Little Miss Organizized: 101 Things in 1001 Days

The End.

2009-10-30T12:49:00.006-05:00

Wow. SO that's it! Went out with a whimper indeed! Actually, the final day went out with quite a bang because we had our CK Halloween party and it was nonstop shenanigans all day...AND night! So many shenanigans that I completely forgot it was the last day of my list haha!! But interestingly enough, in regards to figuring out my end-date for the list, I wrote this on January 23, 2007: "SO instead I'm just starting this Feb 1st and then the end date will be something like Oct 29th, 2009. I'll celebrate with some Halloween festivities?"

Ok! Well, to begin, I just wanted to say that my mom was right. While I didn't necessarily accomplish everything on the list, I did accomplish a ton...and stuff I never would've tackled had it not been for the list. To quote one of my first posts:

"In other words, why am I doing this aside from my little plan to get organized? My 30th birthday is Jan 6, 2010. Over the last few years, well since I graduated college really, I've felt as though life is just zippin' on by and all I do is go to work, watch my fave tv shows, and sleep. I really want to change that before I turn 30. It would most definitely give me a better outlook once I get there....I mean instead of arriving at the big 3-0 and thinking to myself: what the hell have I even done with my life?"

Well, "what the hell have I even done with my life" is the LAST thing I'll say on Jan 6th 2010! And now I have the list to prove it.

I would also like to note that my darkest days were after my two "massive" breakups and this list made me feel like my own person. I started this ginormous undertaking two weeks before the first breakup. Much of the list was actually devoted to doing stuff with John and his daughter. After the proverbial ax hit, however, I decided to revamp the list and make it more about me. That helped tremendously. And it helped again after the second breakup because I was already trained to have someone to fall back on: me. Even in my current relationship, I have such a better grasp on standing on my own two feet and knowing that I'm important too...that I can't just drop everything, forget about myself, and devote all my energy to someone else. I know it sounds so unromantic that way ;) but trust me, it's a lesson learned and an important one at that. But I would like to say that I finally see a lot of positivity in that past relationship and the things I learned from it. Everything happens for a reason and it feels great to finally see that. Nothing is ever a waste.

Ok enough of all that pontificating! No ginormous undertaking is complete without:

My 101 Things in 1001 Days RECAP!

A lot happened over the last 1001 days. My best friends' wedding, several babies, those two ~~pesky~~ good-in-the-longrun breakups, several dudes (ha...ha?), a couple hairstyles and colors, only one job and one apartment, surprisingly enough! OH! And a new and super rad boyfriend with whom I'd like to love for as long as I can :)

In the last 1001 days, I revisited a lot of Milwaukee, including the Zoo, the Art Museum, a couple Farmers Markets, the State Fair, and ten new restaurants. I got my culture on at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Ballet, and the Skylight Opera. I saw a bunch of hot air balloons, went ice skating, played in the rain, flew kites, watched the moonrise, learned to play golf, and carved a couple pumpkins, including Brad!

I made over 130 new recipes and tried weird produce items like dragon fruit and endive. I learned how to make sushi, a roux, and béchamel sauce! I made apricot barbecue sauce from scratch.

I saw Vegas AND the Grand Canyon. I went on a surprise trip through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri.

I had a blast being a Salvation Army bellringer. I did not have a blast donating blood and platelets. Some kids in Africa have my McDonald's Teeny Beany Baby collection. Some random Milwaukeean had a parking ticket paid by me. All my friends got homemade cards for Christmas, birthday, wedding, anniversary, baby shower, Baptism, etc etc etc...I seriously haven't bought a greeting card in like three years!

I finished Atlas Shrugged.

I read over a dozen books.

Most fun artistic project: Well, I didn't DO many of those, but to this day, I still remember all the work that went into Monica and Tim's surprise "Memory Lane" wedding gift :) I also really loved learning how to decoupage and making my sister her Hitchcock cabinet!

Most unbelievable (I actually did it!) task: See all the greater Milwaukee area fireworks at the same time.

Most glutton-for-punishment task: giving something up every...single...month. "Looks like it's sweet bakery again!" The worst give-ups were: 1. no eating out 2. giving up all alcohol except red wine. Boy that was rough after awhile!

My proudest moments: Teaching myself web design and making my portfolio site, as well as running the Al's Run 8K, but generally, becoming a real runner.

***

So I won't be adding to this blog anymore. It's done. "But what about 101 Things in 1001 Days: The Denouement" you ask? Yeah that. The following are the artistic projects I never finished (or even started!):

-Write/design a cookbook
-Create my box purses
-Zeetles!® A quote photocard project!
-Make a photography book via Blurb
-Participate in 26 things Photograph Project at least a couple times
-Build up a collection of goods to sell at an art/craft show (and be willing to part with them!)
-Create INKYTNMO* Scrapbook
-Hipster Geocache

I really do want to be in an art/craft fair in the future, so perhaps this will be the subject of my next blog: My Road to the Fair. Most of the aforementioned projects could be featured at said fair: My cookbook created via Blurb (I already narrowed down 33 recipes-one for each month of the list), box purses, and greeting cards. Along with vinyl 45 record notebooks and handbags, Polaroid lamps, rad baby announcements, 26 Things: The Milwaukee Alphabet, and other random stuff I'll figure out. As for the scrapbook? Yikes. Maybe I'll be bored one day. And finally, Hipster Geocache? This is the best idea ever and I'm determined to implement it. Especially for next year when it gets warm again!

So that is literally all she wrote! Thank you to the three people who followed me on this journey haha! And hey, if you--yes, I'm talking to you--stumble upon this blog, and want to liven up your life a little, try tackling this intense project. You won't necessarily notice a drastic change, but drastic changes definitely happen. I'm sure there will come a time down the road when I'll hit some major midlife crisis and I'll need to whip up another one of these.

It'll be awhile though.

I'm too big of a fan of sweet bakery.

One more day.

2009-10-28T10:42:00.005-05:00

First off, the final update:

#45 October recipes:
-Spaghetti squash with creamy chicken
-Pumpkin bars
-Chickpea stew with cranberry sauce
-Beer chili!

#51 & #99 6am wake up call!
I knocked out both these tasks when I decided to get up at 6am on all weekdays. Really the only times I failed were mornings when my sister's boyfriend got in the shower at 6am and I didn't feel like waiting, so slept instead ;) There was one other time when it was just so dark and dreary outside and I couldn't bear to open my eyes.

#87 New-to-me Music
I never really updated the last four month's worth of new music, but they are as follows:
-Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson (clearly I love Pete Yorn, and despite my semi-loathing of Scarlett, this album is wonderful!!
-Julian Plenti is...Skyscraper (clearly I love Interpol and Paul Banks' solo project is just as kickass.
-Spring Awakening (not only did I thoroughly enjoy this via my headphones, but I went ahead and checked out the actual show a few weeks ago here in Mke.
-Missy Higgins (she has a lovely voice and she is clearly Australian!)

***

Next up, tasks I sort of finished:

#46 Cookbook recipes
I got halfway through my 50 "Get Recipes from a Cookbook" task. I find that cookbook recipes are just sort of frustrating. For example, I like allrecipes.com because there are tons of reviews and tips and tricks to make the recipe just right. NEEDED in today's economy where you can't really afford to fuck up the $30 grocery bill you just paid! Over all, I probably made at least 130 new recipes (4 new per month for 33 months)...so I think I can cross THIS badboy off my list.

#50 Atypical produce
Alright, so I missed ONE atypical food...stupid blackberries. There are plenty at the store too. But considering the fact that I put 32 atypical produce items to work over the last 2.75 years, I'm gonna call this one a wash.

#54 Haircut
I missed the last two out of 12 haircuts. Just don't have the $50 to spend. Plus I'm growing it out now, so there.

#63 Apt ReOrg
I have yet to get started, but obviously this task will be done by Dec 31st. I did create SEVERAL lists of what needs to be done, however, so we're golden on this one.

#73 Parking Nazis
Ok so I never actually did this task. But one night when I was outside, I noticed my sister's boyfriend's car wasn't in a good spot, aka: he was definitely going to get a ticket. And knowing he had already received two that week, I offered him up my spot. This meant I had to take the bad spot though. Sure enough, the next morning there was a bright shiny ticket in my windshield. So $30 later, I think I deserve to cross this bad boy off my list :)

#69 Blood
Yikes, I didn't even get halfway through my 12x blood donations. But here are two posts that will be my defense.
Slow Blood and the Faux Mac
Oozing Hot Blue Liquidish Stuff
Yeah. The defense rests.

#82 Savings
1. The economy took a nosedive
2. I bought a car and have $170/mo payments
Nuff said.

#83 $1/day for 1001 days = $1001
Nope. I stopped months ago. But I'm sure I made it to like $800 or so. Which I spent in Vegas, groceries, running shoes, and other "list-related" tasks.

***

And finally, aside from my "artistic projects," here are the tasks I just didn't do...at all (and not too many, thankyouverymuch!)

#19 Open field
I was single for about half of the length of this list, give or take. So I didn't really get to squeeze in the exhibitionist shenanigans I would've liked to. But I did get somethin somethin' in a foresty area in Door County and I did make out with someone in the woman's bathroom stall on the 23rd floor of the Pfister Hotel. I'll take it!

#23 Seadog Sailing
See #82. I can't spend my money on such frivolous things. (Who am I kidding, I REEAAALLLY wanted to do this. wah wahhhhhh)

#91 Rock climbing
I thought I'd have the guts to go in and try this, but apparently not. Also, on my trip to the U.P. I decided I would not make for a good rockclimber. I do have a lot of courage when it comes to doing adventurous things, but perhaps my new love of running gives me some pause when it comes to possibly breaking my legs.

***

And that's that! Tomorrow I will conclude this list in two ways:
1. Summarizing of all the things I learned and enjoyed!
2. Discussing the possibility of a new blog: 101 Things in 1001 Days: The Denouement. (I can already hear the groans, but I do need to take care of all the artistic projects I left by the wayside.)

major update with one more month to go!

2009-09-28T11:41:00.005-05:00

So I would have to say that the biggest project I had within Section One of my 101 List was creating a portfolio website. And it's officially finished. 2.75 years ago when I started this 101 Things extravaganza, I had very minimal web experience. All I really knew was basic HTML you'd need for blogs and such. Like how to make something bold? Haha! So when I finally cracked the whip and decided to buckle down and start this project, it was quite an ordeal. Please refresh your memory at my post "I hate web design." Well, now here I am today and not only is it a major part of my JOB, but I actually set out with a portfolio site design in my head, designed it on paper, and coded it from scratch for screen. If I really sit down and think about it, I can't believe it, especially considering how much trouble I had when I began. So without further ado:

www.katienelsondesign.com

It's simple yes, but it's clean and crisp too. And I'm pretty proud! Um, if you can't tell that from my gushing over here. But I gush in case someone with minimal web experience yearning for more stumbles upon this blog and gets the message: No you CAN do it!!!

In other task completion news, like I mentioned in the last post, I went to the opera Barber of Seville (#36), which was all kinds of entertaining! I threw together some Chicken Curry and Asian Fruit Salad for Chris and I and watched the outdoor double feature of Night of the Living Dead (#16). Very very cool. I switched the "get shoes" "get boots" "splurge on this" "splurge on that" tasks like a million times (#52/53). When all was said and done I bought a $70ish pair of black shoes awhile back, a $100 pair of running shoes last spring, and a $70ish pair of black boots this weekend (actually they were only like $20 on sale!)

There you go! Mostly I'm just buzzing on the whole website deal. I mean I read that old post of mine, and I was seriously ready to give up! I thought I'd never crack the code, pun intended. Between this and running, maybe things AREN'T so impossible :)

It's the FINAL Countdown!

2009-09-17T16:14:00.008-05:00

First of all, I got to cross one more thing off my list! #47 - make sushi! Almost three years in the making jeez. I think I was building it up to be way harder than it was. It's more time intensive than anything...you have to pay attention to each step, but it's not *difficult per se. But I was really proud of myself afterward!

I'm also going to see an opera which I didn't think possible! This morning a coworker sent out an email with two FREE tickets to Barber of Seville! I requested them, but it was too late. Then later this afternoon I find out that a close friend here at work was the one who snagged them and he asked if I wanted to go! Sweet sweet action!!

Other than that, there is plenty on the list that I will NOT accomplish, but in the next month and a half here is a list of things I WILL get done:

~~1. Put up the web section, as well as the miscellaneous section of my website and call it a day (#2).~~ ...no "calling of days" it is friggin COMPLETE!!

2. Come up with like 25 solid recipes that will be put into a book eventually (I would like to make them all but take really good photos of each recipe...this requires money for each dish which I obviously can't do all at once!) (#3 & #11)

~~3. Come up with a quick "picnic" to bring to Night of the Living Dead Friday Flick tomorrow night. Random right? But hey, it's by the lakefront and it's with Chris...so there you have it (#16).~~

~~4. Go see Barber of Seville next Wednesday (#36).~~

~~5. Hook myself up with a pair of boots at Kohls during some mega sale (#53).~~

6. Get my haircut one last time, but also get it colored, and that'll take care of the one haircut I'll skip out on (#54).

7. Begin the major reOrg/clean job known as MOVING to prepare for the possible Big Move in January (#63).

8. Attempt to give platelets one final time (#69).

~~9. Get on that AntiParkingNazi biz (#73)!~~

10. Find all the random mix cds laying around my car and house and just drop 'em off all over town one day when I'm tooling around on errands (#79).

~~11. Al's Run - Oct 10th! (#97)~~

12. Starting Oct 1st: on ALL weekdays, get up at 6am no matter what. This will force me NOT to stay out late (drinking) and perhaps get more done! If I run in the morning, I will have more time after work to do other things. This will double as my "give up" for the month (#99 & #51).

So that's what I'll do in the next six weeks! I work best under pressure with a short deadline questionmark???

Surprise Surprise

2009-08-27T10:46:00.003-05:00

Apparently I do NOT want to finish my 101 Things list. Apparently it just isn't in the cards. But in all honesty I did a pretty good job and focused on it pretty intensely for a solid 2 years. The other .75 of a year I backslid. Why? Because life happens. I will say that everything on the list that I have yet to accomplish are things I will eventually. The part I AM disappointed about, however, is that with all the tasks I let slide, the three I ALWAYS kept up were a. four recipes a month, b. an atypical produce item, and c. give-ups. In July I think I went over the four recipes, but never got the produce item and my negative thoughts give-up was a total cop out! August ends on Tuesday and I made two new recipes this week, ate a dragon fruit, but never bothered giving ANYTHING up. And when I go through the list of possible give-ups, I just don't even want to bother with it. What happened to my Glutton for Punishment attitude?!?! Where did it go? Anyway...clearly it's still possible to finish quite a few things on the list. But I feel like my body is almost rebelling against finishing.

In life news, I have no complaints! Going into therapy was such an excellent decision and I've found that I've worked through so much in such a short amount of time. Meanwhile the foundation of my relationship is solidifying more and more each day. We've both changed so much in these nearly four months and I now see that we both genuinely care about the other and truly do look to the future and see our place in it. Chris always says we make a good team and the more I think about it, the more I agree. I always thought John and I made a good team when we were together. The problem was that someone wasn't contributing to our team's success while the other worked exhaustively to keep it afloat. So essentially, not a team at all. Chris might have a bad day or two due to circumstances that are out of his control, but it really impresses me how he'll turn it around and truly want to work it out. Meanwhile, the same goes for me: I'll see something I'm doing wrong and try to rectify it as soon as I can. I definitely see how much he cares about me and about us...and it's drastically different than when we first started. No couple is without their issues and we ALL can have some real doozies of a day, but if you look to the future and really want that person standing beside you no matter what, and thus you're willing to work your ass off to keep them there...well, that's all that matters, isn't it?

Well enough pontificating for the day! I have two months left here.......yep.

99 Days and Counting...

2009-07-22T12:15:00.005-05:00

I'm mos def in the home stretch here. MOS DEF. So with that said, I need to focus. I need to hone and hunker down and the best way to do that is to get rid of the clutter. So I'm officially crossing off a heck load of the "on-going" tasks.

To touch on each of the following:

#5 - www.focusnapop.blogspot.com: Obviously this took a bit of a backseat, well, photography in general took a bit of a backseat, but it isn't forgotten. I'm sure there are plenty of photographic adventures I can document in the future, and this is where they'll eventually go.
#8 - Study photography: Yeah yeah, I have yet to finish my photography book, but no worries, you can never STOP learning about photography, so there you go!
#10 - Seasons photography: I've taken many winter and fall shots, my fave seasons to photography...it's summer and spring with which I have issues. I do plan to put together a little something though. I should make a photo book called Dying to Death featuring only fall and winter shots...yeaaahhh.
#17 - Be selfish: Ok when am I NOT selfish? No, but really this task was created right at the tail end of my ex-relationship when I was giving and giving and giving until I literally could give no more. I've been single-ish for the last year and a half, however, and continue to have plenty of precious Me Time. Me Time is very important, so my therapist tells me :)
#55 - Aspirin mask: While I go weeks without using this, when I do mix up a batch, I use it almost every day. Probably better that way too, in terms of skin sensitivity. Anyone who has NOT tried the Aspirin mask...you don't know what you're missing!
#56 - Grocery list: When I'm not dirt poor I love to gather a handful of recipes and go to town. This has been more sporadic than not as of late, but again, I blame the economy. I think when I live with a mate one day, this will be easier to stick to.
#68 - Eat whatever: Again, when do I NOT eat whatever?? Most recently, I'll balance bad eats followed by some healthy running, but there have definitely been plenty of bad eats followed by some sitting on the couch. I created this task many moons ago as an excuse to get Coldstone Creamery ice cream...the task has since spiraled out of control.
#76 - Home-made greeting cards: This is one task I've seriously stuck to like no one's business and I'm actually pretty surprised. I've made everything from Christmas and birthdays, to weddings and anniversaries, to sympathy and congrats...even bachelorette, wedding, baby, and baptism invitations! Of course I'd love to make greeting cards, especially invitations, my business one day, and these last 2.5 years have been excellent practice!
#80 - Budget: oy, maybe if I stuck to a budget I wouldn't be in this financial mess. I jest...sort of? I barely find time to balance my checkbook (an old habit that dies hard in this modern online banking, ignorance-is-bliss day and age). I think it's time to bring back the budget love, I really do.
#85 - Concepts: Never missed a concept opportunity at work, even if it meant coming in on the weekend. I got some really good portfolio stuff out of it too!
#92 - Gratitude: This is another task I totally half-ass. Basically I'll wait a week and a half, look at my planner, and then write down something I thought I was probably grateful for. This totally defeats the purpose of Gratitudes, which are supposed to allow you reflect on your day and, in turn, look for more positives in the following day. Sigh. Something else I need to bring back.

So even with ALL of these crossed out, I still have a whopping 30+ tasks to accomplish (this includes the on-going tasks like atypical produce item and recipes and such). #99 made me laugh because I really SHOULD get up at 6am in order to gain a better chance at accomplishing these bad boys. And speaking of 99, I'm going to do what I can in these next 99 days.

I did it!

2009-07-07T09:10:00.003-05:00

#31 hooray!!! This was definitely one of the list items I never thought I'd actually accomplish. So to recap: Back in '04 or '05, I was driving home from my parents' Fourth of July cookout just after 9:00 trying to make the fireworks right by Dousman House. As I was driving over the high rise bridge I noticed various fireworks displays all around me. All the 'burbs 'works go off at the same time, so in just a few select spots downtown, the high rise bridge being one of them, you can see them all! When I came up with the 101 List in '07, something reminded me of that moment and I really wanted to find a different, less-hassle spot to repeat the experience. Well, over the last 2.5 years, I never gained access to any downtown rooftops or what have you. So I basically decided to repeat what inspired this list item in the first place. At 9:10pm, I hopped on the freeway and started the adventure of simultaneously focusing on traffic around me and the dozenish fireworks displays dotting the horizon. It was just too awesome! I looped on and off the freeway like nine times or so, playing "All Over the World" by Pet Shop Boys on repeat! Excellent times.

So it's early yet and I don't have any other list items to report. I did just get into Dirty Projectors though...very different but very good!!

Meanwhile, since I'm always so candid in this blog, I will admit that I've come up on yet another crossroads and my July is shaping up to be a little too similar to last year's...doing some kinda loop, starting from scratch, all that fun stuff. What's with me and my paths that I am so hell-bent on taking, knowing full well that they probably aren't supposed to be on my little Map O' Life? I ask myself: HOW many lessons do I really need to learn in order to go the right way?? I give life a lot of chances...maybe too many chances. I also like shoving round pegs into square holes until they fit, but they never do.

Ok that's enough of that crap. I just wish life wasn't so exhaustively frustrating. I guess if it weren't though, it'd be no fun. But always remember kids: feeling like shit to find happiness isn't necessarily the way it works!

Poor 101 List...

2009-06-30T10:42:00.003-05:00

No no, I've been at least doing the regular stuff, recipes/giveups and such. So without further ado, to recap June:

#31 - So this will be my final opportunity to see all the 'worx and I don't think it's actually going to happen. This is a list of all the places, all at 9:15, and seriously, I swear if my car doesn't "stall out" as I'm driving across the highrise bridge. Starting at like 9:12 I could drive up the Jackson freeway entrance, get off on National, loop back on, get off on the Van Buren exit, and re-do until I see fireworks from a bunch of places........sigh, Katie just do it.

#45 - Recipes
Well I had seven total recipes this past month due to my laziness and low bank account in May. I only did 6 though...hmm, I could try to whip something up tonight with my serious lack of time?

1. Seafood Chowder
2. Shrimp Tacos with Adobe Cream Sauce
3. Watermelon Gazpacho
4. "Tailgater" Pizza
5. Caprese Pizza
6. Asian Salad (Bok Choy and other veggies with Ramen/sunflower seed/pine nut topping)

#50 - Atypical produce...so I definitely got my fill of Watermelon and Boy Choy this month. For July I'm going to hop into Metro Market and find some weird produce item that I've never really heard of and go from there...fun stuff!

#51 - I gave up brunches this month which was way easier than I thought! I'm sure I saved some major calories (which I made up for in other areas...) I think for July, I'll take a break from the food guilty pleasure, and dive back into the mental guilty pleasure of NEGATIVE THOUGHTS! I'll rekindle my 28 Detox from July '08. Never a bad time of month to start over and soak up all the things I've learned over this past decade, heading into the final six months of my 20s. Whoa, that was deep.

#54 - Hairs cut! Got some slight bangs which are already too long haha!

#68 - Eh, when do I not indulge...that task is pretty ridiculous

#69 - Hopeless

#85 - Just did another new batch of concepts, this one is never difficult!

#87 - Three new-to-me bands I got into this past month: The Airborne Toxic Event, Flickerstick, and Grandaddy. Good stuff!!!

#95 - Still not really fulfilling the book list in that I need to read one more non-fiction (the Meditation book I'm STILL not finished with!)...I've read two other books in the meantime: Julie and Julia and Looking On Darkness...and now I'm in the middle of The Alchemist which is PERFECT for my new July mentality.

#97 - The training is going SO well, as you can see over at Must-Run. I've got my first 5K next Thursday and I'm hovering pretty well at the 3.5-4 mile spot. Gotta bump it up to 5 miles by October!

As for the rest of my list...the "projects"...well, I see I'm at an impasse here. Or at least it feels like I am. Perhaps during my "lets get some focus, Katie" July, I'll come to some realizations as to how I can go about everything. This just doesn't feel like a good time to let my life fall by the wayside. And it really isn't...I'm definitely into this running thing. I like that I've developed this reading habit. I'm doing all sorts of productive things with friends and family. I'm still cooking new things. I'm getting into all kinds of new music. And I'm sucking the marrow out of what Milwaukee offers in the summertime. Well I have four months left and I just HAVE to come up with a game plan...

sighhhhhhhhh....

2009-06-09T13:59:00.009-05:00

Oh my dear 101 List, how I've neglected you :(
Seriously here's what happened:

On April 29th I gathered up allllll the tasks I needed to finish in the following six months. I created multiple schedules, and put together a huge yellow binder full of info telling me what, when, and how I needed to get it all done on time. Well you know what else happened on April 29th? Story goes as follows...

On April 29th my wonderful, precious, spectacular friend Katie (real friend, not me in the third person ha!) secretly purchased a one month subscription to match.com for me. See, a few weeks prior I had decided to go ahead and try it out as A. my sister had such huge success (still dating the first guy she contacted nearly nine months later). And B. match seemed MUCH more interesting than dating some skank douchebag from a bar where you have NO idea what his intentions are...usually just the hookup and nothing beyond. ANYWAY, while I was able to put up my entire profile for free, I didn't have the money to get the six months "full access" subscription, so I was going to wait until May 15th when I got paid. I relayed this info to my dear friend Katie and she just went right ahead and hooked me up, the sweetheart!

Well it was an all too classic scene. Instead of an old stuffed rabbit buddy in my grubby little hand, there was my yellow binder full of organization and dreams. And instead of older school friends who shunned little girls with stuffed rabbit buddies, there was a shiny new match.com subscription full of dozens of winks and emails to sort through. And as if in slow motion, my yellow binder got tossed aside and the match sorting began. And in the chaotic pile, one guy stood out...he hadn't even emailed or winked at me, just looked at my profile. I clicked on his. 39 years of age. Hmm, well you know what they say about older guys? I don't exactly know, but I DO know that they are oft times commitment-phobic for sure and I wasn't about to go down that slippery path again. So I moved along. Despite his beautiful eyes, intriguing disposition, personal and professional interest in photography, and the part where I wanted to resurrect my beard fetish, I moved along.

Like I said, April 29th.

On April 30th, after returning from the Killers show, I had a match email waiting for me.... yes, a match email from my bearded, handsome photographer guy. He made a Seinfeld joke and talked about how much he loved road trips and how he is a huge Blackhawks fan. He said "I'd love to grab a drink with you."

And--because life's too short to get bent out of shape about age--that we did two nights later when, interestingly enough, the Blackhawks were smack dab in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Now it sounds like The Cliche amongst cliches, but seriously, and in all honesty, within the very first minute, I was totally hooked. It was just so easy to laugh and touch and just be in that two feet or so of space together. Yada yada yada, we hung out until 4am and there may or may not have been a women's bathroom involved, 23 floors up no less. We got together again a couple days later with similar results. And then he left for a week-long road trip along Route 66, throughout which we exchanged txts and such, and even talked on the phone one night. Hours after he returned the following week, we got together again and, truly, the rest is history. And by history, I mean a month full of swirly, gooey, frightening, wonderful, cozy, life changing times. Late nights and late mornings. Silly shenanigans and serious chats. Hockey and Spotted Cow. Cats and sweatshirts. High fives and sushi. A train and a ferriswheel. Delicious kisses and electric stares.

