italian. I know you’ll think we were nuts, but we ended up having dinner at the Macaroni Grill. At least we sat on the patio! We went in a few of the shops and stopped in the grocery store. We picked up some ka’u oranges, papaya, and some beer and went back to the room. We cut up the fruit and had our drinks on the lanai.

Monday was our last day in Hawaii. Our flight was to leave at 7pm, so we didn’t have a whole lot of time. We didn’t spend a whole lot of time exploring Kona and since it was only 7 miles from the airport, it was a safe bet for the day. Everything is just so spread out on the island and it takes hours just to get somewhere. We walked around Kona and explored all of the shops and the beach there. We had lunch at Pancho and Lefty’s which is a Mexican restaurant. I had the carnitas and Josh had enchiladas and a taco. He said it was the best taco he ever had. Did some more shopping and hanging out on the beach. We had time for dinner and were going to go to Huggo’s on the Rocks. Josh didn’t really see anything on the menu that he was interested in, so we looked at the menus at a few other places and decided on The Fish Hopper. The menu looked good and they were giving a free appetizer of calamari. I had the grilled ono with papaya crème sauce, papaya salsa, and grilled bananas. Josh had the dungeness crab, scallops, and shrimp. This was the type of meal I was looking for all week…fresh ingredients…local fruits and veggies. I had one last mai tai and we headed to the airport. I’m glad we ate dinner because there was no food at the airport in Kona and everything at the Honolulu airport was also closed.

That’s it, folks. If you’ve made it this far, go check out the photos. They follow my story in the sequence that things happened.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gneiss_girl/sets/72157617316161232/

Friday night at the Harp & Fiddle

2009-03-16T13:38:00.005-04:00

On Friday night, Vicki, her sister Michele, and I went out to dinner. Our first choice, Kaya, was too busy and we weren’t able to get a table. So, we decided to try the Caribbean restaurant, Royal Caribbean, in East Liberty. I, of course, had the jerk chicken, which was very good by the way. I can’t tell you if it’s authentic or not since I’ve never been to Jamaica, but I’d have to think it was pretty close.

Afterwards, we went to grab a drink at the Harp & Fiddle in the Strip. We had a little trouble finding three empty seats. The bar was packed – most people were there having dinner, but others were there waiting for the Irish band (Red Hand Paddy) to start. So, we’re sitting on our stools, drinking a beer, and chatting. I see a camera flash out of the corner of my eye. I thought it was odd because it seemed as though the camera was pointed at us. I turned my head and I see an older white-haired gentleman taking our picture.

He came over to us and said that if he had an email address, he could send us the picture. Turns out, he was with the band and he takes pictures for their website. I gave him my business card. He asked me about my job and Vicki chimed in that she was also a geologist. He asked Michele if she was a geologist, too and she told him she was a sister….Vicki’s sister. Later on that night, he mentioned something to Michele about being a nurse. The eerie part was, she is a nurse…and she never told him she was.

So, this man was chatting with a lot of people in the bar and stopped to chat with us a few more times. He had asked Vicki if she had ever heard of an Acrostic Poem. He explained that it was a poem that each line begins with a letter of your first name. So, he wrote a little poem using Vicki’s name and asked her if it had any truth to it. As she read it, she was shocked at how accurate it was to her personality. Later on that evening, he came back over and wrote a poem for Michele. She nearly fell off of her chair when she read it. It fit her situation to a “T” - stating things that only someone that knew her would know. Being the skeptic that I am, I had him write me a poem. Wow. I was shocked. OK – so maybe these lines could be written for anyone. Although, for him to get the right lines for the 3 of us was pretty amazing. I mean, if you knew me...if you knew any of us...it'd surprise you too. He told us his name was Brendan – the Druid. He said that every once in a while, you get a chance to see into someone’s soul – even if it’s just for a second. We had a great time that night. It's so nice when you get to meet new and interesting people.

Wine & Cheese Party

2009-03-16T13:26:00.005-04:00

Each month, the gals from work and I get together for a girls’ night out. Sometimes, it’s a girls’ night in! Our first girls’ night in was a wine and cheese tasting party. Each one of us was tasked with bringing a cheese, a complementary wine, and a snack.

Nikki had brought the Epoisses (stinky cheese), Blue Moon beer, and Raspberry Lambic, crackers, and bread. The Epoisses is a soft, slightly creamy cheese that you can spoon onto fruit, crackers, etc. It has the consistency of baked brie, with a more pungent flavor. It’s made of unpasteurized cow’s milk with a washed rind. I think this was my favorite. We mixed the Blue Moon and Lambic – it was amazing.

Vicki had brought a goat’s milk brie and a firm goat cheese covered with rosemary. With it, she brought a Riesling, dried fruits, grapes, and crackers.

My contribution included a Crater Lake Bleu Cheese and Humboldt Fog. The Crater Lake Bleu was purchased on impulse….because of the name, of course! It was a little drier and a little tangier than regular bleu cheese and I really preferred it to basic bleu cheese…but maybe I’m partial! The Humboldt Fog a mold-ripened, goat-milk cheese with a central line of edible ash. It’s a semi-soft cheese that’s crumblier towards the center. It has a mild flavor with mild acidity, typical of goat cheese. I served it with a port wine, pears, dried figs, and honey.

The three of us ate every last drop of the cheese! This was a great idea and I hope we can do it again…the types of cheeses are practically infinate!

This month, we're off to the Melting Pot tonight!

New Orleans was a blast...and the food was my favorite part!

2009-03-05T15:42:00.006-05:00

Over three years after Katrina, New Orleans has definitely made a comeback.

It would be a shame for a place like this to be lost. There’s no place like it in the United States. We didn’t have nearly enough time to see it all – or even to see all that we wanted – but here’s what we did see and do.

Decatur Street

Decatur Street is where you’ll find Café Du Monde, lots of nice shops, tons of restaurants,

and the open-air French Market. We spent a lot of time here. There are just blocks and blocks of things to see and experience. Decatur is a lot more polished than Bourbon Street – basically what I imagined the French Quarter was like.

Tuesday night, we got into town rather late. The Mardi Gras parade kept us from getting to our hotel for several hours, so we first went over to Decatur Street to get some dinner. If you’re in Louisiana, you’ve got to eat Cajun food. There are no excuses for eating anything else! We ended up at a place called Frank’s Restaurant and sat outside on the balcony. I had a shrimp po’boy sandwich, which is basically fried, spicy shrimp on a big roll with hot sauce. It was very good. The breading on the shrimp was like nothing I’ve had before and you can’t find above the Mason-Dixon Line. It was crispy and spicy – like a nicely seasoned flour breading, not batter.

After walking around Decatur for a while, we headed over to Burbon Street for the remainder of the Mardi Gras festivities. The place was packed – wall to wall. The police had the street blocked off so that you could walk the street and not just the sidewalk, but that didn’t help much. Wearing open-toed shoes was a bit of a mistake as I spent most of the time watching my feet and trying not to step in a puddle of something. We were a bit overwhelmed. I think it would have been easier and more fun if we were there with friends. But we were out of place…and sober. So it wasn’t working out too well!

We went back to Decatur Street on Wednesday afternoon. I had poked my head in a few shops the night before, but waited to make any purchases. We hit the voodoo shops, the French Market, Lush, the candy shop, and several other places. After we had dinner on Tuesday night, we walked past a place that was cooking crawfish right in the front window. We were bummed that we hadn’t eaten there instead, so that’s where we went to dinner on Wednesday night. It was the French Market Restaurant. We ordered a big boat of crawfish. I had gumbo with andouille and shrimp and shrimp creole. It was amazing -just what I had imagined. The texture and spices were perfect. It was a meal we talked about for several hours…and even the next day. I wish I had some of those crawfish now.

Our waiter showed us the propa way to eat crawfish – suck the head and pinch the tail! He told us about how quickly he learned to eat crawfish since he had 6 brothers and sisters to compete against. He had such a great bayou accent and I think I could have sat there all night listening to him tell stories.

After dinner, we walked over to Café Du Monde for some beignets and café au lait. We really liked the beignets – soft and chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and smothered in powdered sugar. I had thought they’d be like a doughnut…but not at all! They reminded me of the French cookies that were made in Kennywood…but only in the taste. The cookies were just fried and hollow. No chewy middles!

There’s also a candy shop, Southern Candy Makers, that makes fresh pralines. I had never had one before. They’re basically pecans drowned in a syrup of butter, cream, and sugar that hardens as it cools and tastes like salted caramel. I really liked their version of turtles, called tortues, with homemade caramel and milk chocolate.

Bourbon Street

Ok. Let me try and describe Bourbon Street to you. It’s basically bars, sex shops, and strip joints with a few restaurants tossed in. It’s a party street, no doubt. It was packed wall to wall with people on Mardi Gras. I have never seen so many drunk people in my life. I don’t mean just buzzed – I mean total all-out obliterated. To the point they couldn’t walk…couldn’t talk…or were just hunched over in a corner somewhere. It was sort of disturbing.

Try to imagine this. Bourbon Street smells like a mixture of sour beer, vomit, and urine. At least that’s what it smelled like the day after Mardi Gras. Granted, all of the physical mess was gone. All the beads, paper, beer cups, etc. were cleaned up – but the smell lingered on. In the light of day, you could see all of her flaws. She’s like the drunk gal who stumbles home the morning after. She’s a fun gal, but she’s got a dark side.

But if you want to have fun, Bourbon Street is where you’ll find it. Bars with a dozen slushy machines filled with brightly-colored alcoholic beverages. These guys look innocent, but they’re packed with alcohol. I had a Hurricane. I had to – I was in New Orleans! I also had a margarita. I’m not sure if the 12 ounce drinks in a Styrofoam cup are $9.00 for the privilege of drinking on the streets or because they know you’ll pay it. Josh actually paid $20.00 for a beer in a plastic boot with a lanyard. Just be careful, most of the ATMs charge a $10 fee. Yikes!

Wednesday morning, we went to Baton Rouge. One of my sites was up there, so we left pretty early to get back to N.O. early. While we were there, we stopped for lunch at a place called American Po’ Boy. It was obvious that the place was an old Burger King. But the best place to get the best food is usually in dives, right? Plus it was lunch, so it was worth experimenting. I’m glad we did! I got a seafood combo platter which consisted of fried shrimp, fried catfish, and fried oysters. Wow! I love this breading! Plus the sauce they gave me to dip it in was really nice. They called it tartar sauce, but it seemed more mayonnaise-y with some heat. It went really well with the seafood. I ate the entire thing -with the exception of a couple of oysters. The texture of the oysters was strange to me. The breading was nice and crisp, but the inside was sorta mushy.

I wanted to take a swamp tour on the way back to N.O., but we wanted to get back to town to see what we had missed Tuesday night. There’s so much more to do – swamp tours, cemetery tours, haunted New Orleans tours, etc. So many more restaurants to try…jazz clubs to visit…and maybe I’ll have the guts to try the Hand Grenade. I think it’s safe to say, we’ll definitely go back.

More Photos - HERE!

The Big Easy

2009-02-17T07:09:00.003-05:00

Next Tuesday, Josh and I are going to New Orleans! We'll be there for Mardi Gras. Actually, I'm going there for work for 3 days. So, hello free trip! The work will be short, so we'll have plenty of time to explore.

Finally! I'll get to have real jambalaya, creole, crawdads....mmmm. I can't wait!

New Year's Week

2009-01-05T09:23:00.008-05:00

Wow! Last week was crazy. Crazy but fun! Ok...let's see.

On Monday, our friends Josh and Megan were in town from South Carolina. They came to the house and we all went out to dinner at the Jerome Bettis Grill. It was really good and the prices were very reasonable. The two Joshs had burgers and Megan and I had skirt steak. Afterwards we headed over to the South Side for a drink and then headed back home. They ended up spending the night.

Tuesday, I had to work, but afterwards, Josh and I went to get all the things we needed for our NYE party. I made buffalo chicken dip, artichoke spinach dip, meat and cheese tray, chips and salsa, and lots of cocktails! Josh and Megan made a yummy dip with pepperoni, cream cheese, and cream of onion soup. I don't think it had a name! Vicki brought some sparkling wine, veggies and dip, and a shrimp ring. We had plenty of food to go around!

Of course, the antics were at a high that night with Josh M. and Vicki trying to sled ride down our hill in garbage bags. I think Vicki had the best idea by using a cookie sheet as a sled.

It's tough to see, but the black/green dot on the left is Vicki. The red dot is Josh M., trying to help her out.
Megan was our bartender for the night and she hooked us up with some 'interesting' shots.

Here, Josh M. introduces Dan to his first "Tickle My Pickle".....a shot of tequila followed by a shot of dill pickle juice.

I still need to get the pictures off of Josh's camera. He was taking a lot more pictures than I was...so who knows what's on there! I think we ended up going to bed around 4:30am. Thursday, we spent the day sleeping.

Friday, we both reluctantly went to work. I still needed some time to recuperate. Friday night we made burritos and Dave joined us for dinner. That night, Josh told me that he was willing to try Abay. I was stunned.

On Saturday, Josh and I went to Abay with Dave and his friend, Kim. I was pretty nervous about Josh liking it. Luckily, there's a pizza place across the street. To my surprise, he actually did enjoy his dinner. He did admit that it wasn't a place he'd request to go, but would be willing to go with me when I wanted to go. Yay! Afterwards, we went and got some bubble tea. Well, I got some. No one else was willing to try it. Their loss!

On Sunday, Josh and I went to South Side to REI, then headed up to the mall, and The Flame BBQ for lunch. Last night, I made spaghetti with clams and fried calamari.

It's official!

2009-01-02T13:36:00.002-05:00

I just bought our plane tickets to Hawaii! I'm so glad I waited, too. I was going to purchase tickets for $700 each, but it was 2-3 stops. I just got a 1-stop flight for the same price!!!!

So, on April 14, we'll be on our way to paradise and out of this godforsaken place! Well, for 7 days anyway.

Backpacker Magazine featured an article about day hikes in Hawaii. I want to do the 9-hour one in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It's 14 miles round trip, but you get to see it all.

Role Reversal

2008-12-10T10:24:00.003-05:00

Working 60-70 hours a week isn't fun.

No that ain't right. That ain't my life. You work 60 hours a week - see one hour of sunlight. No that ain't right.

Ahem. Sorry about that. Who said it would be? It does catch up to you though...things start to fall behind. Like eating. Yeah, I guess I need to fit that in somewhere, too. So now things are reversed. I remember making dinner at 10:oo at night for Josh and now he does it for me.

On Sunday, he made homemade meat sauce and spaghetti. No, it wasn't some doctored up form of jarred sauce, no sir. He took the recipe from my blog and went for it. Damn was it ever good. Pretty good for a first-timer. I'm sure it was even better since I didn't have to make it. Since it was made for me. Yeah, that made it even more sweet.

Last night, we had grilled chicken salads. It was raining, so the chicken had to be broiled. Sounds easy, but it takes a lot of preparation to make - and I like my salad a lot different than he does.

I guess crock pot cooking ideas faded fast and we can't eat out every night. This works for me!

In time?

2008-12-02T11:37:00.001-05:00

I saw this quote today and thought about what it means.

There comes a point in your life when you realize: who matters, who never did, who won't anymore...and who always will.

I wish some people would come to this realization as quickly as I did..and know they made the right choices.

Birthday Number 3!

2008-11-26T09:43:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated Francis' 3rd birthday. It's so fun watching him open presents - and finally know the excitement of opening presents. Of course, he's still at the stage where he just wants the next one to open and doesn't pay much attention to what's actually under the wrapping paper.

His uncle Josh and I got him a digital camera and case. I heard he went to bed with it that night and was taking pictures the next morning. He got a lot of nice things...as any spoiled child should!

This face.

2008-11-26T09:34:00.002-05:00

It's got to be hard to say 'no' to this face. I look at this picture and wonder what he's thinking. What is his young mind contemplating? Wanting? Hoping? Needing?

I can start to see how he will look as a young man. What will his life be like? I wish I could tell him what he's in for....school...girls...work...life. I wish I could protect him from all of the evils out there....and they are out there.

I hope that when he's a little older, he can come visit me and spend the weekend. Then he can go back home and tell his mommy how much fun he had with his one-and-only auntie.

Party in Philly

2008-11-20T13:11:00.003-05:00

There's only 2 weeks left until the gals and I head to Philly! We're spending a weekend in the City of Brotherly Love and attending our company's huge holiday party.

So far our itinerary is as follows:

Friday
Noon - Depart
5-ish - Arrive at hotel and check in.
6-ish - Dinner at The Clam Tavern, Clifton Heights

Saturday
Morning - King of Prussia Mall
Afternoon - Lunch at Vietnam Restaurant, shopping at the Italian Market, pick up cheesesteaks at Gooey Louies, shopping in the city.
Evening- Check into the hotel where the party is being held. Party our butts off!

Sunday
Lunch at Maggiano's.
Head back home with cheese and cheesesteaks.

Chuck's

2008-11-03T15:51:00.002-05:00

Saturday night was fun! Josh and I met my parents and Francis at Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday evening. It took a while to get Francis in the mood to play - he was sleeping in the car and I think all of the kids and noise freaked him out at first.

We gave skee-ball a try. The ramps are way too long for a toddler - so I had to help him out. He couldn't get any balls into the cups on his lane, but gave the kid next to us 10,000 points!

Then we tried Whack-a-Mole. He got the hang of it but got bored pretty fast. It's hard to keep his attention when there's so much other stuff going on!

The big basketball shoe caught his eye...so we played a couple of rounds of basketball before we broke the machine!