Alright I could go on indeed. My point here, is that I'm clearly incredibly distracted and my yellow binder of organization and dreams is sitting on my bedroom chair underneath a pile of laundry. Really really great things in life only happen once though, and I can always adjust The List. That's why extensions were invented. I'll figure it out. In the meantime, I just have to learn to not worry so much and drill the following into my brain until it's good and nestled in there: When there's an opportunity to be happy and thankful and relish in the good life is giving to you right there on a silver platter, you better fucking accept it! It's totally right there!

Will do, my friends, will do.

nothing much to report...

2009-05-15T11:09:00.002-05:00

I have NO new recipes...and I need FOUR by next weekend?? I haven't done anything with the list in weeks. My organizational skills are falling apart!!! I blame the on-coming summer. I will tell you, I cannot wait for this list to be over!! Maybe I'll feel differently come end of October. Such an undertaking. But I should've known with me being such a procrastinator and everything. Saving it all till the last minute. I did take a look at the list, however, and I truly have accomplished a lot. So I can't be too disappointed in myself.

That's all I got!

I gotta get going here...

2009-04-27T13:04:00.004-05:00

#45 - It's almost the end of the month, and I've got all my recipes in thank pete! They were some REAL good ones too...

1. Apricot Orange Crescent Rolls for Easter Brunch
Mix together 1/4 cup apricot preserves and 1/4 cup orange marmalade (helps to microwave for 20 seconds to loosen it up). Separate and roll out Pillsbury Crescent Rolls onto a baking sheet and preheat oven to package directions. Spread a layer of the fruit mix onto each triangle with the back of a spoon and roll into crescents. Beat one egg with a little water and brush each roll with the egg wash. Sprinkle sliced almonds and toasted sesame seeds on top of all the rolls. Bake per package directions, until golden on top.

2. Brie and Cauliflower Stuffed Potato
Just as it sounds...bake a potato for 45 mins or so. Be sure to smear EVOO all over the potato to make the skin crispy! Also poke holes in the potato about half way through baking. Scoop out the potato yummness and mix it with a triangle of brie cheese and some chopped cauliflower. Put the mixture back into the skin and the potato back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

3. PB&J Drummies with Asian Slaw
Mmmmmmm this was absolutely AMAZING! Recipe is in a book at home, so I'll have to add it later!
*PS I used my atypical produce (#50), Radicchio, in the Asian slaw...perfect!

4. Salmon with Brie and Apples
This one sounds weird (salmon and cheese and apples?!?!) but I was completely taken aback by the perfect combination of flavors and cannot WAIT to have it again!!!
Preheat oven to 350. Rub 1-2 salmon fillets with salt, pepper, paprika, and minced garlic. Sear the fillets, first skin side down, in a hot pan with EVOO for about 4 minutes. While searing the other side, pull skin off the top with a fork (should come off easily). Sear the former-skin side for another minute, and top with several pieces of brie cheese, place on foil lined baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes or until salmon is flaky. Meanwhile, peel off the skin of a Gala apple and cube. Heat in a pan with a TB or two of butter, a pinch of salt, and a touch of honey. Simmer for 10 minutes plus, until the apples are soft. Serve over the baked salmon.

#63 is in the works...Mandsi and I did a thorough cleaning before Casey visited, I organized the hallway and bathroom closets, and now we just need to tackle the kitchen...the snakes. I also need to organize my bedroom closet and give a TON of stuff to Goodwill!

#68 - I went to Kopp's AGAIN when Casey was here...and I also just pretty much ate whatever I wanted the entire week he was here. So I need to take a break from all that mos def. I feel like the biggest bloato baggins ever and I don't think I'm getting enough produce in my life!

#79 & #98 will be in the works VERY soon with my SUPER AWESOME HipsterCache idea!! More later!

#82 - I have yet to actually put any money into savings :( It's virtually May and I haven't done anything so not only am I behind on my $1/day savings, but this $25/mo additional savings. The way I see it, I'm behind by $220. Do I have that much to move over?? I guess I'll take a gander at my checking account this afternoon and see.

#87 - New artists! There were a few this month and now they're all escaping me. I've enjoyed individual songs by the following, however: She & Him, Friendly Fires, Buck 65, Emiliana Torrini, and Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. OH! And I DID fall in love with Jessica Lea Mayfield at the Ray LaMontagne show the other night :)

In other news, like I ALWAYS seem to say, "I gotta get going here." On CREATIVE PROJECTS!! C'mon Katie! Currently I have nothing pending, aside from my portfolio site, so I could really take advantage of the time. What time? That's the problem. My schedule for the next few months is totally insane. I'm seriously going to have to buckle down on the week days if I truly want to get anything done. I just have to bite the bullet and make a strict schedule on how to at LEAST get started. I know I keep saying that. I wish there was a magic wand available for purchase that could make me DO it.

Finally, for next month I'm going to eat Bok Choy and give up sweet bakery again because it is RUNNING MY LIFE RIGHT NOW! No more!!!

F this list, I'm so over it!!

2009-04-01T10:51:00.008-05:00

April Fools??? No, but seriously, it finally sunk in this past weekend that this list really may not be doable in its entirety. I discussed with my mom, and she said "In the future you should only have three projects going at one time: a big project, a small one, and one that isn't all that important that you tinker with when you have the time." And that sounds GLORIOUS! Such a nice alternative to the 394829305 projects currently looming on the horizon. So with that said, I'll try to keep keepin on, but there might have to be a 101 Things in 1001 Days: The Epilogue after Oct 29th, and just tackle those one by one.

Anyway, April 1st! So to wrap up March...

#33 - Ice skating!! Finally happened! I went to Pettit with a new manfriend this past weekend. Jeez, walking in there? I haven't been to Pettit since I was a Freshman in HS, and all these crazy memories came flooding back! And the smell of the place was exactly the same! Anyway, I was totally freaked after putting the skates on, like, is this really humanly possible? But sure nuff, it was like riding a bike and I even picked up some good speed after a few turns. After skating we got hot cocoa and that was nice :) I still want to go to Red Arrow and skate out in the elements! Next year!

#41 - I'm going to officially cross Twist Step three times a week off my list. With the new running regiment, I gotta keep Twist Step to a dull roar in order to give my legs some rest days. It's been grand Twist Step!! You helped me lose 10 lbs and be the sveltish lass I am today!

#45 - The last recipe of the month was a zesty sliced potato and onion with parm dish I made for my grandpa's birthday dinner. Yumtastic!

#50 - Atypical produce for April: Radicchio

#51 - No give up for March as I'm anti coffee and Facebook for Lent, but I should probably give something up for April since Lent is over in a week and a half! Hmmmmm...well I've already had sweet bakery this morning in the form of a delicious cupcake AND half a blueberry muffin. Well, I have an idea, so I'm going to try it out. It more or less has something to do with me being a Bitter Betty about certain things...and people.

#68 - Mmmmm I went to Kopp's this past week and indulged in a caramel sundae with sliced bananas and chopped nuts. It was absolutely glorious. I have a very special friend coming into town in a few weeks and I am definitely taking him to Kopp's for an explosion of deliciousness!

#69 - Platelet Donation!!!
So to recap, I decided against volunteering for the Blood Center, and decided FOR donating my platelets. What a dooz! So my veins are super thin and the platelet needle is really small...so right away, the techs were like "this probably won't work, but do you want us to try anyway?" Being no stranger to techs digging around in my veins (sorry Monica!), I was like why not?! These ladies were super talented though and were able to get up in there and make it work! On my end, I kept squeezing this heat pack (you have to keep SUPER warm during the entire process for it to work, so I was underneath a huge electric blanket!) like every half second FOR AN HOUR!!! My forearm was seriously ready to give out by the end! Anyway, the process totally worked! While I'm not afraid to try it again, I feel bad for the techs who will have to deal with me because it's quite a tricky process finding my vein and stuff. But I'm going to try sometime this month and see if I can keep the luck alive! Best part: I read up on platelet donation and knew that you have to have something with calcium in order to prevent tingling in your lips and a metallic taste in your mouth due to the anti-coagulant. So I hit up McDonald's right before the donation and bought a milk. "Just a milk??" they asked me. Haha! Worst part: When the heat pack exploded and oozed hot blue liquidish stuff into my hand but I couldn't do anything about it until the techs came back to check on me!

#97 - As you can see over at Must Run!, I'm totally all over this running thing!! Every run day I VERY much look forward to it the whole day! Today is one of those days, and despite the yuck, gloomy, rain/sleet 36 degrees it'll probably be...I'm still stoked :)

Alright, speaking of the weather, let's hope this gross Wisconsin "spring" picks it up a notch now that it's April! OH and speaking of April, Monday was officially the ONE YEAR MARK since John and my breakup! What a year it has been!! I went from a bit of a mess, making not so stellar decisions--to bitter and cynical, but hilarious--to positive, rolling with the punches, and hopeful for the future. I've got myself a new something-ship that's just in that interesting initial stage. So far so good, but we'll see where it goes! All I know is that it took me going through that breakup one year ago to realize how great a guy can really be, how compromise is the key to happiness, and how I truly deserve the things I want in life! As I said on March 31, 2008:
"For now I can start over, figure out what I honestly want out of life and out of a life mate! I never mind sacrificing here and there (ok I AM a glutton for punishment!), but I now see that there is a fine line between compromising WITH someone and sacrificing FOR someone. And in my case the smoking, not being able to have a child, or even a cat, of my own, and finally the probability of no marriage either...my fate is no longer sealed."
Amen to that!!!

looking brighter everyday!

2009-03-17T08:33:00.003-05:00

Things are going just swimmingly as of late...this warm-up is definitely helping!

#45 - Recipes
Three new recipes on the docket...

1. Cornbread Chicken Bake
red bell pepper, chopped
half white onion, minced
several cloves of garlic, minced
small can of mild green chilies
box of Jiffy cornbread mix
two eggs
can whole kernel sweet corn
rotisserie chicken, shredded (or 3-4 poached chicken breasts, shredded)
packet of Ranch dip mix
8 oz light sour cream
can Cream of Chicken & Herb soup
optional: jalapenos and shredded cheese

Saute onions and garlic in some EVOO or butter on low heat for about 5mins. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine cornbread mix, eggs and corn (add a little salt as well!). Add the onion/garlic and mix. Preheat the oven at 375. Grease an 9x13 baking dish and spread cornbread mixture across the bottom. In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, red bell pepper, green chilies, the sour cream, ranch packet, and soup (optional jalapenos). Add salt/pepper and mix well! Spoon on top of the cornbread, but leave at least an inch of "crust" open along the side. Sprinkle with optional cheese and bake for 35-40 minutes (until the cornbread "crust" is golden brown).

2. Red Lentil Curry
1 cup red lentils
half white onion, chopped
cup shredded carrots
red bell pepper, chopped
cup spinach, chopped
can tomato puree (I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes)

curry base:
garlic clove, minced
TB curry paste
1/2 TB curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne, chili powder, or hot sauce
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp minced/grated ginger root
1/2 tsp salt
optional: sour cream

Rinse the lentils until the water is clear. Begin by boiling 3 cups water (add a couple broth cubes/some granules, if available, to add flavor). Simmer lentils and watch carefully (they only take 10 mins or so...you don't want them to be too mushy!) Meanwhile saute onions for 5-7mins, low heat, and add the remaining veggies...cook 5 more mins. Combine the "curry base" and mix into to the sauteed veggies. Add the can of tomatoes and simmer for a couple minutes. Drain lentils (most of the water should be soaked up) and add to the veggie mixture. Add salt if necessarily. Top with sour cream!

3. Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
I'm not going to bother with this recipe as it was just ok and probably not something I'd make again. Decent, but not glorious.

#50 - Atypical produce (or not produce at all)...broccoli rabe and lentils done!

#69 - I made an appt for PLATELET donation on Monday yikes! I thought twice about volunteering for these guys...it's like the most selfish thing ever, but I know how they are about calling you 9248235023 times a day to donate, I can't imagine how they'd be asking you to volunteer once you sign up. It frightens me. And I don't have the time...especially to devote to an organization I'm very luke warm about. So Plan B involves the fact that you can donate platelets every two weeks. If I go once a month, I could probably fit in almost eight donations. Barring they don't go horribly wrong. We'll see.

#87 - Two newish-to-me band/artists are: Band of Horses and Christian Falk

And finally, the Proud Moment of the Month:
#52 - Expensive (almost $100!) running shoes have been purchased, and the running has commenced!!! You can read more over at YET another blog of mine (I'm obsessed): Must Run! Gooooood stuff!

With 233 Days Left......

2009-03-10T10:46:00.005-05:00

Omg that SO isn't a lot of days at ALL!!! So I really need to re-org here, don't I? Well here's a snapshot of what's happening at this very moment:

16 on-going tasks
6 tasks near completion
17 tasks I still need to start
8 complete re-vamps

Minus the on-going ones, that's 31 tasks I need to complete in the next 7+ months!! And they're all pretty hefty ones at that. I put together a table and a rough schedule, however, and all I need to do is stick with it. And as I mentioned, I found 8 tasks that need revamping...a couple I have to change altogether! Why? Not necessarily because of time, but rather, because of money. I'm not sure if anyone has heard, but the economy is a ginormous dumpster of broken spirits and tattered dreams. So I will have to adjust the list accordingly...

#12 - Participate in 26 things Photograph Project five times
Ok, so I can't blame this one on the economy as photography is relatively free. I have to blame time. Coming up with 26 really great photos to put into a theme is so much harder than it sounds! I'm determined to do something though. I started one, which I could try to finish. In the meantime, however, I'm going to try and come up with an ABCs of Milwaukee by late April.

#46 - Make a total of 50 recipes from cookbooks
Hmmm, ok once again, a time issue (man! I really was hoping the economy would be an easy target!) More of a preference issue?? See, obviously I make four new recipes every month. But I've noticed that I find recipes better suited to me via online sources. I'll try to crack open a book, but in the end I always turn to the internet. One big reason is on sites like allrecipes.com, people comment and make great suggestions on ways to tweak the recipe. I love that! Anyway, I've decided to cut the number from 50 to 25. Right now I'm at 22, and while I could definitely squeeze 28 more recipes into the next 8 months, ALL via book will be annoying. So on that note, to makes things more difficult, the last three recipes will HAVE to be gourmet, with a high level of difficulty. I've been cooking seriously for a couple years now and should be able to attempt them!

#52 - Splurge on an expensive pair of heels/sandals
I have officially decided to take up running. I was super inspired by Mandsi's 5K back in October, and the only thing preventing me since then was the god-awful Wisconsin Winter...which is now coming to an end! I found a really great Beginners schedule which involves a lot of walking interspersed with the running. 10 Week Stage 1 takes you to 44 minutes of near-consistent running, while 10 Week Stage 2 takes you to a consistent full 60 minutes. With determination and various forms of motivation, I could seriously do this! One form of motivation is a nice expensive pair of running shoes! I'm going to stop into PRO this week...they personally help you find a shoe based on all sorts of customized criteria, which will be extremely helpful to a beginner! I may ALSO start, oh yes, YET another blog (my third?) devoted to the running as that'll be great motivation.

#63 - Return to NYC or go to Boston
This will be impossible. Originally I had just NYC on the list, but when I found out my friend got into Harvard, I decided to add Boston as that would be more reasonable and likely. Well she's coming home for the summer, so this task is completely out (and better this way because I'll save so much money!) I hate to readjust the entire numbering of this list after all this time, so I'm moving #63 into the Let’s Get Organizized! section and completely changing it to....

#63 - Clean/Re-Org the Entire Apartment
Yowzahs! I've noticed lately, however, that after three plus years of just your basic dusting, vacuuming, and wiping down only obvious surfaces...there is a LOT of gross gross stuff happening in various crevices in that place. And while I'm not planning on moving anytime soon, I think it'd be good to knock off a few hours, or rather weeks, of cleaning...AND packing for that matter...once that happens.

#69 - Donate blood once a season
I've only donated 4 out of 12 times...again, not expensive, mostly a time issue. As in WASTING my time. Wasting my time donating blood that they have to throw away because I can't make it in under 15 minutes. So I'm going to devote 8 hours (one hour for each donation I would've made) of volunteer work. I sort of shudder to think about it though because I have had nothing but bad experiences dealing with the Wisconsin Blood Center personnel. They seem to be incredibly unorganized and their bedside manner is totally less than stellar. So this will be a real challenge I'm guessing. But that's the point of this list, isn't it?

#82 - Increase 401k in ‘09
Some people are saying it would be wise for a young person to add to their 401k now because stocks will be so low and we can afford to be risky. I, however, working in the even RISKIER world of advertising, feel as though I need to plan for the proximate future. So I'm changing this task. I'm putting 1% of my salary into my savings instead. This comes to roughly $25 extra per month. Yes I've missed months Jan and Feb, so I'm going to take a look at my current checking status to see if I can afford the whole $75 (to include March). I should be able to.

#91 - Buy/Learn how to take care of a Bonsai
Alright, so this would be an expensive hobby to get into, and I've already got an expensive hobby happening, particularly when I go into full throttle with this potential Art/Craft show. While I'd love to partake in this hobby one day, something's gotta give. I have absolutely no idea what to replace this one with, however. Particularly something of equal difficulty. I've always wanted to try rock climbing at Turner Hall. Another expensive hobby, but perhaps I could just doing the "Learn-to-Climb" class? I'd be learning something new, like with the Bonsai task.

#97 - Geocache!!!
This was a throw-away as soon as John and I broke up, seeing as he kept the GPS (which is undoubtedly sitting at the bottom of some drawer of his...$100 of mine well spent I say!) In any case, Geocaching requires some level of athletic skill if you really get into the hiking ones, so to couple the new Running Shoes task, I'm going out on a HUGE limb and will use the spring/summer to train for the 8K Al's Run on Oct 10th. Now this is a VERY tall order for someone who has never ran for more than five minutes straight in their lives (no, seriously)...but it's seven months away. That's almost 30 weeks. And if I stick to the aforementioned schedule, I should be able to be very close to running a straight 60 minutes in 20 weeks. I don't know, I have high goals, but you know something? The other day I was asked the question: what's the hardest thing you've accomplished or have yet to accomplish on your list? There are many difficult tasks, ones that have taken time and energy, but nothing next to impossible (says the girl who just replaced a bunch of 'next to impossible' tasks). I mean nothing that truly challenges who I am and could potentially change who I could be! For now, I'm going to try and stick to it. All I can do is try!

I just read that the real marathon starts in the last six miles. I'm in the final quarter of my list now, and I feel that pressure most definitely. It's very much a mental game now of forcing myself to keep at it. This entire list was based on my desire to not only experience life more fully, but more specifically, to become a more organized person. The true test will be these final ~8 months.

the end is nigh

2009-03-01T12:40:00.003-06:00

The end of winter that is, thank all that is holy! We're heading into one of my fave times of year, that short period of time when you feel very "is it or isn't it" about the season change! There will be an electricity in the air and things really start to happen. I'm looking very much forward to it! Especially because life keeps getting better...I can feel it! Or perhaps it's the Vitamin D pills talking ;)

To get on these updates here...

#2 - My website!!! I've it a bit of a lull at work and so I decided, in my sudden "spare" time, I'd start my portfolio site for the hell of it. Lo and behold, I'm actually getting somewhere! The hardest part has been organizing my work to showcase...so far I've set up my CK print stuff, as well as my freelance logos, but I've got a long way to go. I have to set up my CK web stuff, some photography, including Tazinos, some misc freelance, as well as some examples of my greeting cards/invites.

Anyway, my mom came over today to help me set up the site itself...I purchased a domain and set up the web hosting and all that fun stuff (nearly $100 later yikes). I can't wait to actually finish it...what a trip that will be, it's been such a long time coming. And who do I have to thank? CK for leading me into this web design biz! And who knew I'd like it so much?!! It's sort of like math in HS...it can be frustrating as hell, but exercising those brain muscles can be fun in a sick sick way ;)

#17 - You could say I was a little selfish on the evening of Valentine's Day ;)

#36 - Freaking out that I wouldn't be able to fulfill the Opera task because of scheduling...I think I'm going to be able to see the Florentine Opera's The Magic Flute in April!

#45 - Recipes
2. Broccoli Cashew Slaw
3. Parsnip, Turnip, Carrot Quinoa Soup
4. Butternut Squash Soup

#50 - I totally did NOT get to try my atypical veggie broccoli rabe...I checked the store a couple times and they never had it, so it's probably out of season. So I'll have to do two this month. I really am running out of options, so I think I'll just go in and choose a couple weird things they've got lying around.

#51 - Well I only ended up cheating twice on "no buying anything for myself"...the Ray LaMontagne tix as well as a ticket for Wynton Marsalis at the MSO next Sunday. Both cultural though...and I'm supporting the arts in these harsh economic times, so I don't feel too bad (thanks Monica!)

This month I'm not officially giving anything up since I've already given up both coffee and Facebook (the horror) for Lent!

#64 - I already crossed this off my list, but turns out I'm going to Vegas too! We bought our tickets for Aug 20-23, non stop flight and three day stay at the Flamingo for $360!!! Not. Bad. Atall.

#68 - Yesterday Z and I stopped at Leon's Custard for some delicious sweet treats! I got the Tin Roof (like a peanut buster parfait at DQ) and it was glorious. I could feel the fat coursing through my veins and I didn't care!

#85 - Still working on a ton of stuff for work including a new landing page that I did from home when I had the flu earlier this month!

#87 - I like the sound of the electronic neo "new wave" (big surprise) band Plushgun and also discovered the show Spring Awakening through a friend/coworker. It's Rent and a little Sondheim.

#95 - I'm about to begin How to Meditate by Lawrence LeShan, and like I said last month, should be perfect for Lent.

Perusing this list just now, I'm starting to think I'm really not going to accomplish everything. For example, due to the afore-mentioned harsh economic times, it would be kinda lame to increase my 401k. Sure I'd be saving, and saving is very important in times like these. But I need to save for a more proximate future for the time being. So in that case, I might in fact change that one to reflect this...perhaps throw an extra $20 into the savings account (in addition to the $1/day I already save). Another example...I obviously can't donate my blood 8 times in the next 8 months, so I'm considering changing that task to donating my time instead. Something like 8 hours as a volunteer. In any case, one of these days, I'm going to have to sit down and revamp these types of tasks before it gets too late.

That's all I got! I have a feeling my life is about to get way way busy, so any organizational skills I've gained over the last ~2.5 years really needs to come in handy right about now. Wish me luck!

time flies when you're swamped!

2009-02-06T17:27:00.004-06:00

It's practically mid Feb and I haven't updated at all!

#14 - I joined my work's Culture Kommittee (CK) and mentioned my idea about an art/craft gallery night auction type thing! It won't be til like September or so, so we'll see...hopefully I can really make it happen!!

#17 - I treated myself to some expensive new hair color and a massage! $100 later...sheesh, see my Give Up for Feb!

#45 & 50 (cranberries and Brussels sprouts) - The following is my parade of new recipes!

Baked Cranberry Squash
Combined chopped pear, fresh cranberries, a little apple cider vinegar (but a couple TB of OJ would be better!), TB or so of honey, cinnamon and allspice. Cut a butternut squash lengthwise, carved out the seeds and stuff, and spooned the pear cranberry mixture into squash cavities. (Used extra liquid to brush over cut edges) Put squash, cut side up, on a baking sheet and baked for about 45 mins.
--made two meals out of it, the cranberry mixture was fab, I loved how it soaked into the squash when it baked!!

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios
Sauteed chopped onions in butter and added some white wine vinegar. Added separately steamed Brussels sprouts, some sugar, and a little more vinegar until the sprouts were caramelized. Seasoned with S&P and topped with the pistachios.
--I've never really had pistachios before (I know right?) and now I'll never NOT have them again...where have you been all my life?!? Likewise for the Brussels sprouts! I don't know why they get such a bad rap!

Crispy Salmon Burgers
Combined drained salmon (the can kind), crumbled whole wheat crackers, garlic, mayo, lemon juice, green onions and formed into patties which I browned and served with a lemon garlic mayo.
--Salmon in a can is interesting...it's seemingly convenient and cheap, but really hard to pick out all the bones and skin and stuff. Plus I can't make any kind of seafood cake without it totally falling apart on me!

Lime Biryani
Quinoa, mixed with curry, shredded carrots, chickpeas, green onions, sliced almonds, and golden raisins...dressed with a lime/lime zest/olive oil combo.
--Keeping with the "new foods" theme, I've never had Quinoa either and what was I thinking?! It's delicious and SO versatile! This little salad was something I could eat every day. It would be perfect for a light dinner or side for something like Jazz in the Park!

In any case, I liked Quinoa SO much that I made an extra new recipe for January...

Quinoa with Butternut Squash and Red Bell Pepper
Sauteed the cubed butternut squash, chopped red bell pepper, sweet onion, garlic, and jalapeno pepper. Then stirred in chicken broth, quinoa, and salt; brought that to a boil. Then simmered 20 minutes, covered. Topped with green onions.

Did I mention I like Quinoa? Because I also made another new recipe to start February!

Curried Quinoa Mango and Coconut Salad
I made a dressing with curry, olive oil, lime juice and zest, white wine vinegar, coconut milk, and diced mango. Then mixed it in with cooked quinoa, the rest of the chopped mango, and green onions. The best was the combo of cold and hot ingredients! I topped the salad with Z's Coconut Lime Tilapia recipe!

MEANWHILE my atypical produce item for Feb will be broccoli rabe. I'm running out of options!

#51 - virtually a success (if he was mentioned it was because someone else mentioned him first haha!) My Give Up for Feb is NO BUYING THINGS FOR MYSELF! I gotta seriously save me some monies. But alas I already kinda cheated and bought tickets to the Ray LaMontagne concert that's in April. But the tickets were gonna go fast and I wanted good seats!! Fifth row balcony, little left of center here we come!!!

#68 - I don't seem to ever have a problem with splurging anymore. But let's see, let's just count the part where I ate out a LOT between Z's and my birthdays! And I don't think I worked out at all.

#85 - I've had SO much to do at work it isn't even funny any more!! I like it though :) Recently I've done new web landing pages for one of our clients, and just this week did new print concepts and a new landing page concept for a pitch the General Agency side is working on! Exciting stuff!! OH and for more work news, read on below!

#95 - I finished Lolita which was amazing. I wish people still wrote novels like Nabokov. His style is an art form unto itself! In any case, this takes care of my final "classic"...now while I'm done with the 10 books, I mistakingly forgot to read another non fiction?? I mean I read Floyd Collins' bio and Mere Christianity, but I think I counted the latter as a Philosophy book instead of non fiction. Whoops! But I have a book on Meditation that I'm going to start after Alan Moore's The Watchman...it'll be perfect for the Lenten season!

And that's that! What a month! So on that note, let's check out my progress for this new and improved 2009:

Real good stuff so far! Things are a LOT better at work! I fiiiiinally officially got the new position! I mean basically I've been doing all the work...just without the title. Now, my title is, well, it's really no different. "Production Artist, Interactive" instead of just a Production Artist. Small steps though! At least I HAVE a job! But I certainly SHOULD have a job because I've been bustin' my ass over there lately, as I mentioned earlier! I do hope that one day my title could reflect the part where I design websites, write code, etc, because I don't know too many people who know what "Interactive" actually means. HOWEVER beggars can't be choosers and I pretty much begged, or at least appropriately hassled, my bosses for the new title ;)

Working with John has been better too! I swear, life is hilarious because I don't know any two people who have to work closer together, aside from maybe my mom and her boss? But it's just funny to me that it ended up this way! We didn't really work together all too much when we were dating, but now I kind of consider myself his assistant! I read/proof his emails before they go out to groups/important people. I advise and make suggestions on certain actions. I kind of act like a liaison between other PA's and himself. I feel like I'm his voice of reason and organization. Yet he's technically my boss now (he got promoted to our supervisor), which is on the verge of inappropriate, but what are ya gonna do? It's pretty crazy. Now if ONLY he'd stop with the OVER abundance of personal calls all freaking day. They drive me NUTS!!!!

MEANWHILE, and I don't know why I'm even writing this because ya'll know all about it, but for posterity's sake: Thanks to my mom, I entered this Single in Milwaukee contest. I answered like six questions from a group of twenty...no photo or anything...and a few weeks later I got a call and they chose myself and like 31 others...out of like 350 people!! So I sent in my photo and they put up this voting feature this week, open for a couple days. I placed third! (just like the Safety Drawing contest in elementary school and Science Fair in middle school!) So the woman who wrote the feature called to congratulate me and then said I have to come in for a photo shoot! Apparently they're creating a whole 'Single in Milwaukee' blog. She even mentioned that they might ask us to contribute! In any case, my photo, etc will appear in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Cue Friday/Weekend section next week (for Valentine's Day). Such a riot!! I do hope they ask me to contribute though...I like writing! And maybe they'll have like a restaurant review thing or something. That'd be fun!

So YES. I've got myself a good start to the year, mos def! And it appears as though everyone else around me is pretty happy and satisfied TOO which makes me happy!!

It's been a long time coming, but I think we've arrived :)

And Happy New Year!

2009-01-09T16:35:00.004-06:00

Ohhhhh and what a happy year it will be. Even the old Ex wrote "this is going to be your year" in my Birthday card...so it HAS to be ;) In semi-disgusting news, I contracted some awful stomach flu virus a few days before New Year's...so basically I LITERALLY purged myself of 2008! So very very poetic!

So onwards and upwards!

#45 - totally F'd this one up...I only did two recipes in December. This tomato onion thing and this artichoke hearts and lemon vinaigrette deal. SO! Six recipes in January it will be and two of them I already made!
1. Lemon Cake Balls (for my birthday treat)
2. Banana Muffins

#50 - Giving up alcohol except wine was a semi success, I think I went above and beyond, however, by not drinking (save a little bit of champagne) on New Year's Eve! January I'm giving up talking about sorry saps.

#54 - Just had my winter cut (AND color)

#87 - "discovered" Ladytron last month and asked for the latest album for Christmas. SO glorious!! Love the music! I also discovered Blitzen Trapper and they are AMAZING!! I already have a discovery for January too: Fleet Foxes....soooooo good! If you dig My Morning Jacket...listen to them immediately!

#95 - I'm currently over halfway through Lolita, and that'll be my last classic for the list!

OK! So I didn't really delve into my whole New Year's resolution...blah blah, but I think I'm just going to try not to think about it too much. So far I've been happy with January. I've got a better attitude and I'm thinking about taking part in LIFE a little more. Maybe join the Culture Committee at work...as well as CK's bowling league :) Who knows where the year will take me?! I'm excited about it though!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2008-12-24T13:37:00.011-06:00

Well it's about time I pushed down my last incredibly depressing post, hey? Things have been super weird lately, I'm not gonna lie. But I think I'm making some headway in the 'turning over a new leaf' area of my life. I've been all kindsa busy with my list lately! I crossed the following five tasks off of my list!

#34 - Nutcracker
First of all, this was truly a red letter moment in my holiday season. I hadn't been doing too well emotionally, but literally within the first ten seconds of this performance, I was in heaven. All I could repeat in my mind was something along the lines of "I'm absolutely ecstatic that life exists so I can see this magical experience!" The set, the costumes, the performers, the story, the gorgeous dancing, and of course the most perfect holiday music. To make things even MORE perfect, there were two girls sitting behind Mandsi and I, seeing the Nutcracker with their grandparents. They were perhaps 5 and 8 or so? At intermission the littlest one exclaimed: "This is best night ever! This is better than Disney World!! You know why? Because I'm with my grandpa!" Totally adorable.

#60 - addresses
This is the final Christmas of my 1001 Days, which means it is the last year I send out home Christmas cards. JUST KIDDING! I'll never stop this insane tradition, but I have a feeling my final tally will increase exponentially every year. I believe this year the total was 47. And every card was different. Nuts. Meanwhile I've been trying to collect addresses...had most of the ones I needed from last Christmas, but I gathered the rest and put them into my journal so I feel comfy finally crossing this task off my list.

#65 - train to Chicago!
Well, the train wasn't AS romantic as I had hoped. It might have been the lack of drink/snack cart in the morning when I was starving and needed caffeine desperately OR perhaps the fact that the train got stuck in train traffic at the end of an exhausting day...but it was still kinda fun! And of course I didn't have to worry about gas or expressway traffic or parking downtown! I'd take it again!

#71 - Salvation Army Bell Ringer
THIS was seriously a crazy ton of fun!!! Like I mentioned, this was my last Christmas of the 1001 Days, so the bell ringing turned out to be a little last minute...especially on the 23rd of December! But wow...what a gleeful experience...GLEEFUL, that's the perfect word to describe it! My shift was from about 5:40 to 8:00, in the "Town Square" center area of Bayshore Mall right by the GINORMOUS Christmas tree. Well it turns out that every 20 minutes there's this crazy light show all over the tree and the surrounding little trees. It's "announced" by that slightly annoying children's choir "Merry ChristMAS! Merry ChristMAS!" song that I actually ended up liking by the end haha! This was followed by a Christmas classic which played during the show...like a song from the Nutcracker, "Sleigh Ride", and the Charlie Brown Christmas theme. Anyway, as if this wasn't festive enough, the people walking by were SO kind and happy!! They told me to stay warm, and one guy even offered to go get me some hot chocolate! The kids were particularly adorable...parents in the background giving them coins or dollars, and then the kids would run up to the kettle with this HUGE smile while stuffing the money in the little slot. It was a little chilly, mostly my toes and fingers were cold, but within the first 20 minute chunk I was getting really into it, and kinda dancing around to the music, shaking the bell all enthusiastically ;) That kept me warmer! You'd be surprised at how cramped your hand gets though from that bell! Towards the end of the two hours, I had to switch hands like every couple minutes haha! I counted an average of about 17 people per 20 minutes, so I probably got about 115 people...perhaps something like $200-250 total? That's impressive!! I believe they've raised something like $1.6million? Anyway, I'm SO going to make this my Christmas tradition because it's totally a blast and makes you feel pretty darn Christmassy!

#13 - Decoupage!
FINALLY! This was my big SUPER secret Christmas project!!! Awhile back, maybe this past summer, I decided I was going to decoupage some kind of cabinet with Hitchcock posters for Mandsi for Christmas! I officially got started in October when I purchased the cabinet from Michael's (thanks to my friend Drew's suggestion!), and won the first batch of posters from eBay. Like ALL of my super secret Christmas projects, I hit a few snags. One of the eBay stores sent me the wrong poster and it took forever to get it all worked out. I also didn't have enough posters, and had to win more last minute. PLUS I had to keep it secret, and make up some stories about "shopping" when, in reality, worked on the project in my parents' dining room! Of course the piece isn't without flaws...for one, there are tons of air bubbles and unfinished edges...but for being a decoupage virgin, I do believe I did a great job! Here's a shot of the front, I wanted to do the door in all Psycho posters as that's Z's fave :)

And a couple other shots:

My mom made her own contribution by making the classic Hitchcock silhouette door knob out of polyclay! Sweetness.

So that's all I've got for now!! I am all crazy stoked about trying to make 2009 a lot better than this year was. Not that this was a horrible year by any means...it was my learning/limbo year...I'd just like some cool things to happen next year. I have faith! I really do :)

how quickly things go south

2008-12-01T14:10:00.003-06:00

I was just thinking yesterday how I never have anything interesting to put in these blog posts anymore, except for stupid list updates. I made a comment about how perhaps no news is good news. But in reality, no news is like the most boring thing of all time. I went to one of those Pampered Chef parties this weekend and I literally had jack to tell my friend whom I haven't seen or even talked to in months. Oddly enough, I'm not even bored. I always have 3948203 projects and social events going on and barely find enough time to myself. But meanwhile, I find that many of my friends have really fun things to tell people: kids in school, how it feels to be pregnant, book sales, grad school, new job, new boyfriend, new pet, new home, and various other life successes. My life is at a shocking standstill. And what's worse is that I feel like I'm moving, but just going absolutely nowhere. I'm totally one of those wind-up toys that hit a wall and continue to march in place. So much energy and drive to put into something, but that 'something' doesn't exist.

Problem number one is definitely my job. I keep doing and doing and I feel like I'll never get anywhere. I will always keep trying and have hope, but each day, I'm not going to lie, that hope dies a little. And the big question looms: how much longer do I keep trying?

Problem number two is definitely relationships. Despite the fact that I've told myself and various others countless numbers of times: being single is so much better than being in a shitty relationship...sometimes I catch myself remembering that, even in a shitty relationship, I could at least deceive myself into thinking that I was loved. Being loved by someone [romantically of course] is officially the one thing you really need to feel complete. I think I've learned that now. And worse yet, even feeling fake loved seems to be a better alternative to knowing you've got no one. It's all in the validation. Why do so many people stick with someone who is wrong for them? Because loneliness really blows, that's why. Well, I guess I'm just a strong person. Had I been any weaker, and knowing the lonely alternative, I'm sure I would've just stuck with the whole John situation, even knowing that he didn't really care about me at all. I could always trick myself into thinking he did. I don't know, perhaps it's knowing that he was able to jump right into a "successful" relationship so easily and never got to feel an ounce of loneliness. Then having that comparison up in my face five days a week...wow, it does wonders for my ego and sense of fairness in the world.

In any case, someone needs to throw me a bone here. I'm so sick of the limbo period. I'm sick of not having anything fun and new to enjoy, and yes, I admit it, to tell people about. I'm sick of feeling like my life is a total waste of space. And I'm also sick of feeling sick about all of this. I hate whiny, woe-is-me, pathetic Katie...she's the worst! But at least it's more interesting than lame list updates.

fuzzy time of year

2008-11-30T16:49:00.003-06:00

Love me some holidays! I wasn't in such a great mood for the last few weeks and a few people mentioned that it might be due to that limbo period between gorgeous cozy autumn, which ended as quickly as it began, and fuzzy holidays. Totally true. But now that Thanksgiving has officially come and gone, I'm totally in that festive Christmas mood! I've started my annual Christmas card making, made my first gift purchase, Mandsi decorated the apartment, and this afternoon I had my first peppermint mocha. I'm definitely going to try and maintain this good mood for the rest of the year in hopes that it will be a good way to start off a MUCH better new year.

Anyway! Some end of the month updates:

#17 - I don't remember being particularly outlandishly selfish at any time this month...but something selfish-y comes to mind, so I'll just count that.

#29 - The "Harvest" dinner party for 11 last weekend was a huge success! Mandsi and my menu included: spiced nuts, crackers with brie and fig spread, barbecue meatballs, roasted butternut squash and apple soup (which of course fulfills #45 and #50), to-die-for fried ravioli with pumpkin dipping sauce, and pecan bars and pumpkin bread for dessert. We also had beverages aplenty! Gin martinis, spiced wine, and Leinie's Fireside Nut Brown ale to name a few, and I partook in all ;)

#50 - I'm going to try and find a unique recipe that uses cranberries since they're in season now.

#51 - No eating out worked really well this month! As I mentioned, the one dispensation I had was for Monica and Tim's anniversary party at Fox & Hound since I didn't really have a choice. I did turn down several invitations to go out though (one of which I spent the night staring at my silent cell phone and clawing at the walls) so I'm proud ;) This month is another difficult one, however, as I'm giving up all alcohol except wine, and preferably only drinking red. But once again, a couple dispensations as it is the holiday season: a. either while my sis and I are in Chicago or afterwards at Blu/Centanni, I may have to indulge in a fancy martini, b. I'm going to have one holiday cocktail at my parents for Christmas (we make a special batch every year). But other than that, I'll only have wine on occasions like my work holiday party and even the hours leading up to midnight on New Years. Now while wine isn't your nice cheap Miller Lite and this might put a little bit of a dent into my checking account, I'm hoping that'll make me drink less as I have had WAY too much lately. This past weekend alone was enough to kill a small horse.

#68 - Fox & Hound as I ate an absolute TON that night

#87 - Can't say that I really discovered anything new, but I did put a Ladytron album on my Christmas list and I haven't really listened to them before??

And that's that! I can't say that life has been particularly exciting lately, but I guess no news is good news. At least for now.

one year later

2008-11-17T09:00:00.002-06:00

Let me begin by wishing Monica and Tim a happy one year anniversary! They definitely experienced all that a first year of marriage could offer and perhaps more downs than ups, but I am so proud of how far they've come! Reading Monica's blog this past year has taught me that marriage is everything BUT easy, but also that it is something worth fighting for! I know that they will always remember this first year and it will positively affect their years to come.

Speaking OF time, sixish months ago, Monica and I were BOTH in the thick of our lowpoints in life. Tim had lost his job and past relationship woes were resurfacing...and I wasn't doing so hot recovering from my breakup and, thus, making bad decisions in life. So we made an unofficial pact that since things were so Rainbows and Sunshine six months PRIOR to that point (Monica and Tim were getting married and I was happy with John), things just HAD to get better six months into the future! Ebbs and Flows, you know?

So here we are entering into the homestretch of that new six month mark and some promising changes are indeed on the horizon. For example, I am definitely hoping for a promising future at my job. For the past few months, I've gone CSS/HTML crazy and taught myself SO much!! A couple weeks ago I created my first CSS-based official landing page for one of our clients. I had to use their branding standards though, and also wasn't able to set the whole thing up myself. However, last week, I created a landing page for another client...and with this one, I was able to use all of my own design AND set the entire thing up myself! Huge step!! This is a great direction I'm heading toward, creatively and professionally speaking. I do really hope the Powers that Be AT my job are able to allow me to officially go this route. And I hope this unfolds fairly soon. In any case, I'm officially crossing #1 off of my list! It was one of the more daunting tasks, so this is pretty awesome. And now that I know SO much more about web design, my own personal portfolio site will be that much easier to create.

In other task news, I've made three recipes (#45) for Nov: balsamic pork chops with garlic mashed cauliflower and drunken apples, crab cake sandwiches, and dill crab and asparagus pasta. And I got my hair cut for fall (#54) last week. Many more tasks to be completed soon including catering a dinner party, a train ride down to Chicago, The Nutcracker, being a bell ringer for the Salvation Army, and hopefully some ice skating!

Things aren't all that bad...I was just talking to my sis last night about how I wish I could be happy for longer than a fleeting moment. I'm not depressed by any means, but I don't know. Maybe just restless. I'm growing tired of the limbo state of my life and wish that something could settle itself. So I'm hoping for the career part to work out for now, and then perhaps the rest will fall into place.

fall's not over yet!

2008-11-02T22:03:00.004-06:00

I FINALLY posted over at the photoblog! AND added a whole mess of pix to flickr. YAY!

Ok that's it.

No, NOT it!! I forgot to make a huge deal about the fact that I have ONE YEAR LEFT on my list!!! So here is the current tally...not awful, but the ones I have left are redonkulously painful...mostly creative projects that take an insane amount of time. In any case, tally:

In Progress with Nearby Completion Date: 11
In Progress until List End Date: 18
In Progress, but will finish up before that: 3
COMPLETED: 47!
Remaining: 22 :( (but that's down by 15 since my halfway mark in June!!)

So in essence, I will be over the halfway mark with roughly 61 tasks completed in a few months. And if you include the tasks I do monthly and have to continue until the end, that's 79. Like I said, not awful. But I need to kick some list ass and soon or else!

time to throw your papers all over!!!

2008-10-30T13:09:00.004-05:00

It's officially the last HOUR that we'll all be in our work building!! We are moving to swank 3rd ward and leaving this sick black lung infested building forever!!! AND I no longer will have to, after four years, load and put away the dishes for the fifth floor!!! All good things :)

It's also Oct 30th so I'll recap some list related whatnot:

#5/10 - I took some fall photos the other day so when I grab some time I'll put up them up on my photoblog, which has been a ghost town lately!

#17 - Was I selfish at all this month?? Hmm I bought a heck ton of clothes for myself...and I whined a whole lot about a recent raise review situation that was brought to our attention. I guess I'll count those.

#25 - I sure DID carve a pumpkin!! Again, perhaps a pic or two on the phblog lates...

#26 - My beloved "sleepover" will drop on Saturday at Nicole's crib! I know you're jealous of our shenanigans of Roseanne Halloween eps, pumpkin beer and seeds, and other debauchery that may or may not include a pillow fight and ExtenZe drinks??

#50 - I think I'm going to rock the squash this Nov

#51 - Soooo I totally cheated 3.5 times on sweet bakery this month :( I had to taste my pumpkin muffin stuffing for the work luncheon, but ate a little more than I needed to...I also had a DELICIOUS peanut butter cookie Jeremy coworker's GF made...then I ate a muffin at our B&B in Galena because I didn't want to be rude...and then today I indulged in a H'ween cupcake that Shannon brought. AGAIN I didn't want to be rude!!! So I have to do something in Nov that's really hard. I think it's going to be no going out to eat again :\ EXCEPT for things already planning like Monica & Tim's anniversary party and grabbing some din before the Aussie Floyd concert. But other than that, I gotta stick to it this next month!!! CHEATER.

#69 - speaking of things not working out so well, I'm not going to be able to make my blood donation quota at this rate. But I gotta have a doc appt before I donate again, so it won't be until end of Dec. And then I think I'll donate plasma or whatever the one is where you can donate more frequently than 8 weeks...to try and catch up?

#87 - New band/artist! Oh man LOOOOTS. So a couple days ago I found my AT&T rebate "credit card" they sent me after I bought my new phone. Wellllll it expires 11/08 GOOOO! So I went itune CRAZY and bought like $43 worth of music with it!! All electronic/dance/techno/house music with which I'm suddenly insanely obsessed: Justice, The Presets, Cut Copy, and MSTRKRFT. Check 'em out today!

#95 - I'll save Lolita for after Christmas and read my second to last book, the famous Twilight, instead.

#99 - This may officially happen now that we're going to be in the new building!! Although our new hours start at 9:00 instead of 8:30 so I don't really have to get up that early. I'm gonna try though!

I'm super sad October, my fave month, is over :( It treated my well though...here's to an even better November!

nothing

2008-10-21T13:32:00.003-05:00

I wish I had more to discuss here than just a few recipes, but no dice. I think all my creative juices have been zapped by the energy I've been putting into my job lately...the good news is that I'm really getting the hang of this web design thing. And I think I can admit that I no longer HATE it as previously mentioned here. It can get frustrating but 'hate' is a strong word haha!

#45 - Recipes

1. Blackberry Turkey Sandwich
I recreated the same sandwich from Fat Abbey/Cafe Hollander: thick cut roasted turkey, blackberry jam, hot giardiniera, and muenster cheese on french bread...all toasted and melty! Highly recommend. I also recommend said blackberry jam and peanut butter on Kashi waffles. YES.

2. Hot 'n Spicy Corn Dip
THANKS MONICA for this wonderful recipe!! The only differences are: I used a can of sweet corn and white shoepeg corn instead of a bag of frozen, and I used chive cream cheese instead of regular. Definitely worth a try at any soiree. I ate it around 9pm heavily under the influence of Tanqueray...on a random weeknight?

3. Turkey Pumpkin Chili
Alright so I kinda already made this recipe last fall, but I think I'm a better cook one year later, so I wanted to try it again (and still count it as new? yeah) Here are the ingredients:
• ground turkey browned with nutmeg/cumin/S&P...set aside
In the same deep skillet/pot with a pat of butter:
• sautee 4 cloves garlic and a whole chopped white onion
• add chopped red bell pepper and tomato
• once soft, add a couple cups of chicken broth, bring to boil
• add a can of black beans, can of sweet corn, can of green chillies, can of Thick & Zesty tomato sauce, AND a can of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling!!)
• add ground turkey back to the mixture
• also add various spices to taste (more nutmeg, cumin, all spice, cayenne/red pepper flake...as well as a few splashes of Worcester sauce and a half cup of brown sugar
• add anything else you see fit. Need it spicier? Hot sauce. Need it sweeter? more brown sugar.
• let simmer for as long as you can handle your growling stomach

I actually had to divvy up this chili into two pots toward the end because there was so much! So definitely start out with your biggest pot.

Yay for food!

never too late for the first of the month post

2008-10-10T16:16:00.003-05:00

And not only is the month practically half over, but it's all WARM and stuff! My last post was all "summer's over wah wah" and it's going to be a balmy 77 today! And what better to celebrate the warmup than to have a cold, CLASSIC. But I'm already on the mend, I think this was my shortest cold ever, thanks immune system!

In other news, my various updates:

#1 - oh man have I been given one fantastic opportunity!! All I'll mention is that it does involve building websites. All last week I slaved to the bone day and night working on a 'test' project and I think that considering I have barely any web experience, I've done pretty well! It's a little buggy and I think I might have gone about it in the wrong way, but that's why I do definitely need some professional training whether it be a class or what have you. I've done a decent job of teaching myself what I can, but I do so much better when I have structure around me. For example, thought I could go about teaching myself photography? Well I know enough to get by, but I would fair so much better if I was in a real class. In any case, I think I might go ahead and cross this one off as soon as I'm done with the project!! I earned it!

#17 - Hmmm selfish. I wrote a letter...which wasn't so much selfish and more focused on self. Self centered? I don't know...reading lots of Dalai Lama lately, I truly and honestly wanted to move along a more positive path and I guess I felt as though that warranted a letter. Has the letter changed things? Partly yes and partly #1 happened and I was incredibly touched by that...whether or not that situation was aided by my letter is debatable and something I'll never know, but it was a positive event and it made me feel great! As for the 'partly no,' I still feel the distance. It isn't cold anymore, but I wish I was just like the rest of my group. The sad thing that I have to admit to myself is that I never will be. Anyway, sorry to be so vague here, but I just didn't want to go into it TOO much.

#57 - While I mentioned Six Flags in my Ode to Summer of '08, I have yet to wax poetic. I can't believe I went back after TEN YEARS. I admit, I was honestly pretty afraid of how my body would handle a roller coaster after all this time, but it was bloody brilliant!!! I'm really stoked that I still love the thrill and it doesn't terrify me. Ok it terrified me a little. Going up that first hill of Raging Bull for the very first time? I mean if someone was standing halfway up and asked me if I wanted to continue...that it would be perfectly ok to stop the ride? I think I might have taken him up on it! But since I had no choice, I hit the top and took the plunge and it was GLORIOUS!!! Ahhh thank you Kohls! See you next year!!

#50 - Atypical veggie = leeks (see below)

#45 - Pumpkin Muffin Stuffing
Alright so I cheated. This recipe called for the sweetest of sweet bakery and yet I gave up sweet bakery for October. But I fulfilled my Sept recipes and then some, so I made this one on like Sept 29 and finished eating it Sept 30...blah.

Anyway, here's the recipe for the most awesome stuffing of all time (aka I'm never having regular stuffing again):

2 leeks - rinsed, cut lengthwise into half-moons and chopped
(yeah I cheated again and had my atypical veggie for Oct in Sept, BUT I had leeks in my soup later in the week!)
2 ribs of celery - chopped
1 gala apple - peeled, cored and chopped
3 pumpkin muffins (I have the unadulterated pleasure of purchasing these delectable treats at my local Picknsave Metro Market...I hope you can find them somewhere??)
sausage (I had to use links that I cut into pieces, but I suggest getting the regular, non-encased stuff)
1 cup of chicken broth
poultry seasoning (I actually used pinches of thyme, sage, rosemary, marjoram, and All Spice...or nutmeg...from my Wheel O' Spices)

Brown the sausage and set aside on a paper towel to drain. To the same pan, add the leeks, apples, and celery along with some S&P and stir for a few minutes until soft. Crumble in the muffins and add seasoning/spices. Add the broth, a little at a time...you don't have to add the full cup, it depends on how moist you like your stuffing (that's what she said?). Then add back in the sausage and you're good to go! Super super easy especially for a day like T'Gives where you've got 948230423 other recipes to worry about!

Fall is officially upon us!

2008-10-02T07:06:00.009-05:00

This morning I wore my glovens for the first time this season! It was a crisp 44 degrees this morning and yesterday I noticed leaves falling, as well as a significant change in color on the tops of the trees outside my living room window. We can't fight it anymore, summer is over. When I got home after work, the heat was on...also the first time this season. And last night I had to finally shut all of the windows.

And with that said, I don't do this too often, but I'm going to whip up a Favorite (and not so favorite?) Things Tally from this past summer, the summer to end all summers. Well, ok, hopefully my "best summer ever" doesn't end here in 2008, but it definitely was one for the books!

APRIL
April isn't so much summer at ALL, but I'd say with the breakup at the very end of March, April 1st was the first day of the rest of my life, summer, whatever.

-Teenage hijinx at Gameworks (aka "Steve & Barry's") with Monica, Tim, and Steve
-Mandsi getting the KOHL'S JOB just as we're leaving in Floyd to go check out, er PURCHASE, Bloodball my new car!!
-The Fateful Night I met up with Bekky at Houlihan's to have dinner and began the 2.5 month whirlwind that was my Something'Ship with Jeremy the Beautiful Disaster
-Grand Music for a Grand Space at St. John's Cathedral with Z during a thunderstorm followed by a night at Blu
-The discovery my ex was dating someone five years my junior and 12 years his...not to mention he was crushin' on her whilst we dated!