He saw some other kids playing air hockey and we had to wander around for a while before he could get his turn. He really had a good time playing air hockey...even if he did put the puck in his own goal a couple of times! I think he needs an air hockey table for Christmas!

He spotted a racecar near the ceiling and wanted to go inside. I told him that he had to go in the tubes and climb up there. My parents told me he doesn't like the tubes and won't go in alone. Well, being the awesome auntie that I am, I went in the tubes with him. It's a lot harder than it sounds! It's not really made for adults. My knees were on fire and it wasn't long before I started getting claustrophobic and having a panic attack. Francis was running around like crazy and I had lost him a couple of times. I was freaking out - where's Francis? Where's that damn exit?! Finally, Francis said, "outside". Thank god! We climbed out of there and I couldn't have been happier.

Back in DC

2008-10-27T08:59:00.008-04:00

Last week, I was back in DC for work. This time, Josh brought Dave along so he'd have something to do while I was working. We drove in on Wednesday afternoon and got there in time for dinner. Since none of us could decide on dinner, and I'm a creature of habit, we went back to Georgetown. Oh, M Street, how I love you so!

We were still hung up on what we wanted....Pub food? Vietnamese? Ethiopian? Thai? BBQ? Well, Josh wasn't in an adventurous mood, so no Ethiopian that night. While deciding, we stopped in Dean and Deluca hoping something there would give us an idea for dinner. I found what I wanted in the back of the store - where all of the chocolates are. This, my friends, is a Buddha made of chocloate. Would it have been wrong to eat it?

Finally, we decided on Old Glory for dinner. I think I could eat good ol' southern barbeque any time. It was yummy. I had the combo platter which included ribs and beef brisket, macaroni and cheese, and a side salad. Mmm. Oh, man...my cell phone takes horrible pictures. This doesn't look nearly as delicious as it was!

On Thursday, I went and got my work done while Josh and Dave spent most of the day on the Metro. I finished up a little early and met the boys at the Metro station and we headed off to Great Falls of the Potomac National Park.

I had been there back in college as part of one of our field excursions, and I was excited to go back. It's gorgeous. Plus, I like revisiting places with Josh that I've seen and he hasn't. I want him to be as excited about them as I am. I'm not sure if he ever is, but at least he humors me!

Here are some of my favorite shots..

You can see more of my pictures here....My Flikr

strength.

2008-10-20T17:30:00.002-04:00

...I always knew you'd be leaving. Slowing down with each step. Keeping time with every stride and few words said...

...Just go on ahead if you need - I'll meet you when I get there. Just know I won't go easy, man, I'll kick and punch 'till there's nothin' left...

...and I don't feel alone when I look up, anymore...

My 3 day weekend....

2008-10-20T08:50:00.003-04:00

I love a long weekend, don't you?

Josh and I took Friday off to go to a huge flea market in Rogers, OH. Dave arrived at the house around 8, and we all piled in the car. There were acres of vendors and I had a couple items in mind that I was looking for - a cast iron grill pan and a chandelier made of antlers. I didn't find either, but came close. I ended up buying a scarf and some produce. Josh found two "LV" wallets and Dave bought some horseradish and a bottle-capper. I almost walked away with a large wagon wheel - but Josh put his foot down on that one. Oh well!

I remembered that the Fiestaware factory was having their semi-annual tent sale that weekend. Hmm..wonder how far it is from Rogers, Ohio to Newell, West Virginia. I plugged it into the Garmin and yes, only about 25 minutes away! It was insane! Nothing on the price list was over $10! I walked away with the haul below for around $30. I got 2 chili/soup bowls, a large pasta bowl, a pedestal bowl, divided platter, platter, shallow soup bowl. I was a little bummed that the bakery mixing bowls had sold out. That set is $125 new. Oh well...maybe next year!

When we got back, we went mountain biking at Hartwood Acres. I was so beat by the time we finally got home.

On Saturday, Vicki and I went to Kelly's Salvage to put a down payment on the dining room table I've been wanting. I can't wait to get it! Then I'll need to find chairs to go with it. Afterwards, we went to Squirrel Hill for lunch. We ended up at Rose Tree Cafe, a Taiwanese restaurant. It was really good. I had shredded beef with hot peppers...mmm. Then we stopped at Whole Foods for a few grocery items. That evening, Josh and I went to the grocery store and I made Penne with Clams & Mussels for dinner.

Sunday is my cleaning day and yesterday was no exception. Once Josh got home we watched the Steelers kill the Bengals and then started some leaf cleanup in the yard. Only about half the leaves have fallen and we had 9 bags just from the front yard. Thank god for leaf blowers! It was the perfect night for homemade chicken soup!

Bikram

2008-10-12T11:15:00.005-04:00

I took a yoga class through a local community college about 6 years ago...but yoga in an elementary school library just doesn't cut it. I've been taking Bikram Yoga classes for about 8 months now. What is Bikram Yoga? Bikram yoga Hot Yoga, is a style of yoga developed by Bikram Choudhury. Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F (40.5°C) with a humidity of 40%.

You sweat. You sweat like never before. It's a workout...but in the end, you feel relaxed and rejuvenated. You sleep better than ever before. The stress melts away...which is exactly what I need. The world melts away...which is also exactly what I need.

Namaste.

5ive

2008-10-12T11:12:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was our 5-year wedding anniversary. Wow! Time sure files! We had a nice dinner...but our big gift to each other is this:

10.11.03

2008-10-11T13:16:00.003-04:00

Five years ago, Josh and I were married. Wow. Five years. It's gone by so fast and in those 5 years, so much has happened. We've owned 3 houses, lived in 2 different cities, and have seen so many places together.

I remember planning our wedding...all the little details mattered so much. Some still do...some don't.

Schnitzel and Cupcakes

2008-09-19T20:29:00.004-04:00

Tonight, Vicki, Nikki, and I went to dinner at Max's Allegheny Tavern. It was supposed to be Vicki's going away party - but it turned into Vicki's "Staying at AMEC" celebration. She wanted German food and since it's Oktoberfest, it was quite fitting.

Afterwards, we headed over to Dozen in Lawrenceville for dessert. I don't know too many bakeries that are open until 10pm! We had a cupcake craving and they definitely had the cure. Nikki and I had the "Elvis" cupcake - banana cake with nutella filling, and peanut butter icing. Vicki had the "Jack and Coke" cupcake - a coca-cola cupcake with chocolate ganache and a dollop of buttercreme with Jack Daniels. Yum! Of course, the Americano with cinnamon was a must.

Ahh..cupcakes, coffee, and girl conversation on a warm late summer evening. We should do it more often.

By the way - the photo above is Nikki, me, and Vicki with a life-sized paper cut-out of our admin assistant, Elisa. Don't ask.

Wild World

2008-09-17T07:11:00.003-04:00

Oh baby, baby it's a wild world.....and I'll always remember you as a child, girl.

three seconds

2008-08-28T08:57:00.003-04:00

I like to read a few different blogs. One of my favorites is The Pioneer Woman. Her life seems so surreal...cut off from the outside world..where the only people in her world are family and all is right with the world.

Another blog I read is Dooce. It's a lot different than Pioneer Woman. Quirkier...bitchier. One of her most recent posts had an interesting philosophy - No matter what horrible things are going on in your life, you can sum it up in three seconds.

I find that to be pretty true. Sad, but true:

I was the second person she told she was pregnant.
Now she doesn't want me in her life.

We were all once very close.
Now I feel like I'm not even part of the family.

Once my eyes were closed to the reality -
but you shouldn't have to buy someone's friendship.

Last Goonie Weekend

2008-08-17T10:09:00.002-04:00

Well, it's actually the last weekend Josh has off this summer.

Friday, we went to try a new Italian restaurant...new for us, that is. We went to a place called "Legends of the North Shore". It's a small mom and pop-type restaurant with real homemade Italian food. I had penne al forno which had homemade sauce with mozzarella, ricotta, and sweet sausage. Josh, of course, had chicken parmesan...but it was really good! The sauce was amazing!
It must be a decent place....it was packed and we even saw local news anchor, Stacy Smith. Did you know he has a prosthetic leg?

Friday must have been a day for local celebs because Josh was in South Side earlier that day and Heinz Ward walked right past him.

On Saturday, Josh and I went for a bike ride, stopped in a few bike shops, and then had the best bubble tea...ever. Even better than the stuff in Philly. When we came home, we debated what to do. We ended up having one of our impromptu bbq's but this time had rotisserie chicken, roasted potatoes, and grilled corn. Dave brought over a pork shoulder which we roasted on the grill and made soft tacos with Dave's homemade guacamole. Vicki brought some wine and Jay came over after the first course, lol! Josh also made a big fire in the fire pit and Vicki and I roasted marshmallows.

Today, we're headed to Brownsville. I'm getting my hair done and I'll get to see Francis after like 2 months of not seeing him!

The Johnsons are going to Hawaii!

2008-08-15T22:12:00.004-04:00

This morning when I woke up, I never imagined I'd be planning a trip to Hawaii the very same day! We're getting an amazing, and I mean amazing deal! 7 days and 6 nights!

Here's where we're staying...

Hilton Waikoloa Village

I hope the Pacific is as blue as it is in my dreams...I hope.

Southwestern Ohio

2008-08-13T09:31:00.001-04:00

Southwestern Ohio
Originally uploaded by gneiss girl

Sometimes it's surprising how beautiful "nothing" can be. Just acres and acres of farmland under a perfect late summer sky.

Ohiopyle

2008-08-13T09:04:00.004-04:00

This past Saturday, Josh, Dave, Jay, and I went to Ohiopyle with our mountain bikes. We also packed up a cooler full of food and drinks and our smokin' joe (grill). We rode about 30 miles...down to Connellsville and back. I was ready to die with about 5 miles left. I wasn't tired, but my thighs were screaming!

We drove over to a nice spot by a small creek and got ready to grill. I wish I had a picture of it, but Josh had found a freshwater crawfish (crayfish?)...grilled it...and ate it! This from someone who, not 3 years ago, would touch any seafood at all! I guess he wanted to see what it was like to be Survivorman!

I think we killed Jay. He didn't make a peep the entire ride back!

Dairy Queen

2008-08-07T21:01:00.004-04:00

Josh and I went to the Dairy Queen tonight after dinner. Sure, that doesn't sound so exciting in and of itself, but it's been a very long time since I've been to a walk-up window at the DQ and was handed a vanilla cone with peanut crunch sprinkles.

When I was little, I remember my dad would take my sister and I to the Dairy Queen on a warm summer evening after dinner. We'd beg him to take us in "the Dairy Queen Car", which in fact, was his vintage Mustang. It didn't take much begging on our part - but it made me feel special. My dad rarely took the car out and only on special occasions - like taking his little girls to the Dairy Queen.

We would rumble into the parking lot - people pointing and commenting on what a cool car we had. All I could think was, "yeah, that's my daddy's car". I remember my sister and I sinking down into the seat with our big cones - sprinkles falling all over us - frantically trying to catch them with our tongues. Just completely embraced in that moment - and all was right with the world.

I know it's been a lifetime ago and things are so different now - but I miss those days. I bet you could go in the backseat of the "Dairy Queen Car" right now and still find a sprinkle or two hidden down in the crevices. A tiny piece of sugar with so many sweet memories attached to it.

Washington, DC

2008-07-30T09:07:00.007-04:00

Last week, Josh and I went to Washington, DC. Another work trip for me, but I figured Josh could come along and check out the monuments and museums while I was working.

When you have to find a hotel in a city that you're not familiar with, it can be quite a challenge. It had to be in a good neighborhood, fairly nice, and inexpensive. We ended up in a place called Hotel Rouge...which sounds like a brothel....and actually, sorta looked like one too.

If you love traffic, this is the town for you! We drove to Georgetown on Thursday evening and I think it took us about an hour to go 3 miles. For some reason, I always thought Georgetown was the ghetto, but in reality, it's an amazing place! Gleaming streets lined with every shop and every type of restaurant imaginable!

I was so excited when I saw there was a Dean & Deluca there! Of course, I had to go in. It was awesome and the smell of imported Italian meats and cheeses was intoxicating. Josh of course thought I was nuts...but I'm a food snob.

For dinner, we happened upon a little trattoria with patio seating. It was a nice end to a long day.

I am still here. (Damien Jurado)

2008-07-08T15:11:00.003-04:00

I stood alone...there in the driveway...'till I saw your headlights fade.
And disappear, burn out like stars...a chevrolet train that rolled in the night.

I must've had a hundred nightmares of you falling asleep at the wheel.
I said my prayers. Where are you now? I am still here and going nowhere.

Here is a photo of our first baby.
Here is a photo of our wedding day.
And nothing has changed...my love's still the same.
I am still here and here I'll remain.

When you come back, we'll have a party.
We'll hang up the Christmas lights.
You'll be my bride. I'll be your groom.
I love you so much, please make it home soon.

Your mother said that you called this morning.
Tell him I love him, but I am not returning.

Sister.

2008-07-02T11:52:00.002-04:00

Sister I know you've been sad.
Sister I know you've been happy, When I knew you were faking a smile.
Sister I know you've been glad, When I knew there was something wrong.
I asked you if something was wrong...
But you said no everything is fine.
I asked you if you needed me...
But you said no i have someone else.
I asked you if you needed my help...
But you said no i've got it.

Sister i know I don't tell you everything.
When everything went wrong.
Sister you mean the world to me.
I really meant it.

Sister, friends cant solve everything.
When you are ready to tell me what is wrong.
I know you're not happy that much anymore...
But when I'm with you makes my day shine.
I know I'm mad when you push me, slap me, hit me,
But i'll never say i hate you
When I really truley do love you.

Sister i really love you.
Sister you know thats true.
Sister you mean the world to me.
Sister just to let you know that im always here for you.

angeline snowboy

obsessions

2008-06-20T15:47:00.004-04:00

I'm a 'flash in the pan' sort of person. I get hooked on something...then burn it out. for example, I couldn't get enough to eat of gyros. Now, not so much. My current obsession is:

Items with birds...

Honestly though..I think I would kill for that china. I never registered for china and never thought I'd have a need or a want for it. Now I do.

Hooray for the CSA!

2008-06-06T18:34:00.002-04:00

On Thursday afternoon, Vicki and I picked up our first CSA share.

Oh, how I had missed going to the farm and all of the fresh fruits and veggies last year. One of the first things I did when I moved back to Pittsburgh was to find a local CSA. After some research, I decided on Dillner Farms. I looked through all of the options, and Dillner Farms had everything I was looking for - farm pickup, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, organic, and close to home.

Our first box included tomatoes, asparagus, green onions, kale, collard greens, lettuce, spinach, and rhubarb. See how pretty everything is? We also got basil plants, heirloom tomato plants (Brandywine & German Stripe), a box of marigolds to plant, and homemade jam.

Next week...fresh strawberries and blueberries. Ah, I love summer.

First weekend in May

2008-05-03T09:46:00.004-04:00

Friday night Josh and I went to see Tim Barry and The Bouncing Souls. It was a good show...haven't been to one in a long time. Tim Barry kept remarking on how odd it was to have "an old man with an acousitc guitar at a punk rock show", but frankly, I prefer it. It wasn't loud and crazy.

Saturday, Josh, Vicki, Dave, and I went to the Carnegie Museum to see the Carnegie International "Life on Mars" exhibit. It was pretty interesting, although, I'm really no expert on interpreting modern art.

Afterwards, we ended up in the South Side for dinner. After a bit of indecisiveness, we decided to try Kassab's. Josh had never had Mediterranian food before and I was worried he wouldn't like it, but he did! The food was yummy! Yay..somewhere new to go for dinner! We drove down to Station Square hoping the Dave and Andy's ice cream shop was still there, but alas, it's gone. So...we went back to Oakland!

On Sunday, my parents and gram came down. My dad and Josh needed to finish the hand rail outside and me and my mom needed our hair done! I made stuffed peppers for dinner...and there was only 1 left!

I wish it would stop raining on the weekends! I need to get my garden bed built, get the garage cleaned out, and wash my car!

What I've been up to....

2008-04-01T10:28:00.004-04:00

We finally closed and moved into our house the weekend of March 14th. I feel like this is becoming a trend for us every 2 or 3 years...although, I hope it never happens again! We've gotten most of the unpacking done with the exception of a roomful of items that either need to get thrown out, given away, or put in the attic. I keep that door closed...the big pile of boxes makes me anxious.

We've had no major issues, but needed to replace our garbage disposal and kitchen sink faucet. It only took a couple of hours, but I see why plumbers get paid so much! Can you picture a 6' 3", 250 pound man crawling under a sink?!

I did some antiquing this weekend with Vicki and found a nice dresser for $25.

Vicki and I have also been going to yoga twice a week. Not just any yoga...hot yoga! It's really a workout and, this doesn't sound fun at all, but you sweat like mad!

I think we may head down to Wholey's on Saturday...she's never been. We'll see. Or I may just start painting.....

Birthday Wishlist

2008-02-16T12:37:00.006-05:00

Since we won't have any extra money for the house after we pay the down payment and closing costs...here's what I want:

DRESSER / MIRROR

NIGHTSTAND

DINING TABLE /SIDEBOARD

CONSOLE (BLACK)

COFFEE TABLE / SIDE TABLES

WINDOWSILL PLANT STAND

HOUSE ADDRESS PLAQUE

HALLWAY MIRROR

CHINA

something that's so close is still so far out of reach...

2008-02-03T20:05:00.000-05:00

Well she was an American girl raised on promises...

She couldn't help thinkin' that there was a little more to life somewhere else...

After all it was a great big world with lots of places to run to...

And if she had to die tryin' She had one little promise she was gonna keep...