MAY
-Walking around the city with Jeremy while he shows me Third Ward buildings he's worked on
-Getting the InterMet!!!
-At Random followed by a swirly and cheap time at the Bottle
-Volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House, cooking up some awesome Mexican food, and chatting with coworkers about my breakup
-Frigid Cubbies Game at Wrigley! (and using Steve's parking spot!)
-Nights at Trinity and Scooter's with Jeremy and Z
-The Art Museum followed by Marne's graduation party
-IRONMAN followed by Bee's and the unfortunate meeting of Ken (aka Jaxon/Jakom/Douchebag)
-David Cook winning American Idol ;)
-Random Red Robin beers?
-Jeremy's private guitar concert ;)
-Painting at the rents, listening to The Brew!
-The Saloon with Z and Nicole (learning about how John couldn't tell me he went with Nicole to the strip club while he and I were dating??)
-Scampering around in a rainstorm with Jeremy and Z
-"Katie Day" (aka Memorial Day) spent with Jeremy (Mykonos, walk around lakefront, people watch on the grass, parade, etc...lovely)
-RIVERSPLASH!! LOTS of Miller Lite, Falafel, King Solomon, and Footloose?
-Edgar's Calypso, crazy cold front, and Clovie at the rents

JUNE
-Bill's rendition of "Build Me Up Buttercup" on my voicemail at 4am?
-The Sex & the City Movie party at the Palladium in the Majestic...cosmos and apps a plenty!
-The Annual Bead & Button Show with mom :)
-Watching Once with Z
-Managing to make it out to Brookfield Fridays alive in the t'storm of all t'storms...one of the best nights with Jeremy though: relaxing and cozy :)
-Getting my new sleek phone!
-Jeremy and I swinging in Cathedral Square park followed by chilling on the couch at Mocha
-Lunches at Borders with Jeremy
-Making dinner for Jeremy in the tiniest of tiny kitchens
-Tumbleweed and The Happening with Jeremy: the last good night
-Chelsea's wedding shower followed by my hosting of her Bachelorette party because the boat was CANCELED due to the NON storm followed by interesting fellows at Trinity
-Bekky and Todd's second son Josh is born!! Visit them in the hospital :)
-The Jazz Estate and Vitucci's with Jeremy, Marrlo, and Z
-Marrlo's apartment to play Wii
-Monica's birthday at Finn McCool's where we got SWINDLED!!!
-Show of Shows in Rockford, IL (the beer tent!!! Alpine Inn?? Machine Shed!)
-Blue flowers and the end of Jeremy
-Shannon's birthday drinks at Bad Genie
-CKYP Summerfest is actually really fun??!
-The ginormous rainbow outside the window of Qdoba
-Looooong walk with Mandsi around lakefront (rugby!!)
-Night of Tomfoolery: dinner at Osteria, drinks at the Knick, Trinity, and Cuddy's questionmark??? RUBY DEE!!!!
-McGinn's with Drew discussing our pathetic love lives ;)

JULY
-Best BUTTERWORKS ever! Also known as "The Year of John Thompson"
-HC Fireworks! Also known as "I Can't Believe It's Not Butterworks"
-The loooong talk with Z at Bucks regarding Jeremy and The Lost Email which tumbled into what will forever be known as....
-TOUR DE CHANCE: A poor time at Summerfest (aside from the awesomeness that was the Zombies) leads to boredom, which leads to the mutual decision to drive to Houlihan's (BIG MISTAKE), Bee's (regroup), T'Bell (great idea), and Genie (WORST idea). The cherry on top of the Tour de Chance Evening of Shame was the txt: "have your cake and choke on it too". Fun!

*Tour De Chance ushered in the second half of the summer, however, and it was all uphill from there!

-28 Day Detox: good stuff!
-Teaching myself Dreamweaver
-AT&T road side assistance and "Roadrunner" to the rescue!
-Annual Point Beach Camping Trip with just the Nelson/Lau ladies this time! (gourmet meals over a campfire, pix to try and win the photo contest...whoops, never sent those in...crazy t'storm and the tortured baby, bags on the beach, most PERFECT sand turtle ever, bourbon & decaf, and a Neil Gaiman bedtime story)
-BASTILLE DAYS! Chill outside Taylor's and walk around fest with Z, capped off with a tour of Steve's apartment ;)
-A surprisingly fun CK Picnic? Won $5 Alterra card as well as many grass stains as I "slid into last place" in the footrace. (also a stab at 'closure' with John in the car that didn't work out so well)
-ALL THINGS DARK KNIGHT!!!!!!! (went 4x!...The first time being particularly awesome as Z and I arrived four hours early and had fun waiting over martinis in the bar and over nachos in line...Jim and Joe?!!)
-Not having meningitis!
-Hanging at Nicole's new apartment: Saw II, George Lopez, King of Queen's, Sex & the City, and CHEATERS!!! ExtenZe Sodas!!!
-Church and Mykonos with Drew
-CUBE•B•GONE!!!!
-Fun at the laundromat?
-Txts from Bob :)
-IOWA ROADTRIP with Z!!!!! (YeCoCo "which is YELLOW now!!" at the I-80 truckstop, the gloriousness that is Sugar Shack malts, ducks and rabblerousers, pool thugs, filet and crab stuffed shrimp and wine that tastes like Heath Ledger at the Big Steer, Jay and Steve in the Lounge, Prairie Meadows Casino and "when in Rome" Bud Lights and Point Beach??, court jester dog, tour de SKYWALK and the cozy Marriott, BALLOOOOONS "The Big Idea", the nightmarish Liars Club and 515 Live ecstasy fest, road trip snick snacks and a BIG SODA from the I-80 truckstop, and "What's He Gonna Do?" and Dark Knight quotes galore!!
-The Miller Park Massacre :)

AUGUST
-ROOFTOP CUBS GAME!!!!...chilling outside Ellen's drinking beer, playing bags, and eating Chicago's most ginormous pizza
-Z consoling me after The Metro Market Umbrella Fiasco, which ushered me into another new, and better, stage of The Breakup
-I'views :)
-STATEFAIR...mmmmHeathBaby at the Saz's tent
-Joshua wins SYTYCD!!!
-My Jamo shot (purchased by my boss) induced toast at Kristen's Last Day party at Kenadee's followed by dinner at Bayou with Nicole and Z and fun music, but weird peeps at Mark's bar...T'BELL!
-Surf's Up and I'm Not There Night :)
-Josh and Tina's son Zachary's baptism and the BEST FOOD EVER (hushpuppies!!) at the following party
-All things Flickr and photography
-Meeting up with Katie at Metro Market before she leaves for Hahhvahd.
-Free drinks at Karma...Joey from Iowa at Buckley's
-dinner at the Sheridan House for mom's bday
-DOCO WEDDING DEBAUCHERY!!!! (breakfast at the Pancake House, Girl Talk, coziest retro hotel EVER, Kalin/Karlin/Baby Heath bartender at the Rehearsal dinner, Room 114: Party Headquarters, vomming from 75% of the room, Cabin #3 spa time, The Wedding, Trolley shenanigans!!!, CUSTER JUMP ON IT, Mikey vs Jake, THE LIFT, a blanket...some wood chips...and the stars: crossing off #18 because everyone and their mom discovered us, and last but certainly not least: ALL THINGS HUMAN GIANT.
-HARLEY FEST!!!
-Random last minute tooling around Jazz in the Park, followed by the Genie...F/Phish sigh
-Margarita Paradise for Josh's birthday followed by Human Giant and CHECKBOOK fun at J&T's house, FOLLOWED by more Genie after close!
-Annual Drive In Party
-Trinity with Nicole and Z: Steve the drummer, and the unfortunate meeting of Wayne and Derrick (tastes like Smarties, smells like Romance, and acts like a total D'bag)

SEPTEMBER
-Mandsi got KOHLS PROMOTION!!!...Firefly to celebrate!
-First PSL of the season!
-Office Space!
-Shannon's Wedding and everything that was the entire summer leading up to this moment going better than I could've ever expected :)
-following Shannon's wedding: JUMP ON IT dancing in our apartment, shots of Vodka, two seconds in Genie, back to apartment to get into our PJs, late night deliciousness at Mykonos
-Pure hilarity at my Tazinos photo shoot!!! (and dinner with Kim at The Perk)
-Sake Tumi, Blu, and Genie
-LESTIVITIES FINALLY HAPPENS!
-Zim's where the Bears lose, the Packers won, but the Brewers lose hooray!!
-The Cubbies and Astros at Miller Park that we did NOT go to...Big Z's No Hitter!!!
-Going to the lakefront to watch the moonrise :)
-Angela's bday at Hotel Metro where we saw Cindy Crawford and found out about divorce, followed by Taylor's with Joe and Josh and shots all around!
-Walking to the new CK building only takes 23 minutes!
-Ale House with the fam, CUBBIES CLINCH!!
-Bella Cafe with Drew :)
-Nate and Mandsi's first date at Blu!! :D
-Walking six miles around the lakefront and messing up my foot, cuz that happens.
-Zim's to watch the Cubs lose, SEE Cubs outside the Pfister, D'Lee and Jim Edmonds "following us" to Taylors...BRONX BOYS!
-Shopping Spree at Bayshore ;) ($280 worth of clothes for $126!)
-Buying Aussie Pink Floyd tix at the Mac Store

And what better way to cap off the fabulous Summer of 2008????
-KOHLS DAY AT SIX FLAGS and the gloriousness that is Raging Bull! "Cuz that happens."

Plus, smattered throughout:
-Various drinks, often time free, at Buckley's after a night out
-Many many coffees at Metro Market on the weekends
-Monday nights at Bucks!!! (the $2 Bucks card mmm Vivannos)
-Too much Facebook?
-Lots of Cup and Bread Duty
-The Ninja Report
-Inappropriate txts with Bill
-All things Steve the apt manager
-Summer shows like AI, Top Chef, Flipping Out, SYTYCD, The Paper, the Hills, P'Run, and MadMen
-Kiss FM and so much new music: Portishead, MMJ, Girl Talk, Coldplay, all things THE FAINT, "Knowitall" "Rest My Chemistry" "Outta Heart" "Fearless" "Oh Well" & "Dear Valentine" on repeat. And Ray :)
-Great books like Mere Christianity, Of Human Bondage, and The Art of Happiness
-and finally "Where does that end..." because honestly? where does it?!

WOW I did it! And I'm impressed if anyone aside from Z is still reading ;) I look forward to rereading this post at the beginning of next summer and imagining how different it will be, well different and similar I'm sure!

even MORE eatery

2008-09-24T09:37:00.006-05:00

Could I BE writing any more blog posts this month???

For my last Sept recipe, I made THIS! Thanks Zeetlebug it was yumtastic!!

I also have to mention the best spaghetti sauce ever!! I've always been sort of whatevs about red sauce. I hated spaghetti, or any Italian food, as a child (bizarre right?)...and to this day, I'll usually order something more exotic like a vodka tomato cream sauce or simple garlic infused olive oil type sauce if I'm at an Italian joint...never a plain, run of the mill, basic spaghetti sauce. But I now create a red sauce myself that I would eat above all other options if I had the choice!

1 small eggplant
1 zucchini
1 tomato (a really beefy one from the farmer's market would be great!)
a boatload of cremini mushrooms (like 10+)
half white onion
4+ garlic cloves
...all chopped

After sauteeing all these guys for several minutes (onion/garlic...then other veggies, but the mushrooms last!), I add a can of Contadida thick & zesty tom sauce (because why should I do all the work?) plus a couple TBs of tom paste. Then spices...anything you've got like dried oregano and/or basil, red pepper flakes, pepper. PLUS, and here's the trickery, a tsp or so of chicken stock granules AND a tsp or so of sugar! Now let that all stew together-covered-stirring every so often, for 10-20 mins. DEEEEELISH! If I had some, I would've added chopped fresh basil leaves to the sauce once it was done. Maybe next time!

To accompany this fine meal, I made this concoction that Z developed the other day. Mashed Cauliflower that tastes WAY better than mashed potatoes...well, at least in my opinion. The fact that it's better for you may have something to do with it. Just steam a heck load of frozen cauliflower in a half inch of chicken stock for awhile (until fork tender)...throw the drained veggies into a blender with some pressed garlic and a tiny bit of sour cream (I actually used a TB of this garlic dip my mom gave me)...blend away until the consistency of mashed tatos and you're done. No need to add salt as there is plenty in the stock, but add pepper or any other spice that suits your fancy. I swear, you gotta try...they are freaking GOOD!!

So that's my food rant for now. I think it's because I've been nothing but HUNGRY these days. I may or may not have mentioned the layer of fat my body wants to put on for the oncoming winter.

Meanwhile I'd like to touch base on the fact that, lately, when I go to bed at night, I cannot fall asleep for the life of me because I think about 234983204 projects and really cool ideas I want to do. I feel as though I need to hire a team...like I'd come up with projects, and then delegate tasks to them. There are not enough hours in the day! Especially when it's suddenly tv season again :\ In any case, today I'm going to write down everything I've thought of and try to come up with a game plan to get them accomplished.

more food!

2008-09-19T11:47:00.005-05:00

#90 - Well I finally watched the moonrise! I didn't actually get to see it come up from the lake horizon, but it was pretty close. I originally had "watch the moonrise 4x" on my list and changed it for fear that I'd barely get to do it once! So I think I'll try it again within the next year, hopefully when I have a tripod and can take some pix. In any case, this particular time was extra cozy! Mandsi walked with me down to the hill that overlooks the lakefront and we indulged in some lovely boy talk as the large orange waning gibbous hung low amongst wisps of clouds in the dark sky. ;)

#45 - Two new recipes for Sept!

1. Chicken Curry and Rice mmmmmmm
Oh man was this a recipe and a half! SO delicious!! Here's my best translation:

First, prepare a couple servings of jasmine rice per package directions and keep warm to the side. Then, in a hot dry skillet, brown a medium sized palmful of curry powder...this brings out the flavor and spiciness! After a couple minutes, constantly stirring so it doesn't burn, add a tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes. Then add a half of an onion, a couple garlic cloves, and a red bell pepper...all chopped. Cover to steam and stir every minute or so until veggies are soft. Cut two chicken breasts into bite sized pieces (season with salt and pepper) and add to the veggie mixture. Then add a TB of tomato paste or ketchup, 2/3 cup of plain yogurt, and 3/4 cup of coconut milk (I used like 2/3 of a can). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped green onions (and salt if necessary). YUM!!! It's even better the next day, per usual! It made my whole apartment smell like curry of course, but this was NOT a bad thing!!! Unless someone in your living quarters doesn't like Indian or Thai food of course. Then I guess you're out of luck ;)

2. Butternut Squash Chicken Bake with Rice

This was sort of a cheating recipe, but I just took my leftover V8 butternut squash soup (like a third of the box), to which I had added a quarter of an onion and a couple garlic cloves...and added barely a quarter of a cup of water, a half cup of uncooked jasmine rice, and a cubed small sweet potato (for seasonings I added some red pepper flakes, a little brown sugar, and some nutmeg). I seasoned a chicken breast with paprika, steak seasoning, and cumin and seared both sides on a hot pan with olive oil for a couple minutes each side (until slightly browned). I put the breast in a small greased baking dish and topped it with the soup mixture. Baked in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 40 minutes. I added a little bit of mozzarella to it when it was done. GLORIOUS.

So just one more to go which I'm sure I can squeeze in next week.

By the by, I will fully admit that knowing I only have a smidge over a year left to complete all 101 things, and have barely touched any of my creative projects, keeps me up at night :\

stuffing my face...and ears?

2008-09-15T09:38:00.003-05:00

First off, a couple more recipes to add to this month's Big Seven (#45):

1. Veggie Mexican Casserole
Preheat oven to 350. Saute onions, garlic, sliced mushrooms, cubed eggplant, diced bell pepper and jalapeno until soft. Add a small can of mild green chilies, a small can of sweet corn, and a half packet of taco seasoning and let that simmer for a few minutes. Line the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish with 1/4 inch slices of firmed polenta (#50), top with the veggie mixture, then top that with a can of black and garbanzo beans, and finally top that with a Mexican cheese blend. Bake for 20 minutes and once out of the oven, top with sliced black olives, green onions, and sour cream. ENJOY!!! It's even better the next day, and like three times as good the day after that! It lasted me all week and I had like three servings at each meal...WHOOPS!

2. Spinach Artichoke Dip Pizza
Bake a Boboli crust (I recommend the whole wheat kind!!) per the instructions. Combine a good sized package of spinach dip from the deli (or make your own...two cups perhaps?) along with a can of chopped artichoke hearts as well as a half cup or so of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or prepackaged shredded Italian blend). Heat up four slices of bacon and some shredded chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken from the deli, but you can shred a couple poached chicken breasts as well). When the crust is done, let cool a bit, and then top with the spinach artichoke dip, the shredded chicken and crumbled bacon, and some green onions. Voila! Quite a spectacular appetizer for a party, especially when coupled with my recipe for BLT pizza!

#51 - Fried Food
Two things. I went to a sushi restaurant on Friday and could NOT partake in the deliciousness that is tempura and thus simply drooled over my sister's Spider Roll while I [thoroughly enjoyed] my Philly Roll. Additionally, yesterday I went to this sports bar to watch the Bears game and while they typically have a bunch of menu options, sammiches and the like, on "Game Day" they have a bit of a stunted menu that features 95% fried food! So I had a choice between some sliders or pizza. I chose the sliders and they arrived atop a mountain of greasy golden French fries that I had to stare at longingly while I consumed my mini burgers. It was torture, but I made it through ;)

#68 - Speaking of eating a lot, jeez I've been eating a lot! I blame this early cold snap. My body is completely freaking out that I need to build up a thick layer of fat for the oncoming winter...especially if it's a winter like last year! So I've been stuffing myself with sweet bakery and one too many helpings of the dinners I make. I think I've gotta slow down a bit!!

#87 - On a completely different note, on Friday I received one of many emails about upcoming concerts and such and there was this article about a band called Elbow. They compared the music to Coldplay and Radiohead, but I don't really think this is the case. I purchased their latest album on iTunes for $7.99 (sweet freaking deal!) and I'm loving them!! I'm not exactly sure who to compare them to, but they're definitely British and moody. Sometimes they sound like Morrissey/The Smiths...sometimes Peter Gabriel...sometimes Blur...sometimes even My Morning Jacket. Try them today!! ;)

it's getting better every day

2008-09-05T10:43:00.005-05:00

Tonight I will finally indulge in a pumpkin spice latte as I heard through the proverbial grapevine that they are definitely officially available! Currently it is 62 degrees outside and I am loving the part where I wore a jacket to work this morning. Unfortunately a small part of my brain is screaming about how winter feels like it just ended, so that's too bad :\ Shut up brain!

Speaking of PSLs, Z just pointed out to me THIS FUN FACT:

In other words, when you google image "pumpkin spice latte", my blog banner is the sixth photo to come up?! That's devotion my friends.

Meanwhile, I made two of seven recipes for the month of Sept:

1. Enchilada Pizza (I made tomatillo salsa again to use for the sauce, and topped a wheat Boboli with black beans, a four cheese Mexican blend, guac, and green onions. If I wasn't poor I would've made some tasty shredded chicken to put on it as well.)

2. Squash and Sweet Potato Tortellini, which I will partake once again in about 20 minutes!

sweeeeet action!

Do you remember?!

2008-09-02T10:13:00.004-05:00

I cannot believe it's already September. Thank all that is holy, because the summer should really be over soon. The weather has been ideal, especially after the winter we had, but the shenanigans have been plentiful and I need a break! I will say that this summer will go down as one of my favorite summers since Summer '98: post high school graduation, not a care in the world, also lots of shenanigans. It will also go down as one of the most tumultuous summers...full of soaring highs and devastating lows. I don't think I've ever in my life felt such an intense roller coaster of emotions over this length of time (five months straight). I look forward to what I can only hope is a much more calm autumn because at this rate, highs are great and all, but the higher you are, the harder you fall. And speaking of falling hard, I still have one more emotionally exhausting event to get through before the summer ends: my coworker's wedding, which my ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend will be attending. While I'm super excited for my coworker/friend, I cannot even describe how much I'm dreading this evening. It'll be one of the hardest things that I've ever endured. I can only hope that it'll be like running a marathon: takes a lot out of you, but makes you stronger and, um, more interesting? So on that note, wish me luck? ;)

In any case, I have a few updates, so here they are:

#5 - I'm picking away at the Q&A photo interview I mentioned awhile back. Who knew it'd be so difficult?!

#17 - I indulged in a pretty selfish decision the night of my friends Chelsea and Nick's wedding?

#18 - And on that note, I'm cheating a bit crossing this one off, but I don't think I'll get any closer to this task than I did that evening! That's all I'll say ;)

#34 - Nutcracker tickets have been purchased for Sat, Dec 13th!

#45 - I failed miserably at recipes in August. One...that's it. Pathetic. So September's going to be seven total. I wish food didn't cost so much :\

#50 - My atypical item this month will be polenta which isn't produce really, but I've always wanted to cook with it.

#51 - Guilty pleasure will be an oldie but goodie: No fried food.

#54 - I finally got my haircut last week after almost five months!

#68 - I ate like a crazy person the weekend of Chelsea and Nick's wedding: Like five helpings of taco salad at my parents Thursday night; ginormous greasy breakfast at the Pancake House Friday morning; way too much fried fish, fatty chowder soup, and piles of french fries at the rehearsal dinner; another huge greasy breakfast the wedding morning; and MORE fries and gooey Reuben the day after. I felt like I had been starving myself for weeks and I totally just let loose!

#87 - Band/artist of the month happened right at the end when a coworker recommended Love As Laughter...good stuff!

That's all I got! In really awesome news, it's about that time of year when Bucks rolls out the Pumpkin Spice Latte!!! You better believe I'll blog about it too ;)

"I hate web design"

2008-08-19T15:04:00.003-05:00

This is what I just googled to make myself feel better after scrolling through pages and pages of forums related to the web design problems I'm having. This has been going on since 7:45 this morning, as well as like 2.5 hours last night, and several hours on Sunday night. I've spent 99.9% of my time troubleshooting and .1% on the actual design part.

In my current breakdown, I found this guy's blurb to be the most comforting:

I hate web design. I really, truly, sincerely do....For those not in the know, this is a basic breakdown of what is involved in web design:

1. Put a single object/word/picture on the page.
2. Waste an hour trying to figure out why Browser ‘X’ doesn’t like that.
3. Try to fix it.
4. Have something else stuff up
5. Fix that
6. Repeat the whole process with the next element you’re trying to put on the page.

Ain't it the truth. Last night I figured out how to place the navigation bar I made like a month and a half ago over the background, and then how to change the length of this dotted line I wanted underneath the nav bar. And yeah that took me two hours. Oh but wait. I'm an idiot, and CSS backgrounds stay fixed, while the stuff you put over them are "fluid". So basically if I change the size of my browser the nav bar will move around while the background stays still. I mean duh, right? But apparently I'm an idiot. I have to figure out how to fix the nav bar now. But even if I do that? It's like, I'm literally like one millimeter off the ground and have all of Mt. Everest above me. I don't even LIKE web design!! Using the aforementioned percentages, it's 99.9% technical and .1% design. I didn't go to school to become some coding programming geek (absolutely NO offense to the coding programming geeks out there...without you, this bitch fest you are currently reading wouldn't exist!).

In any case, I can't tell you how many times I've given up, and then got back on the bike, only to give up, back on bike, give up, you get the picture. I think about just grabbing one of the 934803412908 free CSS templates out there. But then what's the point of having someone else's design showcase my own? Then I want someone to make MY design FOR me. But then I think about the Big Scary Future that is my career and how print design will cease to exist and how I better know how to do this because only web design jobs will remain. The horror. Not to mention this LIST. Number Freaking ONE on this list is to learn how to build a website, jeez.

So I guess I'll keep scratching and stabbing at this behemoth. Guh. Worse comes to worst, I could try just doing the whole thing in Flash as I think that'd be easier. My design is seriously SO simplistic...nothing complicated at all. Although, simplistic isn't always easy. Like check out the smashing Mr. Nate Smith's portfolio site I found today! VERY similar to how I want mine, right down to the rounded-tablet-with-dropshadow. Simple, clean, beautiful...and I bet it is crazy complicated Flash. Ok maybe not CRAZY complicated, but I don't know. Maybe I'll give 'er a whirl. Try some things out in Flash and see if I can replicate it. Too bad Nate and I can't stumble into one another in a dark bar where I whisper dirty promises into his ear in exchange for his web design skills. But no...Milwaukee can contain only so many talented people in one week or the world will implode.

you'll never know how great a kiss can feel...

2008-08-11T11:06:00.010-05:00

Updates a plenty, especially in the creative world!

#7 - TBA artistic project = Zeetles!®

#22 - Three puffs for the Wisconsin State Fair,
the most glorious place on earth!!!

I could seriously take amusement-park-at-dusk photos for a lifetime. And what a perfect night with beautiful clouds and an amazing sunset! Next year I seriously have to spend more time doing this. This year I even turned down the Bunny Building in order to make the most of the dying light. THAT is dedication. I did snap this one right outside the building though...DIES!!!

[and this just in! my bun pickie got pickied on Cute Overload!!!]

#45 & #50 - I way cheated on this first recipe of the month, but whatevs. I made Garlic Shrimp Caesar Wraps, but totally picked up pre-marinated garlic jumbo shrimp from the seafood counter, as well as Caesar dressing from the salad bar. Hey! It's summer and I'm busy ;) But I used arugula as the leafy greens so that's taken care of too.

#91 - I learned from my pal Josh that Stein's has bonsai trees!! He and his wife had one in their living room and apparently it only cost like $20 or so? Sweet ACTION!! Maybe I'll go next weekend or something!

And finally, without further ado, my new baby...

#5 - TBA artistic project = My new photoblog, focusnapop! is officially up and running! The inspiration behind starting the blog is all over there, so I won't bore you with those details here. I really hope to keep it up though! Such fun!!

just because I'm losing, doesn't mean I've lost

2008-08-04T09:13:00.005-05:00

ed. note: added #95

August. It's a new month. You know that old saying: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all? That's what this post is going to be.

Updates because I have to:

#22 - State Fair is happening Thursday, so I'll get to cross off that bad boy.

#45 - Recipes (two more):
1. While I didn't come up with them or cook them entirely on my own, I'll combine the following delicious meals we made at camp this year:
-Bourbon Chicken, Blue Cheese Burgers, and Pear Gorgonzola and Prosciutto on French Bread drizzled with a Balsamic Syrup
2. Fried Plantains (#50)

#50 - My atypical produce this month can be arugula, why not?

#95 - I finished Of Human Bondage, which most definitely made my top five books. I honestly didn't want it to end, it's such a great story! I told Mandsi that it was like an old friend who I'll really miss...