Goodbye and Good Riddance, Philadelphia!

2008-01-16T23:20:00.001-05:00

What a crazy 2 days. We drove out on Tuesday with a pickup truck and large trailer in tow. We checked into our hotel and the went over to the house. We wanted to move everything we were taking with us to the front of hte house for easy packing on Wednesday. We were met by the plumber and glass people...which was fine...they were doing the requested repairs.

We got back to the hotel, cleaned up, and had a nice dinner at Maggiano's. Little did we know that this was the calm before the storm.

Fast forward to Wednesday. We got to the house around 8 to pack everything up and put all the trash out. Around 10 (1 hour before closing), the buyers show up with their agent to do the final walkthrough. They tested the bathtub drain and it was still running slow. They were NOT happy. Their agent told me that they will NOT sign until that drain is fixed! My agent sends out TWO different plumbers. They can't get the drain to run faster. Why? It's a 65-year old lead pipe that they are afraid to really work hard on because lead is soft and they don't want to puncture it. Great.

It's now 12...an hour past closing. Josh and I are left ALONE with the buyers at our house. They won't leave until the drain is fixed! The plumber says all that can be done is to remove part of the ceiling in the kitchen to access the drain pipe and replace the pipe....$1700. They buyer's wanted it done that day...before they would sign. UGH! Contractors DON'T do that! So, we had to put that money in an account for them and our agent is going to have to make sure the work gets done.

This was the *most reasonable* request they had AFTER we had already done the requested repairs from the home inspection. They made an addendum to their requests and also wanted us to replace the oil tank, the HVAC unit, etc. Are you effing kidding me?!? Then they said, well if you can't do that, sign a paper saying that if the AC doesn't work in the summer that WE have to pay to fix it. WTF? Are you nuts?!?! We did nothing of the sort. I think they were going to ask for a kidney next.

Okay...long story short. We *did* close yesterday. Fantastic. However, we got about 10% of what we were expecting. So Whatever. The biggest kicker is....we still have to pay on the roof. We didn't make enough to pay off the roof loan. Nice, eh? So now for the next 3.5 years, I have to pay for a brand new roof for the 2 most annoying and rude people on the planet.

To this, I say, goodbye and good riddance to Philadelphia. I will miss your Clam Tavern, your Ciminera's Pizza, your Vietnam Restaurant, and your Gooey Louie's Cheesesteaks...but that's it!

I will truly miss my friends....Jill, Mike, Loralee, and all of my friends in the office out in Plymouth Meeting. Even after all we've been through, it's really hard to give up seeing them regularly.

Offer Accepted!

2008-01-14T08:07:00.000-05:00

Last night, we put an offer in on this house! We went to our agent's (Alisha) office and filled out the paperwork. She emailed the documents to the seller's agent. Alisha called their agent and spoke to her about our offer. Their agent said she'd call her clients and speak to them. They agreed to our offer! No counter offer! We had a signed agreement of sale before we left Alisha's office! Wooo! Closing is set for February 15!

It's a bit ironic, really. When I moved to Philly it was September 14, 2004. When Josh moved to Philly and we brought all of our belongings, it was February 14, 2005. When I moved back to Pittsburgh, it was September 15, 2007. When we move into our new house with all of our belongings, it'll be February 15, 2008! Weird!

The house has 4 bedrooms, a 2nd floor laundry, large kitchen, huge back yard with lots of trees, 2 car garage, and is practically brand new. We can't wait to move in!

My New Love

2008-01-13T00:24:00.000-05:00

This stuff is like a magic potion! It's one of those "don't knock it 'til you've tried it" type things. I never thought I needed a primer, that is, until I tried it. Yeah, it's a keeper!

The Holy Grail

2008-01-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

Some people seek it out and never find it...but I did.

4 Years Later

2008-01-09T22:09:00.000-05:00

The last time these two were together was October 11, 2003. It's been quite a while. While they may be a little bit older and a little bit chunkier (he,he), nothing else has changed. Megan and I looked on as we watched Josh and Josh drink a poorly-made Irish Car Bomb. Earlier that evening, we had dinner at Fat Head's, visited Megan's parents, and then stopped at a couple bars. We ended up at a bar down by Cal U. Ah, memories.

Who wants to drink something that makes you make such a face?!

i wish....

2007-12-31T10:06:00.001-05:00

i wish i was here....

Weekend in Philly

2007-12-09T14:59:00.001-05:00

It’s going to be a busy weekend…I just hope we can fit it all in.

We left before 5am on Friday and drove out to Philly. I went into the office for my annual performance review. My boss took me out to lunch and afterwards, I met up with Josh and we headed to the house.

I’m still angry and I still feel violated that someone was in my house for an extended period of time…going through my things…stealing things…trying to steal things…and dismantling my railing. It sickens me. So, yes, I hate people.

That evening, we went to The Clam Tavern with Jill and Mike. Jill and I exchanged Christmas gifs and they got us a rather interesting gift that only the 4 of us know the story behind. It was really funny…we were going to get them the same thing! We came back to the house after dinner and had a few drinks….all of us sitting around in a circle on the floor...telling stories and laughing. Who says you need furniture to have a good time?

Saturday, we got up and got ready for lunch at Vietnam….#46 and 93! Afterwards, we went over to south Philly to Claudios. I always love going there. The guys are so nice and are more than happy to let you sample whatever you want! I got my provolone and parmigiano-reggiano and I was set! We walked over to Anthony’s for coffee. Josh got a mocha and I got a hazelnut affagado. Yum! Then drove over to Gooey Louie’s for cheesesteaks…one for now and 3 for the road!

That night, we went to my office Christmas party. It was really nice…lots of food…lots of drinks…poker tables..blackjack..craps..roulette…all for fun. Looks like I’m invited to next year’s party, too!

Up early again on Sunday. We had to replace the banister to the basement and I dug up my rosemary plant…it’s huge! I hope it doesn’t die!

zoom-zoom!

2007-10-24T09:58:00.000-04:00

I got a new car! As Josh puts it, I finally got a "sensible" car. Hey, whatever floats his boat. It's a 2007 Mazda CX-7...and it's loaded! Leather, heated seats, remote start, navigation, sunroof, Bose sound system, DVD player, keyless ignition...and it's turbocharged, heh, heh. I guess the sensible side of it is that it's AWD. We drove the CX-7 when we were in Oregon and really liked it.

Yes, it was sad ending the Mustang era, but who's to say I'll never own another one? Sometimes you just have to switch things up a bit to keep it interesting! I was able to get a good price on it because my daddy helped me out. :)

Eye Candy:

OBX

2007-10-23T14:32:00.000-04:00

Better late than never, right?

Labor Day weekend, my BFF Jill and I headed down to the Outer Banks. Luckily enough, her dad owns a house down there and was more than happy to allow me to spend the weekend there with them.

The first night, we got there pretty late. We unpacked the car and had our Indian food leftovers for a late dinner. We had a couple drinks and her dad and Dolly arrived. We talked to them for a while before heading to bed.

The next morning, we decided we needed to hit the beach ASAP! We had breakfast and coffee on the back patio with her dad and Dolly and we got ready for some sand and surf. We were so desperate for some color that we totally blew off sunscreen...and paid dearly for it. Her dad and Dolly met us on the beach. We shared a few beers and fell asleep in the sun. Later that night, Jill and I were like lobsters on the front...pale as a ghost on the back. Whoops! We had a late lunch back at the house and then got dressed to go out. I was feeling pretty bad at this point and felt that I had a bit of sun poisoning. The four of us went out to see a friend of theirs sing and we had some appetizers. I went directly to bed, as I was still feeling a bit nauseated.

Sunday morning I felt a lot better. The 4 of us had breakfast and then Jill and I went shopping. I needed to pick up some salt water taffy and we checked out the outlets. I also had German food for the first time! In the past, I had always been a tad afraid of all the different "wursts" out there. I mean, how many ways can you make a sausage?! Anyway, it was pretty darn good...especially with the beer sampler! I also tried the red cabbage and spatzle. That evening we met her dad and Dolly for dinner..had some tropical drinks...sushi...it was a good time. After dinner, we all had some cocktails on the patio and chatted well into the night.

Monday we made a few stops for beer for the boys before heading home. I had a blast! It was so nice to have a girly weekend and Jill is one of the only girls I can truly be myself around. We always have fun together. I miss her.

Back from the Pacific Northwest

2007-09-13T21:50:00.001-04:00

Ah, I am late getting to this, but better late than never! I'm posting a link to my web album from our trip to the Pacific Northwest. I can tell you all about it here, but I'd rather tell you how amazingly awesome it was in person! Mark my words...I *will* live in Oregon one day. I may be retired, but I will live there.

Cick on the picture below for the web album.