#66 - Iowa!
Mandsi and I reunited with the cornfields and rolling hills (there are hills!) and it was a blast. Road trip hilarity, best patty melt and corned beef hash ever, YeCoCo, not crashing into a plane, "leave them ducks alone boys", Sugar Shack malts, pool and hot tub sans thugs, steak and crab stuffed shrimp with wine that tasted like Heath Ledger, Steve and Jay shenanigans, Prairie Meadows Casino and "when in Rome" Bud Light, hangovers at the Farmer's Market, tooling around the Skywalk for hours and chillin in the Marriott, "what's he gonna do", $4 big beers and an abundance of hot air balloons including The Big Idea, an ecstasy rave in the streets of downtown, scuzziness of Des Moines night life, waiting an hour for food at Drake Diner, and a big soda and snick snacks at the I-80 truckstop....as well as many many more amusing memories and moments.

Ah, well reliving that trip cheered me up a touch. Good times. Well the summer is nearing an end and I'm relieved. I look forward to brighter times ahead...despite the fact that daylight is waning? Hm.

This is absolutely amazing....

2008-07-22T09:04:00.002-05:00

Quoted from Astronomy Picture of the Day:

"What are these humans doing? Dancing. Many humans on Earth exhibit periods of happiness, and one method of displaying happiness is dancing. Happiness and dancing transcend political boundaries and occur in practically every human society. Above, Matt Harding traveled through many nations on Earth, started dancing, and filmed the result. The video is perhaps a dramatic example that humans from all over planet Earth feel a common bond as part of a single species. Happiness is frequently contagious -- few people are able to watch the above video without smiling."

I love the music...

looking sideways?

2008-07-17T15:24:00.003-05:00

Things aren't necessarily looking up or down, so I'll just say they're looking sideways for now. The beginning of 28 Day Detox was like the first few days after a breakup when you feel, not quite right, but like you're on a high for all the emotion and adrenaline...or like the hangover in the morning when you're running on fumes and something about it makes you giddy. Well in both scenarios, time catches up with you and you end up feeling exhausted and shitty.

I'm totally coming to terms with the fact that I need some healing time. I put a lot of stuff on the backburner and it's all coming out now in forms of weeping and depression and anger and frustration. In the first 10 days, I tried to deal with healing on my own without really opening up about it too much. Mostly because everyone has heard quite enough about the Trials and Tribs of Katie. But yesterday I discovered that I really do need a support system in order to truly hash everything out. Only this time, I'm trying to use that support system as a way to bounce around ideas and emotions, rather than purely venting my anguish. I think it worked well because I did feel better today.

It's hard not to let the unfairnesses of life drag you down. It's hard not to dwell on that sort of thing and let it consume you until you can't breathe and you wonder if you'll ever feel normal again. But as cliche as it sounds, time heals all wounds and while I'm waiting, I've got lots of stuff to preoccupy my mind...in a HEALTHY way, as opposed to a way to postpone the inevitable explosion of ugly wrath that's bubbling under the surface! As I've said to many a person this week, my only hope is that I'll get to look back one day, with someone new and so much better for me, and say: "why the hell did I spend so much emotional energy on that OTHER situation??!" Until then!

Well, enough of that wah wah blabber, let's get our update on, sheesh!

#12 - While I continue to miss the 26 Things photography project, a different sort of photo project entitled "Q&A" is up and has no end due date, so I think I'll take a stab at that!

#45 - The two recipes I've made this month are a. apple caramel pound cake ice cream deliciousness for the 4th of July, and b. "Miss Leslie's Divine Ham Salad" or whatever it's called, from a Rachael Ray cookbook (#46).

#68 - I ate a heck of a lot at camp this past weekend and that was glorious!! But I think I worked it all off setting up/taking down camp, building camp fires, making a sand turtle and baby, and playing bags on the beach...

#80 - I am NOT rocking the budget...I don't think I have since last fall or something insane. Gotta get back there...

#83 - I've been slacking on savings too. Now that I no longer get money back from $$ I loaned out, and I have a new car payment every month, the savings train has come to a stop...except for the dollar a day, of course...but $30/mo is NOT really saving.

#87 - A coworker suggested I listen to Albert Hammond, Jr., from the Strokes, now solo. I really love! I listened to the album like six times over the last week!

#95 - I picked up Of Human Bondage to fulfill the second of the three classics.

And that's all I got! I honestly have a ton to look forward to in the coming months, so I'm hoping for my sideways glance to start heading upward way soon. Please please!

Starting Over......

2008-07-08T16:37:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, I officially wandered waaaaay too far off the beaten path (#17 and then some...), but last night I decided many things:

1. to start a 28 day detox from the treachery that has been my mental state recently
2. to be more positive, less self indulgent, and healthier in body, mind, and spirit
3. to get going on some freaking tasks already!

And in the last 24 hours I've already accomplished two things!

#95 - I finished Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: LOVE! If you aren't hardcore Christian, but are open to hearing about it from a more logical standpoint, this book is for you. It was very inspirational and honest about the human condition: where we come from, who we are, where we're going...that sort of thing. I wouldn't mind reading it a second time just to more fully absorb everything Jack had to say!

#1 - Ohhhh Dreamweaver. So today I decided to follow this ginormous epic tutorial on how to build a website with cascading style sheets (CSS), as opposed to your 'old school' tables. It was CRAZY complicated, but after a few hours, I really got the hang of it! Below is the ungodly ugly site they made me build using the worst design elements imaginable, but hey, I don't care! I'm super proud I was actually able to do it all!

YAY! Super stoked!! Again, not something I'd put in a portfolio if you paid me a million dollars, but hopefully one day I can figure out how to combine my swank design skills with my new CSS knowledge. In the meantime, apparently I'll be able to practice as we'll be rockin' the CSS here at work as soon as John comes back from training in Florida. And who's the first to be trained? Yours truly. Wish me luck!

And going back to my opening sentiments, I will say the following: Sometimes wandering off the beaten path actually brings you closer to the right one. See, occasionally you take the wrong path...a selfish path full of jagged rocks and deep potholes (vampires?) that hurt you, as well as the other people walking with you. Suddenly you find yourself making some INSANE decision to completely walk off the path altogether! AND you drag those people in with you! So then you're in this dark thicket of God knows what...there are thorns and Rodents of Unusual Size, cesspools, and maybe even quicksand that could trap you there indefinitely. But look here, what's this? You might see a clearing up ahead, or hear voices (real ones, not ghosts). Turns out, it's the path you were supposed to be on the whole time! The "good path"! So basically you took a short cut. It might not have been the best decision because you probably didn't make it out of the deep woods unscathed: scraps and gashes galore. But you made it, and with a much clearer head on your shoulders.

That was me this weekend for sure! So I'm rebooting, debugging, defragging, running scan disk, all that stuff to try and be a better person for myself, as well as for those around me, whether I know them now, or know them in the future.

"Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around."
[Vanilla Sky]

more heart-wrenching dance...

2008-07-03T09:26:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty much posting this for Nicole :)

But I'll post this too, because it's very true :(

Almost over

2008-06-30T14:03:00.000-05:00

I'm hoping to make it out of these final hours of June unscathed. It has been a DOOZIE of a month. In the last week, I've earned my insomnia patch and I think even my panic attack patch. Nothing major, but I've had a couple instances of those old familiar feelings of trembling, nausea, and sense of impending doom. Not fun really. I think something's going around though, because I know a lot of people dealing with various ugly life issues, my own being the furthest from the worst. Things could ALWAYS be worse...and I have to be way thankful that they aren't right now. In the meantime though, I GOTTA make some changes...

So to conclude June,

#17 - Just under the wire, I got a txt today from someone telling me that I'm selfish, so I can knock that one off the list! Yippee. No, but I did spend $200 on clothes last Monday night to cheer myself up. Fun?

#45 - Recipes...

2 - Spicy Sweet Crab Salad (#46) in tortillas (mixed with mango, radishes, celery, onions and cilantro; dressed with this hot sauce/lime juice/vinegar/sugar/mayo situation...seems odd, but incredibly tasty!)

3 - Rhubarb (#50) Coffee Cake (made for Shannon's birthday last week...I've baked from scratch like twice in my life and these turned out really good considering!)

4 - Mango Pine Nut Salad (mango and OJ puree over greens with cannellini beans and pine nuts...I was a little drunk when I threw this together, but I think I remember that it was really good?)

Now, for July, I'm thinking about something to give up...we'll see...and my atypical produce item is plantains, THANKS Guy Fieri ;)

#49 - This past weekend Mandsi and I went to the World's Lamest Farmers Market (aka East Town Farmer's Market...jeez guys, kick it up a notch?)

#68 - A couple weekends ago, I had a fatty egg/bacon/cheese bagel sammich for breakfast, like five lbs of chocolate sweet treats at a concert intermission, BeefaRoo for dinner, and then the following morning, a Machine Shed breakfast of ginormous waffle with bacon BAKED IN, topped with eggs and maple syrup, and a side of cheesy hashbrown casserole the consistency of risotto....FAAAAT.

Sooooo this post is basically me complaining about my life stress, yet discussing all the good food I ate all month. Way to go Katie. At the end of the day, things aren't so bad. I've just gotta be way more careful. Remember the girl who was sick of being good all the time? Well, she's in some trubs and I'm not letting her out any more. I need to add a lot more to my karma bucket.....

wordclouds drifting by...

2008-06-24T13:52:00.000-05:00

On Pop Candy today, I discovered this little gem of a site: Wordle! where you can type in some text and finagle a cute little "word cloud". Now while the site is pretty fun, being a graphic designer, I find myself a little constricted by its randomness. So I busted out my own typography skills this afternoon and created my own cloud:

The significance of this little set of lyrics comes out of my thoughts from yesterday whilst listening to this Fiona Apple tune...its uncanny relation to a certain ex bf. The words couldn't be more true.

Glass half...full?

2008-06-20T07:54:00.000-05:00

496 days remain. Earlier this week, I should've celebrated my official halfway mark in this crazy project, but I was probably too busy doing one of the items on the list. Undoubtedly the Ninja Report (#89), which is officially complete!! For reasons I won't mention here, I had to put it into overdrive this week. Let's hope my work pays off SOON!

In any case, here's an update of where I'm at with this list:

Completed: 38
In Progress with Nearby Completion Date: 11
In Progress until List End Date: 15
Remaining: 37

YEEHAW! I've completed more than I have left!! Thank GOD or I think I'd be pretty screwed! And I can turn that 38 into a 49 real soon if I get crackin' on all of these open ended tasks. Plus I've got all those summer-y ones that I could complete this year too.

Meanwhile, we're about halfway through the year here as well. I'm kinda hoping things pick back up from here on out. Not that the year has been awful by any means, but I sense some leaf turning on the horizon and I hope it brings good things for everyone who is in their particular mess at the moment (of which there are quite a few, I've noticed!) So let's all take this time to regroup and kick ass in the next six months. SIX MONTHS!

PS I'm also hoping that the next 500.5 days are FAR different from the last 500.5. Again, not that they were awful, but the TWO breakups and various job trubs weren't really a blast. Then again, I went on some rad trips, won a mac, and did some neat creative stuff, so who am I to complain? Glass half full!

SYTYC...make my heart explode with complete awe?

2008-06-12T10:11:00.000-05:00

The answer is a definitive YES.
The following is the reason why So You Think You Can Dance is THEEE greatest reality television show to ever exist:

Dies.

I feel lucky to have lived to see something like this.

Changing of the moods

2008-06-05T12:51:00.001-05:00

It's yet another Rainy Days Thursdays always gettin' me down. At least it isn't 39 outside! I'm just not at my best this week. I find myself walking through this mucky daze, waiting for things to pick up. Maybe it's just the weather, but I was walking back to work at lunch like, get out of this mood, seriously!

#87 - Last night SYTYCD featured an adorable young male dancer by the name of Cooper Zamorano who danced to this gorgeous song...lyrics not on the internet, anywhere. Until this morning of course, as everyone else watching last night was enamored too. "In Your Eyes" by Craig Lyons: An artist who has been featured in dancers' auditions three times now! In fact, Cooper's performance is already up on Craig Lyons' myspace. So at this point, the guy's made in the shade, thank you SYTYCD! His music is way beautiful too. And although mellow and moody, it's just what I needed to lift my spirits. Some of the dissonance in his melodies reminds me of Seal. It's weird, but true. [addition ed. note: very Robbie Williams too]

What's funny is that I was at Barnes last night and I must've listened to a dozen newish albums that have come out, but just couldn't bring myself to buy any of them. Maybe due to sticker shock, perhaps because there are like 398420342 albums due out this summer. I do really like the new ones from Death Cab, REM, and The Futureheads and wouldn't mind owning them (and actually PAYING for them). I purchased the new Portishead through itunes, but "acquired" the new Weezer album here at work. I'm still on the fence about Aimee Mann's new album. And then My Morning Jacket and Coldplay come out in like two seconds...very excited about those two. Anyway, I digress. I'm sure I'll slink back into my cesspool of whatnot soon enough, but for now, here's to the joy that new artists, new albums, and the new season of SYTYCD brings me.

Busting out all over

2008-06-02T14:31:00.000-05:00

It's finally June! So there are definitely some sort of official summer month feelings happening, especially now that it's finally warm. But it's never a dull moment in Wisconsin because while today the high is 80, Wednesday the high will be a crisp 58. Yeesh.

I will admit that I'm a little stressed out over here. Thoughts and feelings in regards to all KINDS of things are swirling ever more, and I wonder if and when my brain will calm down. And in other news, I actually caught myself wishing for my old life today. Something I never thought I'd do! It was brief, but it was just a general wistfulness for "Simpler Times". I quickly snapped out of it, however, when I remembered that those times were NOT simpler. I was stuck in a pretty complicated situation. And speaking of...you'll never believe the main article that popped up when I logged onto Yahoo this morning...

Men prefer being solo over a bad marriage: study

Sigh. But hey, I mean who DOESN'T prefer being solo over a bad marriage?? I certainly would! But the article says "Men are 10 times more scared of marrying the wrong person than of never getting married at all" which is pretty sad. Now no offense to my men out there, but in all honesty, women are generally the more understanding, supportive, and flexible gender (I understand that few bad apples have spoiled the bunch though). My point here is that when it comes to marriage, we're all over here really willing to make it work. We try very hard because it's genetically programmed into us. So I think what men are REALLY afraid of isn't marrying the wrong person, but rather having to work hard at something. Now of course I'm speaking from a personal standpoint having been hurt when the "love of my life" decided I wasn't really worth the work. And I also know that some women pull some wicked stunts like cheating and just generally throwing in the towel when it comes to making the marriage work. So yep, I admit all that. But let's just put the exceptions aside for a second.

The article goes on to say "It's so important to these men to get it right. My best advice to single women after bachelors is to be patient. If you're in a hurry to get married you'll be frustrated." Amen. You don't have to tell US twice. But I don't think it's our fault we're frustrated. Like I previously mentioned, we're a patient gender! How else do you think we put up with our men's occasional BS? I remember so much about my relationship with John that I had to be *patient about whether it was his general crazy antics or his job woes or his ex frustrations or even his daughter and everything that goes along with that...very very patient. And I guess asking for a marriage in return is asking for too much, I don't know. But nothing in life is foolproof. Yeah you want to try to get things right, especially if you've already been divorced once. But almost everything in life requires a bit of faith. Faith that you are making good choices from your college degree to your career path to the person you love to the way you raise your kids. I think these men must have just lost their sense of faith. Although perhaps it's simply the fact that they confuse faith and fate. I have faith in my choices, but I know that it requires hard work on my part in order to make them the right choices. If you throw yourself completely into the arms of fate, taking absolutely no responsibility for your choice, well then yeah, you might get stuck with a lemon for a marriage.

At the end of the day, if these men are perfectly happy being bachelors for the rest of their days, than so be it. No skin off my back. Until you drag me down with you! I just hope that they're honest with themselves and thus honest with the women they date before it's too late. Don't make future plans, play domestic family life, and act as though marriage is the path you're heading down if these things scare you. To conclude, the article actually ended on quite an amusing note. Turns out that researching this info scared the author straight: "I found I was looking at men 10 years older than me and it was like looking into the future. If I didn't change, nothing would." And now he's living with his girlfriend and they're talking marriage. If only it were that easy!

***

Ok sorry about the little June Blog detour there! The reason I think I was dwelling a bit on my old life is because I saw the Sex & the City movie last night. It definitely made over $50million for a reason. Women everywhere are trying to find love and perhaps those who already have like to remind themselves of how lucky they are! Those of us still looking, however, are more frustrated than not and it gets old. And perhaps that's why Yahoo put up that article! Just to torment us even more!!

Alright enough, let's get to the updates.

#1/#2 - One of my current stresses is starting up my personal portfolio website. Web design is rough work. It's like being a chemist. Would you know how to go about making that soda you're currently drinking from absolute scratch? Do you even WANT to know? At the end of the day, I'm just hoping that, like math in high school, the logic and programming will be sort of fun in a sick way. In any case, it's underway. Here's to hoping the roadblocks will be few and far between.

#45/#50 - In my last recipe for the month I used watercress, thank you very much. I made this smoked salmon watercress avocado salad with a lemon vinaigrette.

#50 - This month's atypical produce item will be rhubarb! My boss sent out an email that she grew a great crop this year and she's bringing some into work tomorrow. Not sure what I'll make, but I'm intrigued!

#51 - Soda's back in the game (I drank a sip at 12:01am on June 1st!) and out is snacking after dinner.

And done!

Iron deficiency and thunderstorms

2008-05-26T19:06:00.000-05:00

It's the Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend, and no one is going to get to work for a few hours, I imagine. So it's perfect time for updating. I got to cross another two things off my list this weekend (three total coupled with last weekend). With T-minus 20 days until I reach my official half way point in this allotted 1001 days, I hope I'm reaching a sort of half way point in the 101 tasks...

#27 - Artistic endeavors
I visited our art museum last weekend for the first time in probably seven years or so. Not too much has changed, except they no longer have my favorite, a concept by Felix Gonzalez-Torres: just a stack of paper with "Veteran's Day Sale" typed on each sheet. The trickery is that you can take one! Felix is long gone, but his studio would indefinitely replenish the stack of paper. Indefinitely must have reached definitely, however, because it's no longer there. Gonzalez-Torres wasn't a huge fan of the whole "no touching" part of an art museum, so all around the world he set up similar situations in the corners of art museums. I have at least five of his works: three sheets of poster sized paper and two pieces of candy. The irony of all this is that I actually got a "talking to" from one of the museum guards for blowing on some sculpture. Too funny!

#69 - Let's talk blood.
Ok, so despite the fact that I claim to know about the proper ways to eat, I was not aware that you need to ingest foods with vitamin C in the same meal that you ingest foods with iron that doesn't come from meat. In other words, while I took a break from meat last month, I also took a break from iron as I didn't really pair oranges with my beans, nuts, and other non animal iron rich foods. So that's great! I loaded up on water, refrained from all alcohol, and I get to the blood center only to find that I'm just two notches below the healthy iron count. So I was rejected yet again, but I've decided to count my two rejections as an official blood donation due to the inconvenience factor. I'll probably try to go back in the next month to squeeze in my official spring donation as I'm still behind from winter. Jeez.

#70 - Will you take my marrow instead?
Going into the donation, I really did have a feeling I'd be rejected again, so had most of my marbles on registering my bone marrow. I mean in that I'd get to experience the "feel good" moment after completing the paperwork and mouth swabs and all that stuff. But no. The tech I dealt with was a real piece of work and after digging into me about my iron deficiency like it was my fault (ok I guess it was sort of), he just didn't exude any kind of gratitude in regards to My Big Moment of offering up the chance to save a life some time down the line. HOWEVER! This sort of taught me a lesson! At the end of the day, it's not about the donor (blood OR marrow)...it's about the person who needs it. I shouldn't really HAVE to feel good about doing any of this stuff. I should just feel lucky that I currently don't need anyone else's blood or bone marrow to survive. So yeah, a bit of a wake up call there. And I've decided that because donating blood, for me, is like the most inconvenient frustrating thing ever, it is the truest form of altruism as I really get nothing out of the experience. Which is precisely why I should keep at it.

#88 - Singing in the rain
Completely switching tracks here, over the weekend we had one of the longest thunderstorms I can remember in recent years. I'd say it lasted from around 9pm to 4am or so, and relatively strong throughout. In any case, the aforementioned boy that has recently entered into my life came over to the apartment that evening and when the rain really started up, he, my sis and I ran outside and really rocked the cliché: jumping in puddles, quoting various rain themed movie moments, the whole bit. It was quite a time! The most hilarious part being the anti-romance of freezing our asses off and then trying to dry all our clothes, particularly J who hadn't really packed extra.

#17 - Be selfish (Memorial Day)
And speaking of the man-friend, yesterday I totally had myself a Katie Day. After several weekends of either having specific plans set, or offering my helpful services to someone, or church and Eucharistic minister duty, etc etc, I took advantage of the opportunity that I had absolutely no responsibility to anyone on this day. So I stayed up VERY late with J the night before, and slept in without a care in the world the following morning. Then I just spent the entire day with him...something I had been very much looking forward to doing at some point. I think a good litmus for the possibility of a future relationship with someone is the spend-the-day-together test. In any case, he passed with flying colors. We grabbed lunch over at the Greek place, walked around Veteran's park, sat on the grass by the lakefront people watching, and even took in the Memorial Day parade. Something that was particularly nice as Memorial Day '08 became more than just a day off this year. It was a solid day and felt nice to just go and do whatever I wanted to do.

So with that said, budding relationship questionmark?? Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves (Right Katie? Right??) The phrase "It's Complicated" comes to mind. And it is. There is a huge grab bag of Pro's when it comes to this particular person. Qualities that I would very much appreciate in a mate. Meanwhile, however, there are a few Con's, and it isn't the con part I'm worried about, but rather the Deal-Breaker variety that are scattered throughout. The bright side, however, is that most of the deal-breakers are fixable and temporary. It's in his hands to take care of them though, not mine, and that's something that will just have to be for awhile. In the meantime, while I find that it's a little to late to keep him at an arm's length, I'm still able to keep our worlds separate. The best we can do is stay honest about it all and keep communication open (one of the reasons for the real late night on Sunday). I consider myself a pretty responsible person, but my responsibility has lead to missing out on what could've been some interesting moments in life. So I know that closing in on 30 is forcing me to take a more Life's Too Short attitude. I'm gonna run with it. I just am. Even if things end in disaster, it can't be any worse than the crap life throws at you even when you ARE responsible!

long time no blog

2008-05-15T09:58:00.000-05:00

It's been a couple weeks, so I should probably update and write a bit. Food, car troubs, dating and more!

#45 - Recipes galore:

1. Two smaller recipes to make one: Black Bean dish and Walnut Cranberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

2. Amazing BLT Pizza - I cooked a thin crust wheat Boboli for 10 mins or so, and topped it with smashed avocado, halved grape tomatoes/shallots mixed with grape seed oil, balsamic vinegar and S&P, a mix of chopped spinach and flat leaf parsley, and then of course bacon. It was seriously awesome...I highly recommend for a party app situation. Good and good for you!!

3. Pat's Favorite Sweet & Sour Meatloaf (via Monica's blog!) - And if the pizza wasn't enough this week, let's talk about this meatloaf. Or should I say LOVEloaf?! The only change I made to Monica/Lorie's recipe was that I used rasp jelly and cooked the loveloaf for an hour. I think my oven's just on the cooler side...it usually takes a little longer than usual with that thing. Plus most loafs cook for about an hour I'd say. TRY IT TONIGHT!!

#50 - Atypical Veggie
Alright so Metro Market's produce section screwed me again. The reason I found the BLT pizza was because it had watercress as the "lettuce". Met Mark ALWAYS has watercress!! Except for now apparently. Foiled again. So like I said, I used spinach and parsley instead which worked really well (parsley has a similar "peppery" flavor). ~~In any case, I'm switching my veggie to Arugula as I know Met Mark has this in stock.~~ Bah, just sticking with watercress.

#87 - Bands
So I've got TWO this month, which is good because I think last month I cheated and didn't really have one.
The Kooks - your Brit Rock which is always a good time, recommend their tune "See the Sun".
Angels & Airwaves - Blink 182's Tom DeLonge's band...GOOD stuff!! They've got a U2 guitar thing happening which is never a bad thing.

And in LIFE news, things have been hectic per usual! I had this whole crazy tire fiasco happen this past weekend. My sis and I both "coincidentally" got flats the same day. I don't know. I wanted to be my own mechanic and change them...I got her lug nuts off, but the tire/wheel was corroded to the car. Then MY lug nuts were way too tight and there was no way I was taking my tire off either. 3-4 hrs later in the chilly drizzle, we gave up. I called for a tow the next morning to take off my tire, and bring Mandsi's car (and my tire) into Firestone. Both needed actual replacing, and I purchased this tire warranty at my dealership, so this involved me driving my car the 15 mi/45 min side street trek all the way over there as I couldn't go over 50mph on the spare. Long story long, they didn't have a tire for me, so I had to do it all over again the next day and I'm canceling my warranty asap because the dealership service dept likes to give a gal attitude.

And in other news, I will mention that the dating life has been relatively splendid as of late. Yep I'm typing it outloud. Ha! Stuff was a little intense and swirly at first and I wasn't so much down with that coming out of a nearly three year relationship, but things have calmed down and it's just nice and casual. I use the term "casual" loosely though because it depends on who you ask. "You call that casual?" Well, by 1950s standards, perhaps not so much. But in today's day and age, yeah I think so. I guess I'm really trying to keep this particular boy at an arm's length, but he tends to reel me in with his charms. Haha! I keep telling myself life's too short. I went through a week long phase where I was mad that I've always been the "good girl" playing by the rules and regulations of life. But here I get this opportunity to sort of get out there and have fun...be a little "bad" if you will. And when I'm 50 and married with who knows what responsibilities, I'd rather look back and be satisfied with the fact that I did XYZ without too much regret. So with that said, the warmer months are fast approaching and how often do you get to experience that all too classic summer romance, its endurance the furthest thing from your mind?

may day! may day!

2008-05-01T09:09:00.001-05:00

Alright, May 1st and time to get caught up, set up this next month:

#45 Recipe: My last recipe for April was this crab bake sort of thing, SUPER good! From the outset, it seemed like a strange combination of flavors, but it works! The recipe is below...

#50 My atypical produce item for May will be watercress.

#51 So my April Sans Meat worked out splendidly! Like I said in another post, the only 'cheat' was the bacon bits in the tator tot batter waaaaay at the beginning of the month. Since then I didn't have to cheat at all and I'm quite proud of myself! Although I could seriously sink my teeth into a burger today ;) Or bacon...I could definitely go for some bacon. An interesting observation: for the first half of the month, I honestly thought totally giving up meat wouldn't be all that bad. I mean as long as I could have fish and dairy. But during the second half of the month, I really did miss my meat (ohhh yeah). Above all, wings. Just your average chicken wings. You can't get those meat free! So I'm going to have to get over to BW3's this month. No more putting that off!