Pacific Northwest

A Dream Come True

2007-08-29T20:19:00.000-04:00

This is not the first time I've said that I love my job...and it has finally paid off! I'm going to the northwestern US next week, for work, but I'm going to have a lot of extra time on my hands. There's one place that I swore I would go if I ever made it to Oregon....Crater Lake National Park. This place has been in every one of my geology books..it's a collapsed caldera...and it's a gorgeous place. I'm seriously so excited that I could cry.

I've bought Josh a plane ticket as well. There's no point in making a once in a lifetime trip without your best friend. He's very excited too! We'll also be driving to Spokane, Washington and Boise, Idaho. We'll end our trip in Portland, Oregon. How much fun will that be?!

I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain...

A girl's best friend.

2007-08-25T16:20:00.000-04:00

I love my Bailey.

September 16.

2007-08-25T15:21:00.001-04:00

That's the day. The day I move back to Pittsburgh! The next 3 weeks are going to be insane!!

Andi Eats Pat's

2007-08-24T10:55:00.000-04:00

In honor of Andi (probably) coming to visit the weekend of September 8th, I though I'd post a photo of her last visit to Philly.

As you can see, she has 2 cheesesteaks there with her. The one on the ground is from Geno's. The one she is so gracefully shoving in her mouth is from Pat's.

Turns out, she liked Geno's better. I think it's because she got Whiz on that one and got something else on the Pat's steak. This time, I'll take her somewhere even better!

Paddy's

2007-08-20T12:48:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I went back to Pittsburgh. I got in about 3 on Friday and spent the afternoon and evening with my parents and nephew. When Josh got home from work, we went over to my aunt's house to stay. We chatted for a while and had some wine, then went to bed.

Saturday, Josh and I went to Kennywood. I finally got to get a corn dog and potato patch fries. It's been at least 5 years since I've been there! Afterwards, we had dinner at the Pour House and then headed home. We had the Shin and Guinness Stew and Colcannon...man, it was good! When we got back, we played with Francis for a bit.

Sunday, we got up early to go look at houses. We liked one out of seven. Not good odds. Although, why fall in love with something until our house is at least bid on?! So, nothing new on that front, unfortunately. For lunch, Josh and I went to Fat Head's...best wings ever. Then Loralee and I headed back to Philly. The drive was horrible. After sitting in the Parkway East traffic for over an hour, it still took us 6 hours to get home because of the traffic and weather. Ugh!

"...I'd trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday...." Janis Joplin

Caught In a Jar....

2007-08-16T11:25:00.000-04:00

Now there comes a day, in every man's life where decisions have to be made: whether to toil, labor or just plain piss your days away, away, away!

Got a funny feeling that my times are caught in a jar.... madness and insanity have arrived!!!!!!!!

Know to christ and everyone else my times are caught in a jar...

satan's grin is bearing down on me!

Up in the morn, here comes the day, god knows i hate it this way when i'm in a casket life.

Fighting the wife, neglecting the kids, spending time on ridiculous bids, the four walls are closing in!

Still got a funny feeling that my times are caught in a jar, madness and insanity have arrived!!!

I heart sushi!

2007-08-14T21:18:00.000-04:00

Loralee and I went for Sushi tonight at Margaret Kuo's. It was so yummy! I could have eaten double what I did! We had the crazy roll, dragon roll, and of course, a Philadelphia roll. Mmm...heaven!

We had a good time! Our next excursion will be to find a place we've never been...which won't be hard, but we're looking for exotic, too!

2007-08-13T08:28:00.001-04:00

Friday after work, our company took a ton of us to the Phillies game. We rode down in a school bus and were allowed to bring our libation of choice. It's so funny to see people outside of work, you really get a sense of what kind of person they are. I managed to keep it on the down low and would assume they don't know any more about me than they did before. I also tried to get Jill a job...which didn't take much arm-twisting. They'd hire her if she wanted them to.

After days of 90+ degree weather and 70+ percent humidity, it was actually pretty cold that night. Even with jeans and a sweater, the wind just made it unbearable. There were about a dozen of us that headed back to the bus in the 7th inning. Jill and I had some horrible chicken strips and fries for dinner, so we had to go to acme after the game since everything else was closed. So we had a late dinner of pizza rolls and crab rangoon. Now I know how college kids who live in dorms feel.

Saturday, my aunt and uncle came to visit. They got to meet Jill and we all got chased out of the house because there was a showing at noon. I drove them down to Gooey Louie's for the best cheesesteaks in Philly, then over to the Italian market....because you always have to go to Claudio's! We tried to find an Italian pastry shop but it must be vacation season for bakers. We stopped in a really nice coffee house and had coffee and desserts. I had an affagado..which was hazelnut gelato topped with espresso. Yum! We all went to the Clam Tavern for dinner. It's close to the house and the best seafood I've had. So that's the place to go when people come to visit! The downside to that was, I found out that night that I must be allergic to Alaskan crab legs. I didn't eat but a few bites, but I was up all night puking my guts out. Nice, eh?

Sunday I still felt a bit icky, but I have a huge box of tomatoes and needed to make salsa. It turned out really good but I ran out of jars. So, more salsa-making tonight!

Ooh la la

2007-08-09T21:06:00.001-04:00

I just got back from Toppers Salon...I had my hair did. Since Josh isn't here to do it for me, I actually had to pay someone! What do you think?

Change in venue

2007-08-08T16:38:00.000-04:00

I've started a new blog exclusively for recipes. I'll keep the ones here that i've already posted, but new recipes will be posted to the new blog. This blog will remain for more random thoughts.

Handle Like Candy

Fiesta Rice

2007-08-07T20:10:00.000-04:00

This recipe is from Cooking Light. It's great as a side, inside burritos, and an alternative filling for quesadillas.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of salt
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with chiles, undrained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Preparation
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add corn to pan; cook 10 minutes or until corn starts to brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan. Set aside.

Melt butter in pan. Add onions; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice, cumin, and garlic; cook 1 minute.

Add chicken broth, black pepper, salt, and diced tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat; stir in reserved corn and beans. Cover and let stand 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro and juice.

Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 226(16% from fat); FAT 3.9g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 6.6g; CHOLESTEROL 4mg; CALCIUM 52mg; SODIUM 354mg; FIBER 4.9g; IRON 2.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.5g

Giada's Balsamic Brown Butter Ravioli

2007-08-07T20:04:00.000-04:00

We all love Giada!!

18 to 20 ounces store-bought ravioli (cheese, mushroom, or squash)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts*

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally. Drain ravioli onto a large serving platter.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan cook the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the foam subsides, and the butter begins to turn a golden brown, about 3 minutes, turn off the heat. Let cool for about 1 minute. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Transfer the ravioli to the pan saucepan with the balsamic brown butter. Sprinkle walnuts and Parmesan over the top. Serve immediately.

*I didn't use walnuts. I chopped up some sundried tomatoes (in oil) and sprinkled on top.

Pittsburgh on My Mind....

2007-08-06T08:57:00.000-04:00

Josh came out this weekend to visit and help me pack. He got here Friday afternoon and I left work early. I made enchiladas for dinner and we just relaxed and Josh had to catch up on a backlog of Tivo’d shows!

Saturday, we got dressed and headed to the city. I got to go to Claudio’s and get some cheese, and then we went to Gooey Louie’s for lunch…for a cheesesteak, of course! Then it was over to South Street to check out a couple stores and get Irish Ice and custard. Yum! We left the city and headed down to Delaware. I finally got to check out World Market. Now I’m bummed that they don’t have one in Pittsburgh! We headed over to the liquor store for some Lambic and beer. Jill and Mike were coming over later, so we needed to stock up! We ended up getting the case of Yuengling for free….it’s nice when people screw up in our favor! Stopped at Breuster’s for ice cream and then headed back to the house. Jill and Mike came over and we headed out to the Clam Tavern. Dinner was awesome as always and they came back to our house for a couple drinks before heading home.

Sunday, well, we had to work sometime! We went over to Springfield Mall to get Josh a few dress items for him for work. It’s so hard finding decent dress shoes for men! So we went over to DSW and finally found something. We drove out to Home Depot for a few things, and of course, they didn’t have what we needed. We raided a few dumpsters for boxes and went back to the house to pack. We got most of the kitchen done and he got all of his clothes packed. I made filets, cheddar mashed potatoes, and Caprese salad for dinner. We found out that my food processor can shred cheese like mad! The look on Josh’s face was classic! He looked at me as if I had been hiding this secret from him and that I was making him hand-grate cheese for my personal enjoyment! So then I pulled out the slicer blade…sliced a big cucumber in less than 2 seconds! We were amazed…it doesn’t take much, apparently! We watched the Steelers win the Hall of Fame game and went to bed. I also found out that I’m finally getting an oak rain barrel! It sounds pretty cool and is a nice piece of history. Now I just need to get a house!

Today, Josh is meeting me for lunch before getting on the road. It’ll be nice, but needless to say, I’m still bummed. Well, at least my life had a brief moment of normalcy.