May's give-up is just going to be soda because I'm lazy and can't think of anything else right now. But hey, that means no mixed drinks (aside from tonic), so that can be difficult.

#68 I didn't really go to town on some food splurge this month. I kinda forgot about it. So this morning, I had a half bagel and half donut for breakfast and am NOT exercising at noon...haha! Oh well, I tried.

#87 Speaking of slacking, I have NOT been up on this 'new band/artist' task. I suck. So how about my new artist for April will be David Cook from American Idol bwah!! He's way hot though and is voice is brilliant. I rarely embed videos on this blog, but here's his rendition of "Eleanor Rigby"...pretty rad!

Sooooo yep, that's it. I haven't really rocked the list for awhile, so I'm just in complete slack mode right now. Well, Ninja Report is in full swing, so that's what my focus is at this time. My OTHER focus is trying to figure out various dramas going on these days. May day indeed!

Ok Southwestern Crab Bake recipe!
I made it one way, but in the following recipe I'm changing the chip idea. They originally called for chips to cover the bottom of the baking dish, but ya know, they get pretty mushy...so I think crumbling them over the top halfway through sounds good to me!

8 oz. Crab Classic, Leg Style, cubed
1 can tomatoes with diced chilies
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small can whole kernel corn
1 pkg shredded cheese
green onions, olives, salsa, whatever you like for toppings!
1 bag tortilla chips (I used these newish BEST EVER Tostitos flour chips)

In a saucepan add tomatoes with chilies, cream of mushroom soup, milk, mushrooms and corn. Stir well, heating to simmer. Butter a 10 x 13 inch baking dish. Cut crab into cubes and place in the bottom of the dish. Pour soup mixture over the crab and top with shredded cheese and green onions, olives, etc. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Top with crushed chips and bake another 10 minutes. Then let stand for 10 minutes as the dish is SUPER hot! Enjoy!

Red warning box over the state of Katie

2008-04-23T12:10:00.000-05:00

Back in the blogging world, after a small hiatus! Well, a hiatus considering the amount of updates I had been writing lately. Things have been quite whirlwindy in my life as of late, and without going into any details, I'll just say that I'm simply thankful to have the opportunity to experience life's little tornadoes here and there. It is indeed tornado season, both meteorologically AND figuratively (spring fevah!!) and this time of year always makes for an amusing time. Yes, when it rains it certainly pours!

In updateland, I'm steadily knocking tasks off my side bar to-do list. I worked on the Ninja Report this weekend, finished Bright Lights and started Mere Christianity, started the Buckley's project and am almost done, etc. The projects on my horizon don't look as daunting so that's good! For a moment there this weekend, in the middle of my 'storm', I felt my grasp on Lil Miss Organizized loosening...but I think I've got her back now.

List updates:
#17 - boy DID I! And it was the best medicine a girl could have, let me tell you.
#45 & #50 - Endive and burnt pine nuts ;)
#95 - Bright Lights

In other news, I'm not sure who caught The Office last week, but I finally got to watch it last night and oh me oh my!! Talk about apropos!! I think THIS sums it up best. Because it's true: nothing is sexier than a guy who wants you. I know that Life certainly isn't Television, but hey, The Office is as close as you can get ;) Art imitates life, and this show is more real than most reality tv out there in my opinion! And the message from this particular plotline in this particular episode is simple. Love doesn't have to be all that complicated. In any case, I have no idea whether a certain ex of mine watched said television program, and even if he did, who knows if the message seeped in at all!

Ahhh life.

BLOODBALL IS MINE!!!

2008-04-17T10:06:00.001-05:00

Haha! I got the car, I really got it! It's a match made in heaven...

Here are some baby pictures of my new 2004 Hyundai Elantra GT hatchback:

-I got hooked up at the ghetto DMV just fine.
-I test drove the car on the freeway and it was nice and smooth!
-I got the deal price of $8990 from the original price that was $11K!!
-The reason it was "gone" on Saturday is because it really was! Two separate people "bought" the car within this last week, but their financing fell through. Amazing right?? Dino, my dealership dude, was like "you're really lucky...it's such a great car!" So let's hope he's right and it doesn't fall apart in a month ;)
-It has a Kenwood cd/stereo with MP3 something or other? I still have to investigate...it took Mandsi and I like 20 minutes to figure out where a cd would go in (pop open the face and it goes behind...ahhhh).
-I forgot to say goodbye to Floyd :( He ended up being worth $1000 which is about what I thought. Turns out he needed a timing belt at 80K miles (and he was actually at $89K last night). Thanks Firestone for letting me know...bluhh. But anyway, maybe someone will fix him up and re sell to some high school student who needs a car for like $2500.

Mandsi and I were trying to come up with a name in the lobby whilst waiting for the financing guy. I thought of Bloodball, but that's weird, so his "legal name" is Dezzie! Just gotta take care of a few things this afternoon and I'll be set! Hopefully my parking passes will carry over without too much fuss.

YAY NEW CAR!!!

PS I like how I have to upload my photos to myspace instead of photobucket because p'bucket refuses to let me post their pix. Really annoying!

New Car?!?!

2008-04-16T14:31:00.001-05:00

So this is pretty random, but here's the deal:

1. Floyd the Car is dying a slow painful death.

2. At 11 years and 87,000 miles old, he needs to be put down and REPLACED.

3. Last week I found my dream car...a 2004 Hyundai Elantra HATCHBACK, pretty deep red, features a-plenty...it was around $10K.

4. This Saturday when I went over to my parents to clean Floyd out for trade-in, I looked the car up online and it had dropped a grand in price!!

5. I immediately called Hall, but the guy said it was....sold :'( NOOO!!!

6. Yesterday I was walking to work and I saw a dark red Hyundai Elantra hatchback?!!!! Just parked a couple blocks from our apartment! "What are the odds?!" I asked myself. I mean seriously??

7. Today after lunch I looked up used Elantra's again and...huh?? The very same one I wanted is still up on like 348203 different used car sites! Wouldn't they have taken it down by now?

8. I contact Hall and sure enough, according to two different people, it's still there!!!! Omgomgomg, could this really happen? I was REALLY bummed about the fact that I didn't get on it because I really like this car! And there aren't any other Elantra hatchbacks at this price with such low miles.

In conclusion...I'm going over there tonight to check it out! But other problems are still in my way, namely:
-I still need a replacement title for Floyd as the original got lost in the two moves since I bought him. But I cleaned him up (thanks mom for taking off the bumper stickers as best you could!!), and I'll probably get $1000 for him.
-What if the car bites? What if it's semi broken and I buy a lemon? I'll have to ask about a warranty. Usually Hyundai's have that 50-60K mile warranty, and this one only has 40K miles.

BWAH I'M SO EXCITED!!! I hope this works out...I feel like all the stars are aligned!! please! please! please!!!

rainy days Thursdays always gettin' me down

2008-04-10T12:52:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not really all that down, but it's so yuck outside right now. I'm all for some April showers, but not when the high is only 39! What is with this weather?? I honestly feel like it's never going to be warm. Or like this summer is seriously going to be two months long (July and August) and then September will roll around and will have this freak cold snap and it'll be back in the 30s. Wow.

To update!

45. Recipe: I've only made one so far, yip! But it was crazy good...Crab Caper I'll call it: imitation crab, miracle whip and sour cream, garlic, lemon juice/zest, and capers. Good and good for you! Tonight I'll hopefully make some kind of scallop asian dish...

51. Give up: This meat thing is a piece of cake! I think I just don't eat meat all that much. But it's really easy to find replacements between all the other proteins like eggs, veggie burgers, almonds, black and 'bonzo beans, and of course seafood of all kinds. The only hiccup that came about was that at Houlihans this past weekend, I did partake in these blue cheese tato tots that contained bacon bits. But you could barely taste them and who knows, maybe it was fake bacon? ha! But speaking of the tots, I indulged during my trip down to Chicagoland during which Monica was sweet enough to make sure we had several meatless meals! Friday she made tilapia, Saturday we had grilled cheese for lunch, and Sunday morning, we made veggie omelets. Yay!

54. Haircut: Katie's New Short Hair Phase II! I just came back from my appt at lunch. Fun!

74. Parking Ticket: This is nice! Ok so on my way to work I passed this car with a parking ticket in the window and thought: I should really fulfill my 'pay someone else's ticket' task soon...especially since *I haven't had a ticket in ages (knocking on all wood everywhere!!!). Well there were all kinds of people around, so I chickened out. Coming back at lunch, however, I saw the ticket was still there...and I also remembered that I could just write down the plate number because that's all you need to pay online! Done. And when I got to the citation on the website, it turns out the ticket was only $15. Wow I lucked out! But it also made me want to do it more often, so we'll see. Maybe it'll be an occasional good deed in my life! Although I did pass by the same car yesterday and it was parked in the same place, sans ticket, but with no money in the meter. LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKE! ;)

95. Books books books: I finished On a Pale Horse at the hospital this weekend whilst waiting for new Baby Bianca to be born! Good stuff. It was a little difficult reading the last few chapters post my John breakup as he's the one who gave it to me for Christmas and I had read most of it relaxing on the sunny patio in Arizona :\ Not a caaaare in the woooorld....... Anyway! Now I'm reading the always daring Jay McInerney (read Story of My Life a little while ago, I THINK post breakup the last time?). This one is his first novel Bright Lights Big City which came highly recommended from my sis. The book's uniqueness comes from the fact that it's written in second person, very rare. I feel as if it reads like American Psycho, without the psycho. Very Patrick Bateman, which makes sense as Bret Easton Ellis is sort of inspired by McInerney. It won't take me too long to get through and the next book on the agenda is Mere Christianity by C.S.Lewis. My mom's a huge fan and he's all she can read lately ;)

And that's what I got. Tomorrow is John's birthday bash at Genie...we'll see how that goes? Hopefully it isn't too awkward. I mean the JOHN part won't be weird because we've actually been on pretty good terms. It'll be everyone else from John's brother/brother-in-law to our mutual friend couple who were together less than John and I, but just got engaged, to those who DON'T know "the news," but might find out. Wah wah waaaaah.

But on that note, like I said, John and I are now doing ok with the anti-awkward. It's easy to be angry or bitter or whatever, but that puts me in a really sour mood. I spent all of Monday crying and that was NOT fun. Since then though, I'm trying to keep things pretty normal. We chat in the morning about whatever's going on, etc etc. And it's nice because it doesn't feel like such a drastic life change. Lately I get these flashes of a memory together. Like when he bought me this Asian sushi plate set at Target one night just for the fun of it, which lead me to thinking about the two of us driving in Little Black Car and deciding to go get drinks at Chilli's for fun. But when that happens, I mentally bury the memory almost like a funeral! ha! Just say goodbye to it I guess. Interestingly enough, bad memories will pop into my head as well...like fights we had or something and I'll kinda smile a little ;)

That's me in a nutshell for now!

boop booping through my day

2008-04-04T12:47:00.000-05:00

If my life was recorded on tivo, that's what I'd do today. It's Friday and I can't get out of here soon enough! I'm off to a super rad weekend in Chicagoland with Monica, Tim, and all that goes with...where ever the weekend takes us! Adult Chuck E. Cheese aka NOT Steve and Barry's? Guitar Hero to my heart's content? Helping Monica get kitties get ready for the adoption show? Monica performing for me (twss!)? A new baby? Any and all of this is possible and I'm looking forward to the getaway.

I haven't updated for the start of April, so I'll do that real quickly here.
#50 Atypical produce - Endive (perfect for baby showers! if I were going to one?)
#51 Give up food - MEAT! And in more ways than one I guess? OH! Ok anyway, I'm not going vegan for the month, so eggs, dairy, and fish are still a go. And it's also ok if I am in a sitch where meat is the only option (like going to a dinner party...because that happens).

Earlier in the week, I changed a bunch of list items, changed and adjusted, I should say. And I'm just not going to use my 'nixables' because it's far too much and I'm over it. I'm bending the rules this one time.
# 7 is no longer graphic novel and now some TBD artistic project
Hey Love has merged into the Socialite division and thus...
#16 is now just going to the lakefront for a picnic with anyone who wants to join me!
#20 likewise, heading to Jazz in the Park with whoever's game
#27 and likewise, anyone want to go to the art museum with me? Let's do it. Perhaps I'll make it like my first date or something?
#25 I'm going to bring carving pumpkins back into style and coolness sans a family
#26 My sis and Nicole already discussed rockin the old school slumber party at her place, only we're adding a bottle of Vodka to the mix
#41 No John's gym, I gave him back those oh-so symbolic condo keys of course, so I'm going to desperately try to keep up with my lunch workout three times a week (although this week I only got up to twice)
#66 I have since discussed with Mandsi that we should take a road trip to Iowa this summer to visit our old stomping grounds. There's a balloonfest in Indianola at the end of July? I'm SUCH a hardcore geek, aren't I? No wonder I'm single ;)
#89 Hmm learn to drive stick shift will be replaced by something, I just don't know what...
#18 & 19 are SUPER tricky...I guess anything's possible!

Not too horrible I guess. At least most were adjustable.

And that's April! And I guess I'll just carry on the rest of my boring Friday...emailing, internet whatnot, and listening to my Breakup Mix on itunes (I'm such a cliché).

I got on the plane and went through a wormhole

2008-03-31T16:17:00.000-05:00

No seriously I did! I sat in the PHX airport...had a conversation...and while I didn't crash on a mysterious island like my Lost pals, I did go through some kind of time glitch and I landed back in March of 2007...only they're telling me it's 2008. Two words: I'm Desmond.

I read my February 07 post and I must say that I am not feeling like I did then thank all that is holy. My heart is heavy and I'm sad, but I'm not shocked or abandoned. For one year, I gave John's and my relationship a shot. He did some crazy convincing, but come April I was hooked and decided to give it another go. Tomorrow April is once more upon us. In 2007 I had two paths from which to choose. I chose one...made a ginormous loop...and this weekend I came to the exact same crossroads. Now I must choose the other path that life offered to me at the time. Hence my sneaking suspicion that I'm repeating 2007 over again ;)

At first, when I sensed the crumbling of the relationship, my initial thoughts were blazing anger that this was happening to me all over again. Like I was tricked. I've said this to way too many people way too many times, but: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I thought I was the biggest idiot in the world for falling for the big rouse. BUT! After the dust has settled, I realized that John was right that awful February 16th a year ago: "We want different things." If only he had stuck to his guns back then ;) We do indeed. And the more I thought about it, the more I knew my answer. Many people are going to say I gave John an ultimatum. And I did. No I didn't tell him Marry Me Or Else. I told him to get help. Commitment-phobia is a real thing and the trouble with this world is that a lot of people don't take it seriously, and it happens time and time again...hearts breaking all over the place simply because someone wasn't honest with themselves.

And speaking of honesty, the one thing I do thank John for is being honest once I finally confronted him. I hope to thank him personally one day. Many commitment-phobes force themselves into a relationship they are afraid of and pay the consequences later. The fact that John stood by his decision to "not get help" made the next step easy for me. Almost as if it were the best decision I "never" made. Now, yes, I did know about this commitment-phobia of John's a year ago. And it was the very reason I told him we were NOT going to get back together...I knew he wouldn't change. I read a whole book on the subject and it was clear as crystal. But he puts on a good show, and I loved him, and I wanted to be happy too (I was feeling a little miserable without him at the time). And at the end of the day, everyone deserves a second shot. It's the "third shot" that gets messy. Then I'm just a glutton for punishment. Which brings us to March 2008, my OWN second shot at my OWN happiness. For now I can start over, figure out what I honestly want out of life and out of a life mate! I never mind sacrificing here and there (ok I AM a glutton for punishment!), but I now see that there is a fine line between compromising WITH someone and sacrificing FOR someone. And in my case the smoking, not being able to have a child, or even a cat, of my own, and finally the probability of no marriage either...my fate is no longer sealed.

To conclude, I know I'm going to have some really rough days ahead of me. It will be hard to let go of nearly three years of memories and my first and only true love. During those rough moments, however, I have to remember The Bike. Once upon a time John bought a bike from Craigslist with the intention of fixing it up. Much like a bunch of John's past and defunct dream hobbies (skateboarding, geo-caching, flipping houses in Arizona), I was skeptical. Sure enough, I found out recently that he threw the bike away. All he had done was take off a bunch of the parts. I don't want to be one of John's hobbies that collects dust on the shelf. And if I had just sat back, been "content" with a stagnant relationship, that's what would've happened. And hey, like I said in my last post, I don't mean to write myself a symphony, but I do NOT deserve to sit on some shelf collecting dust!

Time DOES heal all wounds (thank you April 07), and with that said, I look forward to taking the other path now. I hope John does too...he also stands to be much happier!

Now let's hope this time NEXT year is completely different!

Treating myself

2008-03-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

So I've been a blogging fiend lately, haven't I? I guess it's just been one of those catch up weeks or something. It's been a semi dramatic week as well. And with that said, I'm changing one of the items on my list for now. I'm going to treat myself once a month! Not necessarily a food type situation, but do something for myself that makes me happy. So before the month ends, the treat for March is to make a list of reasons why I'm a great person. Sounds a little conceited hey? ;) Well, when you feel down in the dumps like maybe something's wrong with you, it's definitely the type of list you need to snap you back into place and realize that you kick ass! Try it sometime and, trust me, you'll feel loads better!! Well at lunch here, I came up with 50 really nice things on my list. Things that are very true and gave me that kick in the pants I needed, making me realize that I have a lot to offer this world and the people in it if I keep doing what I'm doing. Perhaps other people may not recognize and appreciate these things about me, but sometimes people just don't get it. What's important is that *I know it and keep positive so I can share that good, pass it on. Someone somewhere will get it eventually :)

p'bucket blows

2008-03-27T15:42:00.000-05:00

Photobucket doesn't seem to want to work at this time. I can log on, I can load photos, but it won't recognize said photos or even a link to an album within my post. So "'zona pix" will sit in draft form until this changes. In the meanwhile, two additional recipes to complete the month of March. These aren't complicated at all, so coupled with the Faux Mac invention, the three can equal two (#'s 45 & 46)
1. Crispy Broccoli with Spicy Garlic (I also added red peppers and carrots to the stir fry)...made broccoli so much better!! Not bland at all! Plus I used this "newish" Uncle Ben's brown rice that was super delish.
2. Bean salad for my lunches this week (just black/kidney beans with pickled asparagus and olive oil/cider vinegar/hot sauce/spices...needs celery and onions!)

Slow blood and The Faux Mac

2008-03-25T11:38:00.000-05:00

My arm SUCKS! I failed failed failed to donate blood. I've always had this weird issue where my blood is super slow. Which I guess is a good thing if I ever cut off my arm...maybe I won't bleed to death? But it makes for a frustrating donation process. I mean you read all the materials that you've read 8432349 times before, you fill out the survey, you answer the technicians questions, they test your temperature, your blood pressure, your iron count. And then they get you all prepared and slather on the iodine, stick you with the big needle, only to (in my case) dig around in there for ten minutes trying to get your blood to pour out faster, only to finally get that fateful look on the technician's face: "It doesn't look like you're going to make it in time". (For those of you have never donated before, they only allow you 15 minutes in which to donate your blood, for fear of it clotting.) Sigh. Oddly enough, however, over the past ten years, I guess I've donated some 30 times and honestly I've been given the heave 'slow' less than a dozen, maybe even only half a dozen times. So that's not too bad really, in the grand scheme of things. Awhile back, however, maybe four years ago, I really got discouraged and stopped donating all together! Now, of course, my List binds me to keep donating, but what happens after the list? As I sat in that vinyl chair last night, I watched a woman who had been pierced some 5-10 minutes AFTER me finish her pint in less than five minutes. So discouraging. See, practically everyone I know won't donate because they're afraid of needles or blood. And here I am totally willing to put myself through the slight pain (especially all the digging they have to do in my arm) and the inconvenience of driving to the burbs, only to be sent home sans donation. And PS what do they do with my blood if I don't make the whole pint? They throw it out :( WHY?!! Well, after some googling I discovered that the following could be a good reason:

"The collection bags have a certain amount of anti-coagulant in them to keep the blood from clotting while it’s being collected (the bag is rocked back and forth on a machine, to help with this as well.) The amount of anti-coagulant is based on the volume of blood the bag can hold (these ones expect a donation of ~400- 450 mL). If there is not enough blood in the bag, the ratio of anti-coagulant to blood will be off, which will somehow render the blood unusable for donation purposes" - Fellow Blogger

In my google frenzy, I did find a lot of other people who have this problem and started to feel a little more comforted. Perhaps a combination of my low blood pressure (last night 104/60, normal is 120/80; according to this chart I'm on the border of "low normal" and hypotension!) and a slight dehydration (instead camel'ing up the day before, I should pound the H20 a week or more ahead of time, although that didn't even work for my fellow mud-blood, David).

At the end of the day it's easy to feel discouraged, but even with the trek to the burbs, the questionaires, the tests, and the vein digging, it really is the easiest thing in the world to donate blood (barring any severe phobia). And it really is no skin off my back if they end up throwing away my half filled bag. At least I'm giving it the ol' Harvard try. So I'll try once again come May 20th or so. After that I'll donate twice in the summer (July 20thish and Sept 20thish) to try to make up for my lack of a donation in the winter. If I get another heave 'slow' I'll make up for it in some other way...maybe donate money to the Blood Center of WI or something.

Moving along here, and to conclude this post with something that has nothing at all to do with blood, I have to write about how I sort of reinvented a "healthy" Big Mac! With the help of my sister's Boca Burger suggestion (I used the "flame grilled" kind), I mixed together some relish/ketchup/light miracle whip, topped with lettuce and provolone, slapped it all between two pieces of Natural Ovens Healthy Beginnings Honey Wheat and grilled to melt the cheese. Obviously it really is nothing like an ACTUAL Big Mac, but honestly tastes just as good! The Boca Burgers are DELISH (I'm such a late bandwagon jumper) and like three grams of fat. The white cheese and light whip really don't add too much more fat to it.

Yum.
The Faux Mac.

listy updates mmmm....

2008-03-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

I'm back from my trip and I enjoyed an Easter weekend full of church, 19 inches of snow, and my first cup of coffee in six weeks!! Now I have some updates to attend to...

#15 - Last night I started organizing INKYTNMO stuff for the big scrapbook! I could stand to go to town on this thing with fun little popouts and booklets and stuff, so I'm real stoked!!

#49 - Two new recipes:
1. I made mashed cauliflower which rocked my world. Seriously a REAL good alternative to mashed tatos. You just boil them in chicken stock until they're mashable, then add S&P and cheese...it's just that easy!

2. For our Easter Brunch, I literally made up a recipe. So in my mind, I had this idea for a "root hash"...hashbrowns, but made with regular shredded tatos, but also shredded sweet tatos, parsnips, and turnips. (I wanted rutabagas, but apparently Metro Market doesn't have rutabagas right now...blah) Anyway, in my mind, I imagined these hashbrowns with some sort of gravy or au jus just like on the east coast where you have "wet fries" or fries with gravy. So you'd get the crispiness of the hash, but some moisture with the gravy/au jus. Well it was quite an endeavor, but the recipe was a relative success!! I added some rosemary to the hashbrowns, as well as sauteed onions of course. And the sauce did turn out to be more of a gravy than au jus (beef stock, Worchester, and a little apple cider vinegar added to a roux)...but it was good. It was SOOOO much more flavorful than the typical hashbrowns you get. Much more depth because of the different root veggies. And the onions made it sweet! I think I'm going to experiment a bit with it...make the hashbrowns even more crispy (you really gotta stop those starches from exploding all over the place!), and try to make more of an au jus. In any case, the entire Easter Brunch as a whole was amazing. My mom made a spinach soufflé that was absolutely delicious. I don't know if I could make a soufflé! My sister made corn bread muffins from scratch (!) with maple butter...as well as a quick fruit salad (bananas, mango, honeydew). And of course brunch isn't brunch without bacon :) Later in the afternoon we had this outstanding orange cake my mom made for my grandpa for his birthday. It's got triple sec in it I think? Totally soaked in it!! Just to die for...I think I want to start requesting it for MY birthday ;)

#50 - See #49, I switched 'er up to the Turnip which I, of course, added to the hash. Yum stuff!

#54 - I have to make an appt...my hair is getting way too long!

#64 - I made it to the Grand Canyon YIPPIE!!!!!! I will post some AZ pix tomorrow if I get some time :) as well as a nice discussion...

#69 - Well, I completely forgot to donate blood during winter. I was supposed to on Dec 27th but that got pushed back. Then I got the flu and didn't want to endanger anyone? Well, I feel like if I at least get the donation in before March ends, that's fair enough, so I'm donating tonight. Hopefully my arm doesn't suck and I succeed!

#95 - On a Pale Horse is reading real quick! I love it!

Alright more tomorrow...

Please go on an upDate with me?

2008-03-07T10:28:00.000-06:00

It feels like it's been awhile! I'm only a weekend and a loooong Monday away from my fabulous vacation in Arizona for a week! Totally exciting!! The wee hours of this morning, however, were not exciting. I had THEE worst dream about the trip...one of your classic trying to pack, trying to get to the airport, and it all failing miserably dreams. We were SUPER late and I forgot my purse at home, so I had to have Mandsi go and get it. She was all frantic and getting lost, but finally made it, only with some other random purse (claaaassic). I mean looking back, the events weren't really that bad, and I'm sure I would've handled them much calmer in real life, but you know how dreams are. I even woke up with a start and had to calm down for a few minutes to convince myself it was 'only a dream'. I blame it on Lost...it definitely had a Lost vibe. Only LAST Friday morning I had a LOVELY dream about Daniel Faraday ;)

Well, a new month is upon us, so on to the update!

#45 Recipes:
For my last Feb recipe, I made this wonderful chicken dish: chicken breasts covered with chopped portobellos, muenster cheese, and chicken stock baked for about 40 mins. I served it with some easy 90 second Uncle Ben's chicken rice and the whole thing was totally on point!
For my first March recipe, last night I made cauliflower "mashed potatoes"...mashed cauliflower essentially :) I didn't have a recipe, but have seen Rachael Ray make them, so I threw together the basic ingredients: boil cauliflower in 3cups chicken broth for 8mins or so until soft. Drain most of the broth, and smash cauliflower with a fork. In another pan, melt butter and sauté a couple garlic cloves...add smashed cauliflower, a tsp of dijon mustard, pepper, dill, and any kind of melty cheese. Stir all together and top with green onions. YUM!!! It was actually a lot better than I expected! And of course a nice healthy alternative to regular mashed tatos!

#50 - My atypical produce item this month will be rutabagas! I've never had them before, so this will be interesting. I found a recipe in my Women's Health so I'm down.

#51 - The sweet bakery give-up from Feb was brutal! But on March 1st at Maggiano's, I indulged in some tiramisu as well as some pound cake covered with hot fudge and sautéed bananas! I also got to have Oreos finally as everyone decided to wave them in front of me all month! ;) And finally, my bestest friend Monica sent me a COOKIE bouquet themed "Thanks a Latté!" So even though I still can't have coffee, I can enjoy a coffee mug shaped cookie ;) Anyway, March's give-up will be chips. I needed something super easy with being on vacay for a week and everything. One of these months, I'm seriously considering giving up meat for a month for kicks! It'll be hard and I know I'll crave meat (that's what she said) like nobody's biz ...but I gotta try it! Plus I have like two dozen veggie recipes in a recent Women's Health that all look really good.

#64 - On the aforementioned trip to AZ, I have the chance to go to the Grand Canyon. WILL it happen??? I just don't know. Fingers crossed!!

#68 - My feeding frenzy for March is definitely the dinner at Maggiano's where not only did I indulge in tiramisu and pound cake, but I also ingested chopped salad, fried zucchini, stuffed mushrooms, gnocchi, four cheese ravioli, garlic mashed potatoes, buttery asparagus, chicken parm, and chicken saltimbocca. Oh...my...god. I thought I was going to explode. Only in America folks. Needless to say, I worked out a lot this week ;)

#87 - new band...that's a big ol' question mark. So in it's place I'm going to put the website Pandora Radio. Just type in any band or artist your little heart desires and they give you an entire "radio station" of similar bands and artists. Registration is free! It's a great way to listen to your old faves and discover new ones!

#95 - I have 30 pages left in A Tale of Two Cities which I will finish this weekend for sure! (The last 100pgs have been fabulous by the way! I can't wait to finish!) Next on the docket is On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony: the book John gave me for Christmas! I'm going to read on the plane and such :)

And that's that! A good weekend to all and I'll HOPEFULLY chat again on the other side of my vacation!

Dad

2008-02-25T14:12:00.000-06:00

This will be a completely random post, but I was listening to Alphaville today and it reminded me of when my sis and I visited my dad in Madison, and, while he was at work, we would play his Alphaville's Forever Young cd over and over. I even sneakily dubbed "Forever Young" onto a mix tape I had with me. This past November 27th marked five years since his death...it's crazy to think that it's been five years already. Well, for some reason this past weekend, I thought about him a lot. Perhaps it was due to the late night dessert with Z at The Knick on Friday, or how Katie asked me if I had any contact with my dad's 'partner' Jeff on Saturday, or maybe the fact that Sunday was Oscar Night...my dad was everywhere! And like I told Z at the Knick, it's so strange but, to this day, I still feel like I see him and when I do, I ALWAYS do a double take to make sure it isn't him. She does the same thing, so I'm not crazy ;) In any case, listening to Alphaville, I was flooded with all kinds of memories of my dad and I thought I'd list a few of them for the heck of it.

In a sort of chronological order:

-When I watched my dad deliver sermons, I'd think he was Jesus? Which is funny because he sooo wasn't, but isn't it a tad adorable coming from a four year old?

-He, my sis, and I would go to Adventureland (a poor man's Six Flag's) in Altoona, IA. And just as we were coming up on the entrance, my dad would stop and say "Wait a minute, this isn't where I want to turn, we're actually going to the dentist!" and it would crack us up!

-Dancing in the living room to Madonna's "La Isla Bonita" and knowing, at age 6, that it was my dad's favorite song, YET completely unaware that he was gay!

-Seeing BOTH my parents dress up as Rocky Horror characters to go to the midnight showing...still oblivious to my dad's homosexuality. Jeez.

-Watching To Kill A Mockingbird in his studio apartment, which was on Cass and very near to where I live now! It could honestly be south of our apartment building right across the parking lot!

-When he took Mandsi and I to La Péniche several times when we visited him in New Orleans circa'93. She and I gave every waiter there a nickname, like after Soap characters and whatnot? Likewise when he took us to Cafe du Monde for late night hot chocolate and beignets.

-Going to the three hour, late night Easter Vigil at St. John's Cathedral and then grabbing some dessert afterwards at what I think was Ma Fischer's or perhaps Annie's cafe (which was replaced by Kohl's and then replaced by my beloved Metro Market!)

-Going to see Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Chicago and then heading to this diner afterward where this gay guy pretended to strut a runway during the breakdown in Wilson Phillips' "Hold On".

-Driving to Madison late at night in his teal Pontiac Sunbird, the cozy dark countryside, and the sleep inducing buzz of talk radio.

-Being all stoked and feeling awesome when I walked into his favorite bar, the Crystal Corner, to partake in Jeopardy shenanigans after getting my tattoo when I was 18.

-"Letting me" order a rum and coke at a restaurant when I was so not 21!

-The dinners he'd make when we'd visit...nothing extravagant, but there was something about them that rocked. Especially that special barbecue sauce he had.

-His and Jeff's joint birthday parties in October: their apartment stuffed with all kinds of interesting folk, young and old: the air filled with cigarette smoke, we all drank red wine, and Abba, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, The Talented Mr. Ripley soundtrack, etc would play in the background.

-Many viewings of our favorite musicals: Hair, JC Superstar, Evita...

-His hilarious rants about some customer he had at [insert sales company here, i.e. Steinhafels, Ruben's, the jewelry store in N.O., Jack's Shoes...]

-When he wrote me this very out-of-the-blue email that simply said I love you not too far before he commit suicide.

-And all the little things: his cotton vertical striped dress shirts, when he'd raise one eyebrow to let us know we were in trouble, his singing voice at church, his crazy voice pretending to be a customer, when he'd say "Pardon?" even when we didn't say anything (he had no hearing in his right ear), his kickass apartment in Madison and rad furniture, his record collection, his hilarious sense of humor and his, infrequent, but really great hugs.

To conclude, I think that if my dad were still alive today, he'd get a real kick out of all our lives. I think he'd really enjoy the fact that my mom was writing erotica. I think he'd LOVE the fact that Mandsi lives and breathes film. He'd probably really like our cat Floyd and say that he reminded him of our old cat Steve. He'd enjoy John's decorating style and roll his eyes when I'd tell him that John sort of reminds me of him in some vague way though they're nothing alike! He'd enjoy the fact that I still go to St. John's Cathedral, and am now a member and a Eucharistic minister. And he'd definitely be amazed that Z and I live in the same neighborhood he did after he and my mom separated. Some days I feel like he knows, some days I feel like he doesn't. And I wish we could just grab some coffee and chat for a few hours. The spookiest part is that I feel that that wish isn't all that far fetched. Like one of those things that's so close yet so far away...just out of reach. Because even after five years, it still seems so strange that he's gone. And at the end of the day, maybe that's why I always do double takes when I see a short gray haired man or a teal Sunbird pass me by.

Lunar Mooner Eclipse Slideshow!

2008-02-21T10:51:00.001-06:00

Lunar Mooner!

2008-02-21T10:50:00.000-06:00

So as I'm sure everyone knows, a total lunar eclipse exploded into our viewing area last night! It was truly quite spectacular and the best part was having a front row seat in my living room!! I set up my tripod on the heat register and took photos throughout American Idol. Then paused the Season Four Project Runway Reunion and took a few more pix outside in the bitter cold. Now my photos aren't the most fabulous, some are blurry because I need one of those remote shutter release things, whatever they're called. Plus, once the total eclipse was in full throttle, it was hard to get enough light from the darkened moon. However, my new camera took MUCH better shots than my old camera ever could. I mean the zoom alone! Imagine if I had a telephoto lens!!

Anyway, enjoy the following shots:

And in the above post, you'll find my makeshift photobucket slideshow of the first half of the eclipse [I want to KILL blogger...it won't let me post this entry BEFORE the slideshow. And I wasn't able to embed it in this post for whatever reason...maybe I'll change it to a flickr slideshow some other time because this photobucket version is just "aight fa me". The slideshow is ruining the ch'i of the lunar eclipse!]

the whole enchilada

2008-02-20T10:48:00.000-06:00

New post right away! But I HAD to mention my enchiladas from last night...DIES. I normally don't post my entire recipes...usually I just recap, but I want to just in case one of the two people that read this blog want to make it sometime. I highly recommend because they are FREAKING AWESOME!!!

Tomatillo Salsa Verde!

•6-8 small tomatillos (the larger ones are more bitter, they say)
•1-2 serrano peppers (I used two and it's a pretty hot salsa!)
•quarter of a white onion
•1 garlic clove (or 2 small ones)
•juice of half lime
•a couple generous splashes of white vinegar (I used half rice vinegar/half cider vinegar, but any NON red will work)...it probably totaled about a half cup or so
•TB of extra virgin olive oil (optional)
•small palmful of cilantro
•tsp of cumin
•chicken boullion cube

Boil the husked tomatillos and serrano(s) with stems cut for about 10-12 minutes (until the tomatillos turn an army green and split open a bit). In the meantime, fill a blender or food processor with the vinegar, lime juice, quartered onion, garlic clove(s), cilantro, cumin, and boullion cube. Once the tomatillos/serranos are ready, drain out most of the water (keep a little bit on the side) and add them to the blender/processor. Blend until everything is broken down, and, while on low, at the top of the processor drizzle in the EVOO. The extra boiled water can be used to thin out the salsa if too thick, so add that if you need to.

Enchiladas!
•salsa verde of course!
•tortillas (I got the large size, pack of 8)
•vegetable oil
•a mozzarella/provolone shredded cheese mixture is my personal fave!
•small rotisserie chicken (in the deli) OR a couple boneless chicken breasts
•optional additions like chopped onions, sour cream, cilantro, etc.

Either shred your rotisserie chicken (there will be plenty left over for another recipe or another round of enchiladas) OR poach/boil a couple of chicken breasts and shred those. Preheat oven to about 400 degrees. Add veggie oil to a hot skillet...JUST enough to cover the bottom with a thin layer. Once hot, turn down a touch and add a tortilla to the skillet..."fry" for a minute or so each side until the tortilla is browned and slightly crispy (not TOO crispy though or it will crack when you fold it!). Pour some of the salsa onto a plate and dip the browned tortilla, both sides, in the salsa until it has softened up again. On a baking sheet (covered with foil for no mess!), place the tortilla, add some cheese, the shredded chicken, and some more salsa verde. Fold up the tortilla like you would a burrito. Add some more cheese on top. Repeat for as many enchiladas as you want to make or until salsa runs out. Place into the oven for a few minutes, until cheese is melted and the chicken inside heats up again. Remove and add your choice of toppings!

I had two enchiladas last night and have about half the salsa left over. I also used the rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breasts. I bet that in order to make four enchiladas total, you would use all of the salsa and about half the rotisserie chicken, if that gives you an idea of the total servings here.

Now! This recipe may seem all crazy complicated, but it's not that bad at all! And it's the "REAL" way to make enchiladas as they do in Mexico...not like in some Mexican restaurants here...at least that's what they say :) Anyway, if you decide to take on this challenge, you won't be disappointed. They are delicious and very satisfying!!

couple things...

2008-02-19T15:56:00.000-06:00

Nothing exciting here, but I thought I'd update my list a touch. Valentine's Dinner with Johnny was SO delicious!!! I got a salad from the salad bar, and made steaks, mashed sweet potatoes, and Portobello mushroom "fries". Those last two (#45 & #46) were from a Rachael Ray cookbook I think...the sweet tatos were made with bananas, orange juice/zest, chicken broth and nutmeg. Yum. And I grilled the Portobello mushroom caps, cut them into slices, dipped them in egg/Italian breadcrumbs/parsley, and then fried them. THESE were the biggest hit...maybe even more so then the steaks?! Tonight I'm picking up fixins to make my own Tomatillo Salsa Verde and I'm going to whip up some enchiladas! So just one more recipe for the month of Feb.

So I hate to admit it but I blatantly cheated on this month's "give up" sweet bakery. It was Z's last day on Friday and she brought in brownies and mini cupcakes. So I said ENOUGH! FIRST of all, I'm technically giving up TWO things this month because of Lent...and it was three that day because I couldn't have meat either. SECOND of all, it was her last day at work and I wanted to, um, give her the proper sendoff she deserved?? haha! Anyway, I didn't even feel guilty after indulging in BOTH treats ;) And I made up for it all weekend: I ate out TWICE on Friday and didn't eat a smidge of meat, and while I was visiting Monica and Tim in Chicago I was taunted by coffee all over the place, but obediently sipped my Chai at Starbucks, and my Cherry Coke Zero whilst eating the best homemade waffles ever (thanks Chef "Not on Friends" Monica!)

Speaking of my visit, all weekend I played Guitar Hero and I now have a crush on the game. SO MUCH FUN!!! I even went to Best Buy yesterday when I got back and played it. THAT obsessed! But for the time being, I can't really justify getting Playstation, Xbox, or Wii JUST for Guitar Hero...so I guess I'll just patiently wait to visit Monica and Tim again...by which time they will have mastered the game and I'll still be on Easy mode. BLAH!

I surprised Johnny (#17) with a BOWLING PIN from the bowling alley I went to in Chicagoland this weekend. He's always wanted one...we've seen them at antique shops, but for like $35 or so...rip! This one was a steal at $5!! I think he let out a yelp when he opened his eyes...haha!!

This weekend is the Oscars people!! And full fledged Oscars...no weird writers strike version yeehaw!!

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T16:29:00.000-06:00

It's almost over, but right at the end of the day here, I watched this video from the days of yore...Bono wrote this song as an apology to his wife for forgetting her birthday. That's her in the video. It's crazy how stripped down Bono is here...you know, from his usual theatrical antics. He's still theatrical, but in this humble way. Plus I can totally imagine that I'm the one he's singing to. For those of you who don't know, I was a U2 FREAK in high school. I even got a shamrock tattoo as a token of my devotion (I'm not even Irish!) In any case, I thought it would be the perfect little thing to remember good ol' v'day today. Enjoy!

One Year Anniversary come and gone...

2008-02-12T16:15:00.001-06:00

So it's almost the middle of the month and I feel like I'm missing out on my life!! Instead of celebrating my one year 101 Things anniversary, I was simultaneously shivering and sweating in my bed fighting a wicked case of Influenza. So here it is the 12th already and I've gotta whip out my survey before the month is up!

February. Quite a month amongst the other months. And by that I mean, it's not the greatest month on the block. Last February, instead of the flu, I dealt with a wicked case of Heartache when John and I broke up. Saturday it'll officially be One Year Later and I cannot BELIEVE the difference 365 days makes. I can imagine February 16, 2007 like it was yesterday, yet I am WORLDS away from the person I was back then. And lucky for me, John is worlds away from the person HE was back then too. I feel like we grew up, mellowed out, and honestly took stock of what is truly important. Life isn't perfect. The relationship isn't perfect. But I'm not complaining!! Any flaws that are here are the kind of flaws that make it beautiful. The flaws that make it organic, something that breathes and changes. The flaws that make it interesting...as opposed to the flaws that make it nightmarish? Ha! Anyway, I digress. I'm here to survey my past year in regards to THE LIST, so here goes!

The official tally:
I have completed 31 tasks on the list.
6 are in progress, but do have an upcoming completion point.
17 are in progress and will be until the end of the 1001 days.
That leaves 47 tasks that I have yet to even START.

I believe June 15th (if I did that math right) is my official halfway point, so I best be halfway through this list by then...? A lot of the tasks have a summer-y quality, so I definitely hope to get going on those. I really really want to do that sailing task this summer. It's the middle of February and a sunset cruise on a sailboat on Lake Michigan sounds like absolute heaven right now.

What else do I foresee for myself in the coming months, task-wise?
-Well, I'm supposed to get on this website portfolio train, but it's taking a back seat to recent freelance projects and, well, end of winter laziness
-I'd like to finish up my photography book and get going on creating some photography lessons for myself. That way I could officially start these Four Seasons photos. An excellent portfolio item!
-And speaking of photography, 26Things has a new website and its fans are all waiting with bated breath for the first word list!
-As I previously mentioned: a lakefront picnic, Jazz in the Park, State Fair, sailing, the Farmer's Market, Six Flags, and even downpours are all right around the corner...well, not RIGHT around the corner, but a girl can daydream...
-And finally, I desperately need to read more often :\

Right now, I think I just really need to concentrate on the creative part of my life. I still make greeting cards, but something's gotta give with this portfolio situation. I am STILL waiting for a spark of inspiration, but it hasn't happened yet. Today during our company's State of the Agency address, instead of listening I thought about how lame my place is, not just in this company, but in life. I mean in the corporate life, MY life isn't lame ;) My good friend/exroomie from college just got into Harvard and she's literally going to change the world one day. Now I don't need to run and join the Peace Corps (something else she did!), but I do need to make some kind of difference. Nothing major, just something. Anyway, I'll find it one of these days. In the meantime, I'm just going to keep at this List and I PROMISE I'll be more creative soon. I just need to get out of February I think. There's next to nothing inspiring about the month of February. Although the fact that it's not Feb '07 is pretty damn close.

up up update and away!

2008-01-30T12:06:00.000-06:00

I've got a few updates on the agenda here with the closing of January and beginning of February approaching FINALLY thank all that is holy. I can't begin to describe how achingly long this month has been. Whether it was the fact that every weekend was "cram packed" as mom would say, or that certain someones aren't going to be friends with Chris Klein anymore quite soon, yet they're torturing me evermore before their farewell...I just don't know. 2008 is still pretty awesome, but it's going to be way more awesome starting at 5:01 real soon...

45. My last January recipe was Balsamic Rosemary Chicken and Ravioli for John because his refrigerator has been broken for the last two weeks (two weeks??!) It was aight...I can't make chicken NOT semi-dry for the life of me. I'm all freaking out trying to make sure it's not pink in the middle, but then I cook it TOO long. I don't think it helped that I had to cook it in a pot rather than a skillet. Whatever, it was still really good with the Balsamic rosemary coating mmmm. Speaking of food, check your local market for transOcean Crab Classic! It's imitation crab in a variety of styles (leg, chunk, flake...) and it's made specifically to get your precious omega 3's! It's the best imitation crab I've ever had (and I've had my fair share)...I highly recommend!! I made a cold pasta salad with it: garlic/miracle whip/parsley/green onions and the like. Magnifique!

50. My February atypical produce item will be Tomatillos! I'm going to try making my own tomatillo salsa verde ahhhhhh so delicious....

51. Days shy of eating fried foods again! This time I didn't miss it as much as last February, maybe this 'giving up stuff' is getting a lot easier. I AM looking forward to fried sweet potato chips though or pretty much fries in general. I could go for some McDonald's fries and a couple Double Stuf Oreos (thanks Monica), except starting Feb 1st no more sweet bakery for me for the month! I went sweet bakery CRAZY in January though so it's a good thing. Then starting Feb 6th through March 23rd...no coffee. NO COFFEE??? Tea instead, and in EMERGENCY cases, a Diet Mt Dew like the old days...we'll see how this works.

54. Well I got my seasonal haircut and boy did I get it cut! Instead of long and blonde, it's chin length and dark brown!! Wha??? It was a very welcome change, however. I was walking home from Chris Klein's house like back in October and really pissed off at a couple of his friends and I had this vision of myself as a short brunette. Very strange yeah? Well, I was so sick of the SAME bullshit going on day after day, and this image struck me as something new and exciting. After having pretty much the same length and shade of hair for the last 28 years, I couldn't wait. Well I did have to wait, wait until after Monica's wedding, wait for Christmas to come and go so I could get the cash, etc. The whole thing set me back like $150 if you can believe it!! Between the two appointments and tips, the $17 color shampoo and $19 volumizing spray...haha! I'm such a girl ;) It was way worth it though. Interestingly enough, I'm just going to get tired of this haircut after awhile too...it's not like this style was going to change my life or anything, but I guess it was more than just a change...it was letting go of this image of myself to which I had grown so accustomed. Now every time I look in the mirror I do a double take and that's very refreshing! Something so simple gives me a new outlook. Ok enough rambling about my damn hair jeeeeez!

75. I should bring in celebratory treats this coming Monday.....

80. & 81. I can't even begin to apologize to myself for being so behind on my budgeting and saving. I even have two checks burning a hole in my wallet waiting to go to the bank since the beginning of January. Ugh. It's just that my bank is like THEE most inconvenient bank of all time...I gotta walk there, it's not open on weekends, and it's out of the way and any time I walk at lunch, it's to go home to exercise. Soon soon! But not today as it's 4 outside :(

86. May clean cube tomorrow because I can't take it anymore

87. A suggestion from Monica: Eric Johnson (as she is obsessed with his "Cliffs of Dover") and I'm also stupid and have never heard of Camouflage: Depeche Mode's Doppelgänger?? In a good way though!

96. As of this last Sunday I saw all five Oscar Best Picture Nominees: Atonement, No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood, and Juno. All undeniably different films! But I really loved them all in their own ways. I'm almost positive No Country will win it though, but the Academy has surprised us before! Let's just hope we get to SEE the Oscars in all their majestic glory this year!

And that's it? I think everyone who knows me is WELL aware that Lost FINALLY starts tomorrow and I couldn't be MORE excited about it. February 1st is a red letter day for many reasons, one of which is my one year anniversary of my 101 Things in 1001 Days list!! One year down, yikes! I can't even believe it's BEEN a year for that matter. But I've got enough to show for it I think. If I have time on Friday, I'd love to do a little recap blog on the past year and my plan for the next. Good stuff...

The Works

2008-01-23T12:51:00.000-06:00

First of all: the next time you're in the Way of Sub, order the Veggie Delite on Honey Oat with Pepper Jack cheese, Sweet Onion dressing and The Works, except Spinach instead of Lettuce (The Works is like tomatoes, carrots, olives, green peppers, banana peppers, jalapeños, pickles, red onions, legos, loose leaf paper, AA batteries, a grand piano...) You will not be disappointed! I'm serious, you don't need meat, just try it.

Next stop: My aimless and unsystematic musings about music.

I really like music...I mean aside from the printing press, I think the concept of music is the best invention of all time. This is the reason why, if forced, I would choose blindness of deafness. They should do a study (probably already done, google it) of cases of depression in blind people vs deaf people. Obviously it's much easier to be deaf in terms of getting around, earning a living, etc. You'd still be able to read and write in a typical fashion, and even speak a little if you lost your hearing later in life. If you're blind, you undoubtedly need a lot more help. Obviously we see blind people getting along on their own just fine with the aid of a seeing eye dog, walking stick, the kindness of strangers, but let's face it, there's no way I could be a graphic designer without my vision. If I were deaf though, I could get along just fine. With that said, however, I'd still choose to be blind over being deaf. There's no way I could survive properly without music I don't think. Now I'm no music expert; from knowing every indie band to the Italian names of arias and to which operas they belong...I'm not your lady. But I do have a pretty eclectic taste and it undoubtedly has to do with the vast numbers of music genres I either grew up with or learned about in college.

When I was a wee lass, my parents listened to Simon & Garfunkel, Abba, Cat Stevens, and musicals, to graze the surface. But I was also brought up on classic 80s Radio Top 40. I did the New Kids, Boyz II Men, En Vogue, TLC days too...I admit it. And those were carefree fun times...SIMPLER times! In high school I went through my Complicated Times Pearl Jam Obsession Phase like a majority of teens did in the early/mid 90s...but I also found myself listening to stuff like Great White, Boston, Tesla and Skid Row of all things. Now when my mom remarried, I really loved my step dad's taste in TRUE "Alternative" music of the 80s/90s: your Echo & the Bunnymen, Oingo Boingo, Psychadelic Furs, the Cure... Couple that with my gay father's love of early pop electronica: Erasure, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Alphaville, and continued love for musicals like Evita, Phantom, and JC Superstar, and that's a vast array of genres goin' on.

Once I got to college, music just exploded for me...a now defunct website called cdnow.com answered my prayers and allowed me to search for artists/bands via the "sounds like" feature. SO since I was a fan of Blur (from my stepdad), I found bands like Gene and Ash and Pulp. I also discovered other great lesser known bands like Mono, Air, Portishead, and Morcheeba. Then enter the college classes, from Opera and Symphony to Big Band and Afro-American music throughout the last century: I added Verdi, Wagner, Woody Herman, Glenn Miller, Sam Cooke, Al Green, and Thelonious Monk to the long list of faves.

Right around the time senior year and graduation rolled around, I embarked on probably my longest love of a specific genre to date: Classic Rock. Pink Floyd and Zeppelin is music tailor made for high school and college kids hitting the MJ and eating pizza by the slice at 3am, but I guess I was busy with Morrissey, Otis Redding, and Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in those days?? In any case, my love for all things "Oldies" reminded me of the coziness of childhood. There's something about classic rock that is wrapping yourself in a warm blanket of pea green, ruddy orange, and wood paneling. I didn't even live in that era, but I totally feel its good times.

And now I'm into rap. What? I think being 28 has caused this sudden urge to go back to the "simpler times" of 6th/7th grade when I liked boys and makeup and dressing like a thug. Rap and R&B these days isn't too bad though, I gotta admit. It's fresh and fun and silly and is a good compliment to the ultra seriousness that is Neil Young's "Old Man", Floyd's "Great Gig in the Sky", and S&G's "Only Living Boy in NY".

My itunes "only" contains 7.5 days of music, and my repertoire doesn't contain as much of the new fangled music kids are listening to these days. But my love for Jeff Buckley, The Police, Timbaland, Pavarotti, ELO, Seal, Aimee Mann, Bowie, U2, The Jam, Fleetwood, Mark Ronson, Guster, Keane, CSNY, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass Band, Dan Fogelberg, The Killers, Jilly Boel, Frank Sinatra, Sam & Dave, Todd Rundgren, My Morning Jacket, Nick Drake, Justin Timberlake, Postal Service, America, Puccini, the Dandy Warhols, Radiohead, Pete Yorn, and the band that inspired this post, Röyksopp, won't fade away with passing fads. Like the music that came out of my childhood or out of my experimental college years, each and every one of these artists came out of something inspirational whether it be a film I liked, a good day on the radio, a sad day when I wanted to make myself cry, or loud coworkers causing me to put on my headphones.

Ahhhh music.

PS, if you're a parent, I don't know if you should let your kid Radio Disney their impressionable childhood years away. Even if you feel like busting out the Dr. Dre while she's sitting in the back seat...I say go for it!

tiniest update ever

2008-01-14T09:56:00.000-06:00

#45 - I made some turkey meatloaf patties with gravy for John and I the other night...nothing fancy, but it's hard to cook turkey meat in patty form and hope that the meat cooked through. Haha!

#53 - At Boston Store this weekend, I got a $90 pair black heels for $27. A lady's gotta blog about that, right? And hey, for something so seemingly simple as the black heel...Hardest shoe to shop for EVER. It's really annoying actually.

That's really all I got today. It's Monday and I just can't get myself to open a file this morning. It's awful. But it's Zeetlebug's birthday, and she's off today, so I'll just live vicariously through her...