Morning Glory Muffins

2007-07-31T22:31:00.001-04:00

I substituted the pineapple for cranberries. I thought the cranberries would give it a nice tart bite. They turned out so good!!

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup whole wheat flour (about 4 3/4 ounces)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
1 cup regular oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon wheat bran
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2)
1 large egg
1 cup chopped pitted dates
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped dried pineapple
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed (about 2 tablespoons whole)

PreparationPreheat oven to 350°.

Place 18 muffin cups liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray.
Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt, banana, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in dates, walnuts, and pineapple. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle evenly with flaxseed. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack.

Yield
18 servings (serving size: 1 muffin)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 186(21% from fat); FAT 4.4g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.7g,poly 2.8g); PROTEIN 4.2g; CHOLESTEROL 12mg; CALCIUM 42mg; SODIUM 190mg; FIBER 3.4g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35.2g

Saturday Night

2007-07-28T21:16:00.000-04:00

I spent most of the day painting our TV room on the advice of a lot of people trying to sell a house. The walls used to be Peach Tea, but now they're Oat Cake! I think the room looks a lot bigger, sunnier, and more relaxing. I need to pick up some accent pillows and sheers to finish it off.

Here is the "before" image....what do you think?

So, after a long shower, cooking dinner, repainting my nails and toenails, I get to relax. A good way to end a Saturday night......

Zucchini Pie

2007-07-28T21:14:00.001-04:00

Another recipe from my BFF Jill! I ended up baking this in my grill because my oven is dead and it turned out great!

Zucchini pie

4 c very thinly sliced zucchini (about 3 med. Sized zucc’s)
1 med Vidalia onion, diced
¼ t each garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, black pepper, sea salt
1 can Pillsbury crescent roll dough (DO NOT use reduced fat)
1 T mustard (any kind)
2 eggs, beaten
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese (part skim ok)
½ stick butter (or 4 T Earth Balance Soy Garden Buttery Spread!)

1. heat butter, sautee zucchini and onions. Add spices and sautee 5 minutes, let sit to cool off.
2. line glass pie plate with crescent roll dough, smear mustard on ‘crust’. Preheat oven to 375 F
3. when slightly cooled off, add 2 beaten eggs to zucchini mix. Mix well, add cheese, mix.
4. pour into pie crust
5. bake at 375 for 25 min. if not turning golden brown on top, reduce heat to 325 and bake for another 5-10 min.
6. let sit 10 min before serving

It's been too long

2007-07-24T08:47:00.001-04:00

Tonight I'm going to dinner at Vietnam Restaurant with Loralee. I can't wait! I haven't been there in ages!

Weekend in Pittsburgh

2007-07-23T19:20:00.001-04:00

I finally got to go back to Pittsburgh this past weekendnd! I haven't been home since January and it was nice to be back...especially with the nice weather.
I drove out on Thursday so that I could get up early Friday morning to head out to our Pittsburgh office to meet everyone there. It went really well and they seem excited for my arrival. Afterwards, we met our realtor and looked at a few houses. Unfortunatley, none of them would have worked for us, so the hunt goes on!

We drove down to the South Side and had lunch at Fat Head's. It's been too long!!! Then we walked around South Side Works...so much to do there and it's so pretty! It made me happy to know I'd be coming back for good. We had dinner that night with my sister, brother-in-law, and our nephew. Despite a few service mishaps, we had a nice dinner. When we got back to the house, we played with Francis and as we were heading up to bed, he started crying. He didn't want us to go! So we took him upstairs to our bedroom to play with Bailey. I had brought him along so he wouldn't be alone in Philly. Francis was having so much fun playing with the kitty and Josh even taught him to say "oh snap!" It was too cute!

Saturday, Josh and I went to breakfast and to Target. That afternoon, we went to an outdoor show and saw a bunch of our friends there. I hung out with my sister and nephew, and our friend Jilissa and her baby. I know, I didn't watch any of the bands, but that's fine by me! The babies had a good time and I got to play with Francis for a long time.

Sunday we had to go to a family reunion for Josh's gram's family. I ate too much. I had to get on the road to come back to Philly. It was a bit depressing having to come home to an empty house and learn that the offers on the house fell through. Back to the drawing board.

Today, I buried my St. Joseph statue. I hope he can help me!

Russian Vanilla Sky

2007-07-23T19:17:00.000-04:00

1 part Coffee Liqueor
1 part Vanilla Vodka
2 parts heavy cream

Mix with ice and serve in a rocks glass. This tastes like a Starbucks Iced Vanilla Latte!

Chocolate-Covered Frozen Banana

2007-07-23T19:15:00.000-04:00

1 part coffee liqueur
1/2 part banana rum
1/2 part dark creme de cocao
1/2 part cream
1/2 banana
4-5 ice cubes

Blend in smoothie maker or blender.

Banana Pudding

2007-07-17T19:04:00.000-04:00

Banana Pudding

Servings: Makes 8 to 10 servings

Serving Size: 1/8 of a recipe

Nutrition: See Below

Prep Time: 15 minutesCook Time: 0Total Time: 0

Ingredients
1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 (4-serving) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups (1 pint) whipping cream, whipped
36 vanilla wafers
4 medium bananas, sliced and dipped in lemon juice

Instructions
In large bowl, combine EAGLE BRAND® and water. Add pudding mix; beat until well blended. Chill 5 minutes.
Fold in whipped cream. Spoon 1 cup pudding mixture into 2 1/2-quart glass serving bowl.
Top with one-third each of the vanilla wafers, bananas and remaining pudding. Repeat layering twice, ending with pudding mixture. Chill thoroughly. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie

2007-07-17T18:58:00.000-04:00

I made this for a birthday party in our office and it was a huge hit! It's totally divine! I put it in a 9x9 pyrex so I could cut small squares. It's so rich that a small piece is all you need.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie

*I used a 9x9 square Pyrex

Ganache: 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup heavy cream

Filling: 6 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup heavy cream, plus 3/4 cup, whipped soft 6 1/2 (1-ounce) squares premium white baking chocolate, melted 1/2 teaspoon orange zest 2/3 cup roasted, chopped macadamia nuts 1 pre-baked deep-dish (9-inch) pie shell
Garnish: 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar 1 to 2 ounces chopped macadamia nuts

Ganache: Place chocolate chips in a metal mixing bowl. Bring cream to a simmer over medium heat. Pour simmering cream over chips and stir until melted. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar with a handheld electric mixer until smooth. Scrape bowl with a spatula and mix in 1/3 cup heavy cream. Add the melted white chocolate, zest, and nuts and stir just until incorporated. Fold in the whipped cream. Spread into pre-baked pie shell and level off using a rubber spatula. Put in freezer until frozen.
To finish pie, place the ganache in the microwave on low for no more than 10 seconds at a time. Stir after each warming, until ganache pours loosely but is not even close to boiling. Be very careful when warming chocolate, as it will burn very quickly when heated in the microwave. Once chocolate is scorched it is unusable. Spread warm ganache over top of frozen pie, smoothing to the edges with a spatula.

Garnish: Beat cream and confectioners' sugar with a handheld electric mixer to stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe edges of pie with whipped cream. Sprinkle macadamia nuts over top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pats self on back...

2007-07-16T19:30:00.000-04:00

I am so proud of myself!

Saturday, I fixed the ice maker. It had been acting up and no water was getting to it. We hadn't been able to make ice cubes for months. Now, the ice is flowing at a glacial level!

Today. I replaced an electrical switch. The switch to the light in the basement broke. This required some research. I went and got a new switch, came back home and had it replaced in 5 minutes! And of course, I remembered to turn the main power off before trying anything!!

I am so freakin' handy, I amaze myself sometimes! In other words, I rule!

Naughty Banana Split

2007-07-15T20:57:00.000-04:00

1 part coffee liqueur
1/2 part banana rum
1/2 part dark creme de cocao
1/2 part cream
1/2 banana
3 frozen strawberries
4-5 ice cubes

Blend in smoothie maker or blender.

It tastes just like a banana split! OMG! Me and my BFF Jill created this today and it was orgasmic! LOL!

A Midsummer's Night

2007-07-15T20:43:00.000-04:00

Another busy weekend!

Friday night, I met a nestie for pizza. It amazes me how small the world really is. She's also from Pittsburgh, but has been living here for 3 years. Even more amazing, she lives very close to me. Kinda sad that we've just met! We had a couple of slices at Peace, a Pizza and chatted for a while about moving back to Pittsburgh and how we both ended up out here. It was fun. I think we'll be going to the Vietnamese restaurant soon.

Saturday, Jill came over and spent the night. I made basil mock duck for dinner and for dessert we had some sangria that I made. I used a bottle of berry wine, a bottle of prosecco, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, and limes and just let it all steep for a while. It was so good! She brought a movie over...Dirty Dancing! LOL! Believe it or not, that was the first time I'd seen it! We had talked about it a few weeks back, and figured it'd be the perfect chick flick for our 'slumber party'.

On Sunday, we got everything ready to make pickles. She brought all the stuff we needed and we made a bunch of dill pickles and dill beans. The dill beans were an experiment, so we'll see how they turn out! I also introduced Jill to Five Guys and she loved it, of course! Best burgers ever!

Basil Mock Duck

2007-07-11T19:13:00.000-04:00

Basil Mock Duck

*If you’re not a fan of seitan, you can substitute it with chicken or even thin pieces of beef, although,I highly recommend trying it with the seitan!

1 can Mock Duck (seitan) -drained

4 carrots, peeled and julienned

1 cup of broccolini (add more if you like)

1 cup of green beans (fresh) (add more if you like)

1 thai chili

1 clove garlic

¼ Cup of water

4 basil leaves (chopped)

3 tablespoons of Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce (tu’o’nggiavi)

3 tablespoons of KecapManis–Sate1-2 tablespoons of KwongHung SengSauce (Thin Soy Sauce)

4 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

In a saucepot, warm 2 tablespoons of oil with the thaichili and clove of garlic. Let the chili and garlic infuse the oil and remove.

Add water and the 3 thai sauces, and sugar, lightly simmer to melt sugar.

Add chopped basil leaves. Keep sauce warm.

In a skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stir fry the vegetables. They should be cooked yet crisp. Add in the seitan to warm it. Add sauce to skillet with veggies and seitan and toss to coat.

Serve with a side of white rice.

2007-07-09T08:10:00.000-04:00

This weekend was fun! Saturday I drove over to Jill's house. I had an appointment at 1:00 to get my hair trimmed and we had 2:00 appointments for manicures at Topper's Spa. The place was really nice and we were given the royal treatment!

Afterwards, we went to Cherry Hill Mall. We went in Sephora and I got to exchange a couple of things. By this time we were starving. So we left the mall in search of an Indian restaurant. Jill hadn't been to any in the area, but knew of one. When we got there, it was closed....permanently! So, we debated going for Mexican or pizza, but then decided to head up to Quakerbridge for Indian. No sooner did we get on the road that I spotted another Indian restaurant! Woo! It was awesome! They had a pretty extensive menu and we both ordered appetizers, dinner, naan, and dessert for under $40!

After dinner, we headed back over to her house. She made peach fuzz cocktails and we sat outside in their gazebo/tent thingie. Mike built us a fire...it was very cool.

Sunday we went to Target and Payless to check out the new fall stuff. Target had some really cute things in the new Lucky mag, so we had to check that out. Drove out to Steve & Barry's. I'd never heard of it, but apparently, it's very similar to Old Navy, but cheaper! They had shirts for $8, guy's shorts 2 for $20...things like that. So I got a couple of things for Josh, something for my sis, and a pair of comfy crops for me.

Now it's back to the grind. I'm so tired!!

House for Sale!

2007-07-06T09:53:00.000-04:00

Our house is finally on the market. It looks good and it's (hopefully) priced to sell! Looks like I'll be going to find a St. Joseph statue today! I need all the help I can get, divine or otherwise!

Here's the link:

228 N. Springfield Road

First Hair Cut

2007-07-02T11:54:00.000-04:00

My cutie pie nephew just had his first hair cut. Enjoy the slideshow!

2007-06-30T20:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Josh and I met my parents at the Green Dragon Flea Market. All we bought was some beef jerky and homemade apple butter. I almost bought a Louis Vuitton knock-off, but changed my mind at the last minute.

On our way back...we finally got to stop at Sonic! I haven't been there since grad school and I had to introduce Josh to it. I got my fave...the chicken club toaster sandwich, and tots, of course! Oh, and cherry limeade! Yum!

Josh left for Pittsburgh today, so now I'm all alone. Just me and Bailey. He's only been gone 6 hours and it already sucks. I just keep thinking he's going to come back, but he's nort. Our lives together in Philly are basically over. Now starts the whirlwind of selling the house, packing, moving....again! I'm going back to Pittsburgh to visit him on the 21st. I also need to go to my company's Pittsburgh office to meet everyone, get my car inspected, and get new brakes.

Tomorrow...I need to finish cleaning the house. It's going up for sale on Monday and it has to be in tip-top shape!

Chicken or Turkey Gumbo

2007-06-27T19:36:00.000-04:00

This is what I'm making tonight. My very good friend, Andi, from Houston, TX sent me her tried and true recipe for gumbo. I've added okra to this as well. This is quoted from an email she sent me, so it's not exact! Enjoy!

Chicken gumbo (or turkey).
Usually i roast a turkey or chicken, serve it up, eat as much as i want and save a tiny bit of white meat but mostly the dark meat since we don't eat that. (some people just use chicken parts specifically for gumbo but i like getting two meals out of it) Pull all the excess meat from the carcass and set it aside. Place carcass or carcasses (if you make chicken gumbo i like to use two carcasses), fill pot with water and canned broth to cover the carcass (4 cans water 4 cans broth might do it but i'm not sure if that's one chicken carcass or two, so you might double it). Bring to a boil then simmer 2 hours or maybe 3 with the lid on until the water is flavored. You want to cook alot of the flavor out of the bones, but if you cook too long you'll decompose the little joints holding everything together and have the worlds tiniest bones and cartilage to sift through, if you try to salvage any of the meat that boils off the carcass.
Strain the liquid into a seperate container and set aside. I usually do the broth/stock the night before i make gumbo.
In a very large stock pot (we're talking not super huge like crawfish boiling or turkey frying but big enough to fit most of the turkey carcass in it when you made the stock). 1 large heaping spoon (we mean the spoon you use to stir or serve spaghetti and things like that not a tablespoon something bigger) of flour, and 1 large spoon of olive oil. Medium Low heat stirring constantly until a mahoghany color. You can't stop stirring be careful of splashups and if you do get splashed run cold water over it immediately.
The roux goes through phases, you have oak, peanut butter, walnut color and when you get a distinct reddish brown tint it's mahoghany that's where you want it for gumbo.
When the roux is ready, remove from heat and quickly mix in chopped onion, chopped celery, and garlic. I think i use 1 onion , 4 stalks celery sliced (the heart is the best), the white part of a bunch of green onions, and 3 cloves garlic (again this might all be double i can't recall if this is the small recipe or the large).
You can tweak it. I usually eyeball it gumbo is intuitive not scientific. stir these in, then place it back over the heat and cook stirring frequently in the roux until onions are soft. Add the stock and cook for 2-3 hours (i think covered i can't recall). 30minutes from being done toss in chopped celery leaves, a bunch of chopped green onions green part, 1 bellpepper chopped, and a bunch of parsley chopped. Add back in the turkey or chicken meat (if you add it too soon it'd get tough)
serve over steamed rice (i like a little rice and lots of liquid some people like lots of rice little liquid), and you absolutely MUST add gumbo file (sassafrass powder. i like lots of it but at least a little is sprinkled ontop of each bowl in addition that some is sprinkled into the pot). If you can't find File let me know and i'll send you some. It should be in the spice section Zatarans as an example sells it in a little glass jar. I also add salt and pepper to taste to the gumbo before and when serving. you can add to the pot leftover chicken or turkey gravy made from deglazing the pan (not the mix that sucks), but be careful not to add too much or it gets greasy and nasty (unless you really strain your gravy).

I'm famous!

2007-06-27T13:39:00.000-04:00

Not really! I appeared in print in one of our company's inter-company newsletters.

Federal Programs Messenger

It's not a very flattering pic of me...but at least I look important! LOL!

Photos

2007-06-26T09:46:00.000-04:00

We recently took a trip to New Hope, PA. Click on the picture below to view my pictures!
:)

My life is an open book...

Thai Basil Chicken

2007-06-25T13:40:00.000-04:00

This recipe was given to me by a good friend. Thanks, Jill.

1 lb skinned, boneless chicken breasts
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, chopped
2 T olive oil
2 red hot chili peppers, stemmed and finely chopped
1 1/2 c finely chopped fresh basil leaves (i measured first... then finely chopped half of it, then just coarsely hand-tore the rest for added texture and visual interest)
1 T fish sauce (i used soy and it turned out fine)
1 red pepper, coarse chopped
1 green pepper, coarse chopped

put ckn breasts in freezer till firm but not frozen solid, cut into thin slivers. heat up wok, add oil, stirfry garlic and onions till tender but not brown - about 1-2 min. add chili peppers and cook, stirring, another 1 min. add ckn and stirfry till cooked thru. stir in basil and fish sauce, mix thoroughly. add red/green peppers and stirfry till tender but still hold color. serve over rice.

First timer.

2007-06-25T13:17:00.000-04:00

This is my first time posting a blog here. I have given up MySpace for a more grown-up approach to blogging. I quickly tired of the competition on MySpace and the endless freind requests from strangers just looking to add to their friends list.

If you've found this page...then you're interested in reading about what I do on the weekends, new recipes I've tried, and just anything that's on my mind!

Thanks for stopping by!