AAAAAND venting.

2008-01-10T10:01:00.001-06:00

The "so-and-so is being promoted after just over a year" and "so-and-so just became Vice Prez after two and a half years" emails this morning are really getting to me. And yet it's only 10am. My boyfriend who doesn't love me any more is rubbing his "better lovers" in my face while I scrape old dried up food gunk off of other people's dishes every morning.

On a brighter note, a couple updates:

#17 (and #45): Recall the cookies my friend made me for my birthday, two batches: chocolate and lemon. Well the lemon cookies are completely out of control. "They taste like little cakes" according to my boyfriend (the nice one, not the cold hearted other one). John reeeeeeally wanted me to make some for him, so last night I pulled the wool over his eyes by buying garlic at the store. I really did need garlic, but a box of lemon cake mix stumbled into my arms on my way out. Lemon cake mix, 2 eggs, 1/3 c veggie oil, lemon juice and zest is all you need! Easiest recipe ever for something that tastes like a bundle of heaven in your mouth!

#45: And speaking of recipes, I made the tato parsnip hash the other night...I really love parsnips!! They're kinda sweet. I wonder if there are any recipes that involve parsnips and sweet tatos. Unfortunately I put the leftovers in a tupperware that I left on the stove, completely open, overnight. No parnsip yum yums for me the next day :(

Well, back to "work" over here...

Ramona Quimby Age Twenty-Eight?

2008-01-08T13:03:00.000-06:00

To begin, a la Niki in the Window, I wanted to post my screencap from yesterday's weather widget:

BWWWOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWNNNNGGGGG

...TRIPOD!!!!! And notice the inclusion of January 2008. PS I took this screencap at 5pm!!! 58 degrees at 5pm on January 7th?!?! (That was my 'wicker basket with spring flowers and a bamboo handle' voice) And there might have been tripods disguised as tornadoes in Kenosha last night because that place is trashed today :(

So needless to say, we got some freaky weather this week! I think we either tied or broke the temp high both Sunday and Monday, and "The only other tornado to hit Wisconsin in January since 1844 was in 1967, according to the National Weather Service." And yeah, here's another quote: "The temperature in Milwaukee soared to a record for the date of 63 degrees, far above the previous high of 47 in 1965 and again in 2003." I'm not one for jumping onto the global warming bandwagon, but the strange weather phenomena are vaguely reminiscent of The Day After Tomorrow ;)

Moving right along here, I'm officially 28 as of Sunday the 6th, so that's fun! And a great birthday weekend it was!! My friends are fabulous, I gotta say...every one of them made the weekend absolutely perfect.

[side bar#1: I completed #30 on my list when I ate at Zim's this weekend. Zim's is just a sports bar, thus I wasn't going to include it, but they honestly make a mean veggie melt and their sweet tato fries with marshmallow/maple syrup dipping sauce are to die for...THEREFORE I just had to include Zim's as my final restaurant. DELISH!]

[Side bar #2: my good friend Katie made me a bunch of scrumptious cookies for my birthday. SWEET BAKERY NOOOO!!!! Recalling the five tons of fried food I had this weekend, I'm switching over to omitting that bad food from my diet for the remainder of the month. Once Feb hits, it's back off the sweet bakery.]

Anyway, I think 28 is going to be a good year. I think I might've mistakenly said that about 27, which wasn't awful per se...actually, wait a minute. 27 as an age was good...let's not confuse 27 with 2007 here. I truly did learn crazy oodles about myself. I became a more independent person, I learned some new skills, I honed my craftiness craft, I chipped away at my 101 List like a champ, and I trimmed the fat in terms of the crap in my life that no longer needed to be there. So with that said, I'm hoping age 28 will be the age where I get to reap the benefits of all of my hard work during age 27. Although I've got a seriously difficult year ahead of me. My mental to-do list gets longer by the moment and I've really gotta find a way to get everything done.

And with THAT said, come February 1st (one year anniversary of 101 List), I will revamp said 101 List (not too many changes per se, but maybe more streamlined and appropriate to my current skills and position in life). I will also try to come up with a definitive schedule for the next year in terms of things I know I need to at the very least start, and perhaps even finish. If I really try and make this Productive Attitude a natural habit of mine, once I hit 30, I honestly think I'll be able to sit back, relax, and reap the bennies of my late twenties. Rhyming rocks...true story!

blogcap

2008-01-02T13:26:00.000-06:00

Alright this will be your typical update, nothing fancy!

8. I got a sweet Photography book for Christmas (The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography by Jim Moitke) and I'm like a quarter way through it. He's absolutely perfect at explaining all the ins and outs...I mean some of it is more basic and obvious, but sometimes relearning the most general stuff is really important! And so to celebrate (even though I'm technically supposed to reward myself AFTER I finish the book)...

9. I bought my camera!!!

(copying Z with her lovely camera photo as well!)
It's a nice transition from my more simple point-and-shoot compact Pentax from 2004...yet not AS complex as an SLR. I can futz with the aperture and shutter speed but I'm not completely out on my own. There are even a few accessories available for the S5...lenswise and such, so that's nice too! Some day down the line, especially if photography truly does become a more serious hobby for me, I can drop a grand on a DSLR ;) Anyway, I'm going to try and find a camera bag tomorrow and get me some sweet Eneloop rechargeable batteries from Amazon!

14. I can't even describe to you the epic amounts of paper craft stuff I got this Christmas...it's INSANE. I could seriously open up my own card shop at this point...just gotta create the product! So on that note...I can seriously go to town on at LEAST coming up with some general ideas for packs of cards that I'd be able to sell at this imaginary craft show. I like the idea of funky monogrammed notes (like a cross between a card and stationary). And I don't know if it's because I know like six pregnant women right now, but I'm drawn to making some fun baby announcement packs. Anyway, I have more than enough paper to do this...it's just a matter of finding the time!

17. While Christmas gifts shouldn't count for my "John surprise" I did put together an entire photo album (200 pix) of Grace pictures for one of his presents! (AND one for his parents too!) I think he really liked it and it'll be nice to keep building Grace centric photo albums in the coming years.

32. OK there's no way we're EVER going to play boardgame at Monica's...I made that one of my tasks back when Monica's was totally still our bar...which was subsequently replaced by Bad Genie, which will undoubtedly be replaced by some other bar when we're sick of it. But anyway, John, Nicole, Z and I did GO to Monica's the night after Christmas and it was a great time until John and I ruined it with our love quarrel *gag* ;) Another reason we'll probably never go back. Sigh. So I completed half of this task...blah blah blah.

43. Z got me a subscription to Women's Health for Christmas! Thanks Zeetlebug!! It will pair nicely with my new twist step machine from Johnny :)

45./50. Kale is really good! I was expecting a more bitter taste I think...but Kale is more savory. I liked it a lot! It's hearty too, so it does make a good winter veggie as they all say! As for the last recipe of the month: I made the kale with some brie and bacon. Ok that was super easy, but December's been busy! ;)

Veggie for January: The Parsnip! I was inspired by some parsnip potato hash dish Rachael Ray made the other day. Oh Rache!

51. And my give-up for January is sweet bakery (but not bagels!) once again. Yeah I think I'm going to have to recycle a few now that it's been about a year. Although I'm not sure I'll ever be able to recycle "No Alcohol except Miller Lite" ever again!

87. Just in the nick of time, Mandsi gave me her annual compilation cd for Christmas on which are three great new-to-me bands: Camera Obscura, Rogue Wave, and Sweet! I definitely need to look into these in more depth...

And that's all she wrote. New Year's Eve was a blast and I think I rang in the new year just right! It might have just been my imagination, but the second the clock struck midnight, I really did feel a weight lifted from my life. Haha! Yeah, just that mind trickery again...but I hope it keeps working. Coming back to work today hasn't been amazing, but it hasn't been awful either. I'll go with boring over awful any day ;)

So to 2008! Mildly entertaining instead of insanely stupid!

Long time no post

2007-12-23T12:41:00.000-06:00

What a crazy month, right? Well, T-minus nine days or so until 2008 and I haven't been this excited for a year to end since the horrid 2002. The year I was unemployed since May, got into two accidents and totaled my car, my cat and father died, and I had panic attacks aplenty. Granted this year was WAY better than that year, but this year reminded me how annoying life can be sometimes. I do have a feeling, however, that it's all about attitude and when you get wrapped up in the gloom, it's hard to shake it. In other words: slipping into that "soothing" bath of negativity has been far too easy lately. I think the only way I can turn it around is the milestone that is the new year. Not that I expect life to suddenly become amazing once the clock strikes midnight, but sometimes it takes that trickery of the mind to turn over a new leaf. I mean why do you think we have New Year's resolutions?

My resolutions in the new year are as follows:
-To complete more of my creative projects
-To build my brand and create an online portfolio
-To maintain my attitude about good health in a number of ways: good food/less restaurants, and exercise via a combo of more shoveling (ha!), pilates, and using my new twist step machine John got me for Christmas (are you calling me fat?? haha j/k)
-To continue to work at being a kind, supportive, understanding girlfriend which, in essence, means: work on the communication, aka arguing ;)

Number two on that list is in direct relation to current happenings at work. Without going into details, I'll relay the analogy I explained to my sis this morning: Working at this agency is like being with a boyfriend who I know doesn't love me anymore...yet I cannot leave him for fear of being alone, so I simply have to wait for someone better to hopefully come along. And in this analogy, the boyfriend is more like a pimp who pays me. Because obviously the real Katie would immediately leave someone who didn't love her. But 'immediately' isn't an option in this monetary scenario. It's just very frustrating, disappointing, and sad to know that I am in an environment where appreciation and loyalty are totally bunk. Yet I have to stay with this pimp who, ironically, could throw me out on the street at any second. Until, of course, something better comes along! Hence the second resolution ;)

Wow...so I was pretty honest up there...playing devil's advocate here: I am grateful I have a job, I am grateful John is in a good place, I am grateful I have the talent and wherewithal to find happiness outside of my profession...something I wrote about awhile back. In the new year I will NOT dwell on the pimp-whore analogy, I promise! I'll do my job and do it right because I don't really expect any less from myself. Not even when I have little to gain.

So moving on to quick updates...

45. I did indeed make two of Z's recipes this month: lazy salmon rolls and the Z burrito :) Last night I made a quick squash risotto. My fourth recipe of the month will be the kale dish.

68. I've been eating chocolate and candy like it's going out of style...so I guess I'm hoping for some more snow in '08?

77. I handmade 40 Christmas cards this year! Surpassing my previous years' numbers by a long shot! I took a few pix, so maybe I'll post them sometime. But I received several fab comments; I think my favorite was "you should really sell these badboys!" Nice.

82. I have to postpone my 401K increase :( This is the year I'm supposed to save for my proximate future and recent unexpected events are putting my more distant future on hold a bit.

To conclude! MERRRRRRY CHRISTMAS!!! Sorry this post wasn't very Christmassy...pimps up, ho ho ho's down??? Above all else, as long as we all have a safe and happy holiday, the rest is just icing on the cake!

Do you remember...blah something blah December

2007-12-03T14:54:00.000-06:00

Happy Advent Times! It's a new month and here are some new pieces of listual information...I totally made up a new word! In other news I tagged all my posts...I know that's excitingly awesome right?

45. I know at least two recipes I will make this month...thanks to Z's weekend of fab food!

50. Atypical food: KALE because I googled "Good winter vegetable" and found this inspirational blog. Tasty stuff!

51. Guilty pleasure: Per my mom's suggestion, I'm taking a holiday dispensation this month. However, I have something a little unorthodox (and personal) in mind, so I'm going to see if that pans out. In any case, my first eating out experience since I gave it up in Nov was a Sourdough Boy Combo at George Webb's on Sunday night while the Bears were losing on the tiny tv above John's and my booth. Loverly.

64. I've been thinking about it and I think I'll kinda tack on "ORRR the Grand Canyon" onto the attempt at a Vegas Trip. I'm not sure how likely either of them are, but it's a step closer to crossing #64 off my list! Besides, I REALLY want to do that Grand Canyon Skywalk!

77. 8 more Christmas cards were constructed this weekend!

81. As of this past Friday, one of my incoming checks that provide the cash for the $250 that goes into my savings will no longer be available, SO I have to reshuffle my budget and see if I can still throw that money in there. WILL I GET A RAISE THIS YEAR??? Guhhhhhhh.

85. And speaking of work, two groups of concepts needed work these past couple weeks...nothing too exciting though.

To conclude, here's a short To-Do list:
~~-Finish up Christmas cards~~
~~-Collect all of the addresses I can~~ (thanks Monica!)
-Bell ringer this year??? (not enough time, oh well...)
~~-All online Christmas shopping~~
~~-All brick 'n mortar shopping~~
-Analyze the ish out of my Bust Out Your Pinking Sheers list because I have AH item crossed off and, being a so-called artist, that doesn't fly with almost one year down on this list.

big blog part one

2007-11-29T10:10:00.003-06:00

I have lots to update/discuss, so I split it up. November has been ACTION PACKED!!

#6 - The TBA project finished with time to spare! TBA project = This "Memory Lane" drawing I did for Monica and Tim's wedding gift! I had to get it framed and even though I brought it into Michael's two weeks before the wedding, they gave me a ready date of 11/21...NOOO!!!! So I practically begged them to have it done by Friday the 16th. Well, turns out it was really a day earlier than that! I picked it up the Thursday night before the wedding. More about this gift in big blog part two!

#17 - John caught a cold last weekend, so on Monday night I went to the store and bought all the Katie's Chicken Stewp ingredients to make Johnny healthy again!

#45 - Some of these recipes are crazy easy, but with Nov being as insane as it was, I'm surprised I had time to cook anything new, let alone make 8 recipes...
to continue:
3. Roast a pumpkin (to use the pulp for a later recipe)...this was SO easy and I'll have to do it again next year!
4. Pumpkin and sweet tato casserole mmmmmm! (fulfilling #50: eating real pumpkin!)
5. Roast pumpkin seeds with spices (nutmeg, all spice, cumin, cayenne, etc)
6. Black bean and pumpkin soup (notice the theme here?)
7. Warm green bean salad with toasted pinenuts (for Thanksgiving and also task #46)
8. Ranch Potato Casserole (also for T'gives)

#54 - Alright so I'm not going to be able to get my hair cut for the fall season, but I'm using the fact that I got it professionally styled for the wedding take the place of a haircut. I've never had my hair done before and it turned out really nice! Plus the stylist I had was so adorable and I've decided to go back and have her cut AND color my hair in January.

#77 - I've already started making my Christmas cards this year!!! They are turning out SO awesome too...every year I get better at this :) I've made like nine so far and have about 30 more to go?? haha! But I think if I ever get #14 going (build up a collection of crafty goods), Christmas cards are going to be on that list.

#87 - I listened to a few new-to-me artists on itunes because of the So You Think You Can Dance concert earlier this month: BT , Joshua Radin, James Morrison, Craig David, Devotchka, and The Presets to name a few! But I also must mention that while Duran Duran is by no means a new band, their recently released album Red Carpet Massacre is definitely a new sound and by new, I mean brilliant. LOVIE!

#51 - EATING OUT!! Man this has been hard, and I've even slightly cheated five times! Ok with one more day to go, here are the cheats:
1. Aforementioned German restaurant after John's grandma's funeral
2. Rehearsal Dinner at Maggiano's (and I went to town, let me tell you!)
3. Wedding Dinner (I had salmon, but I also tried Monica's chicken, ate TONS of garlic mashed tatos, as well as all of my delicious wedding cheesecake)
4. Every year after Thanksgiving, my fam shops the Black Friday sales starting at 7am. We ALSO eat lunch at some mall restaurant. We went to California Pizza Kitchen this year, but I was good and most definitely ordered a salad (Thai) with dressing on the side (of which I only used half)
5. About a month or more ago I emailed this local soup place (that makes my fave soup ever: spinach artichoke!) and asked if they were going to make a pumpkin soup this season. They emailed back and said that that was a really great request and they’d see what they could do! Well on Monday I got an email from them personally telling ME that they were going to have pumpkin soup on Wednesday (yesterday)...SO NICE! So I went over there and they even had “By request!” up on the dry erase board where the menu is! Once I got my soup, I told them “thanks for the requested pumpkin soup!” And the chick said “oh that was you?! Fun!” Awww!!! So even though I’m not supposed to eat out, I gave myself a dispensation because they were nice enough to make a whole pot of soup just because I requested it!

In any case, I've also turned down MAAAANY offers or ideas to eat out over the last month...I mean no breakfast at Denny's the morning after the wedding, no going out to Elkhorn with John to eat with him and Grace on Wednesdays, no adorable Bee's and a Movie with John after seeing the Mist this past weekend. So even with the cheats, it's been hard! And I feel like I'm counting down the hours until December 1st. Who knew that I rely on restaurants so heavily? And this is coming from a person who actually loves to cook at home!

big blog part two

2007-11-29T10:10:00.001-06:00

Ok part two will be devoted to artsty musings:

Today Nicole sent me this link to a guy, Nick Pitera, who I think (if it is the same guy) is this amazing artist...both audibly AND visually! Currently he seems to be gaining popularity on youtube for his VERY unique rendition of The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World":

So strange, but so completely awesome if I do say so myself! In any case, if you check out this Nick Pitera's blogger page, you'll also find he can draw like a MF! Don't you love finding people who can do 23948392042 things really well?? Well, to be honest, it's more like a love-hate relationship because I'm tooooootally SUPER jealous ;) And you know what made me even MORE jealous? Looking at the work of all of his fellow blogger friends (who also attend Ringling College of Art & Design I believe). DIES!!! I wanna BE them! Why can't I be that talented?!! I reeeeally want to post some of their work below, but I should probably ask first. For now I'll just give a couple link0's to my faves:

Kelly Versaggi
Her "Patricia Portrait" "Kitties" are fab, but the "Monster Under a Lamp" (toward bottom) is unbelievable cool.

Kim Kuchenbecker
Her adorable "Small Tribute to Bill Watterson"...and the accompanying story made me a little teary!

Anyway, I want to be talented when I grows up!! I seriously need to work on some stuff. At least I finally got a chair from the rents so I can work on my mac at home jeez! For now I'll just post a sampling of item #6 on my 101 List...my Monica Tim Wedding Gift/TBA Project. It's sort of self-explanatory, but the street contains tons memories and inside jokes that Monica and Tim share. This thing is 3 feet by 1 foot in size...HUGE! Hopefully they find a place to put it? Yikes! Anyway, I really like how it turned out and I think they did too! :) So here is the badboy in its entirety with a smattering of closeups:

clickie here for larger version!

The manhole cover is a Dharma symbol!! LOST!

The kitty has an engagement ring around his collar: this is how Tim proposed to MoniCAT!

big blog part three...sheesh!

2007-11-29T10:09:00.001-06:00

#101 - Ahhhhhh the wedding!! It's officially over :'( BUT SO MUCH FUN! I can't even tell you how nervous I was about my toast. I couldn't start eating until AFTER it was over because I honestly thought I was going to throw up.

Anyway, for my last maid of honor duty, Monica asked me to come up with a top ten list (our most favorite thing to do!), so I'll try to whip one up right here:

1. Day before the wedding (Rehearsal Day)...driving around the greater Milwaukee area running last minute wedding related errands and either listening to Seal or Duran Duran OR turning off the music and practicing my toast 39482930429 times. People driving next to me must have thought I was a nut with all my hand gesturing!

2. John playing with my friends Josh and Tina's son Ethan at the Rehearsal Dinner...totally adorable!!

3. Opening the door to the bridal room in the church and seeing Monica for the first time in her dress...I...freaking...died. She seriously looked like the most beautiful lady I had ever seen in my whole life.

4. Bawling like a baby for the first 20 minutes of the wedding ceremony. Monica walking down the aisle and bawling herself...Tim crying as he took her hand and walked her up to the steps, etc etc etc. I honestly had to tell myself to 'STOP IT!' three dozen times so I wouldn't look like a blubbering mess for the cameras. Ha!

5. "YOU'RE an Octopus Balloon!" and all the crazy shenanigans at the Domes, especially Guido and his Chuck Norris action figure posing for pix.

6. The limobus ride from the Domes to Whitnall high school to The Forum restaurant to the Radisson Hotel. We watched Anchorman and Old School, drank Miller Lites and took swigs from Happy Face Vodka, and drew naughty pictures on the steamed windows...my ultimate fave part of this experience was seeing Monica eat Wheat Thins in her wedding dress and tiara...hilarious.

7. Sitting up at the head table, next to my bestest friend and the most important lady of the day...and looking out to the sea of people who were all so excited this day was finally here! And then, of course, getting through my toast in one peice...whew!

8. Getting crazy choked up at the reception during "Bittersweet Symphony" part of the video montage and then later when Monica and Tim had their first dance to Chicago's "Will You Still Love Me".

9. Dancing related fun and adorableness: Tim doing his patented arm wave dance, Monica doing her patented arm pumping dance (in her wedding dress hilarious!!), Marne dragging John onto the dance floor at least three times, dancing with John to Climax Blues Band "I Love You," and seeing John ask Monica to dance at the very end of the reception :)

10. Getting Monica's txt message the morning after the wedding. I don't have my phone with me right now, but it said something along the lines of: "I got up this morning and saw the sunrise...I thought about everything, the toasts, and started to cry." Aaaaand of course that made ME start to cry!!

Man...and to think the planning only took seven months. It simultaneously feels like forever in the making and yet such a blur! But absolutely one of the best experiences of my short life. Not only did it make Monica and I even closer friends, but to be a part of something so beautiful and happy...I try not to be too big of a sap, but it truly was hard not to be emotional about the whole thing. Love.

and this too shall pass

2007-11-15T14:08:00.000-06:00

It sure is amazing how things happen...I mean crazy explosions of things...out of nowhere. Today at work, we're all mourning the loss...of our department? The scary thing is how close it was to being the entire department or rather the entire company! My little Zettlebug didn't escape the hatchet :( And my loyal commenter and dear friend Nicole is patiently (well, to the best of her ability) teetering on this odd concept of an edge...with no idea how she'll fall. So that's great. Things are awkward at best here at work, with employees who were fired sitting within feet, INCHES really, of employees that were not. I'm sure you can imagine how lovely that feels. It also feels pretty lovely to assume that I'm hated by a couple people here. For really no reason whatsoever. I had nothing to do with this...I'm a peon like everyone else. And actually, a few of the people in my dept are in the same boat I'm in...still here, but feeling massive guilt for being here. For some reason though, and it could just be the narcissist in me, but I feel like some people here think I'M the Big Bad. Well, if those people feel like making me, or anyone else that's innocent, the scapegoat...I guess that's their prerogative.

Well, like all insane turns of events, with time it'll all feel so insignificant. Hopefully people will move on and find better things (like I always say: sometimes you have to take a step back to go forward). But speaking of backs, hopefully I won't get SHOT in the back in some dark alley :( If I am, you may know whom to prosecute?? In the meantime, while we wait for wounds to heal...or wounds to get another job and get out of here...its going to be a loooong few months. 2007 wasn't such a good year afterall. People getting their hearts broken, grandparents dying, debts deepening, and this...while it doesn't hold a candle to 2002, it certainly is a shady cousin. 2008 couldn't come soon enough...

eating and stuff

2007-11-07T15:11:00.000-06:00

A few food related updates:

#45 - I made a Turkey Pumpkin Chili recipe in late October, but was still eating it in November so whatever, I'm counting it! Then on Monday I actually made macaroni and cheese (RR recipe - #46) from scratch! Well I didn't hand make the noodles or anything, but I fulfilled my #48 task of doing the roux/béchamel sauce, adding cheese, etc. I used gruyère and smoked gouda...and the recipe is even better when you add the following: bacon, green onions, and Baby Ray's BBQ! It wasn't half bad for my first stab at macncheese! I'd love to try again sometime...maybe some different cheese combinations!

Meanwhile, I've been able to avoid eating out except for this past weekend. John's family reconvened at this German restaurant in Kenosha after his grandma's funeral service. It was sort of like a wedding or shower meal situation because they offered you the choice of pot roast or stuffed chicken...so no baked fish or salad with dressing on the side for me!! What was funny was that, prior to finding this out, everyone was ordering alcoholic beverages and eating these delicious-looking pumpkin mini muffins...but I refrained thinking that I was going to stick to my salad/fish rule and eat that ONLY! Well as soon as I discovered that I was going to have to go balls to the wall, I gave up! I ordered my stuffed chicken (with AMAZING red cabbage), bowl of chicken and spätzle soup, a glass of wine, had 2-3 muffins, AND a slice of Mindy Segal cake: chocolate/vanilla frosting with fresh strawberries! Yeah I went a little overboard :) But I'll count it towards my "guilty pleasure" meal! (#68) I'm going at it again when Monica has her rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's next Friday...and then of course the actual wedding meal on Saturday at the reception! But in that case, I'm actually having salmon :)

Anyway, speaking of eating, I've got six more recipes to go for November, but hopefully I'll be able to fulfill several of them at Thanksgiving...only two weeks away!!! Which means the wedding is only TEN days away, count 'em TEN! I'm totally crazy nervous already and I'm not even the bride!!!

And speaking of, um, projects...my TBA project is making me SUPER nervous. PLEEEEEEEASE be on time!!!!!!!!

slipping into a warm bath of pumpkin spice latte

2007-11-01T13:21:00.000-05:00

Over the last couple days, I've compared "having a negative attitude" to slipping into a bath. In the respect that it's really easy to slip into a bad attitude, and for some strange reason, it comforts you, it feels familiar and oh so inviting. But it only comforts you in a superficial way that wears off almost immediately and then leaves you a chattering, disheartened, miserable, shriveled mess. What kind of comforting bath is that?! Well the wide-eyed four year old in me coos: In heaven I think warm baths never get cold! They stay that nearly-too-hot temperature, the bubbles never pop, and your skin never wrinkles!

Lately work has thrown a few of us some frustrating curve balls and shakes our patience to its very core. The worst part is that it isn't even work-related! I mean in a way it is because our place of business is involved, but mostly it's just plain personal...which is the worst kind of work frustration. It's the kind that leaves the office with you and goo's all over your psyche, only to fester and rot all over your deepest inner workings until you seriously feel like even your mitochondria are screaming for relief. ......Sigh.

In any case, today I got back from a double dose of pilates at lunch and after reading a link from my sis re: Starbucks' delicious Gingerbread Lattes, I literally Googled Starbucks 'Pumpkin Spice Latte' Blog and continued to be dazzled...DAZZLED...by the amount of PSL fans out there. No, 'fans' is putting far too lightly. More like absolute grounds for idolatry pumpkin spice worshipers. And I loved every second of it!!! For the whole concept of being head over heels excited over a coffee drink...and a Corporate coffee drink at that...is just so frivolous it makes the complicated, emotional overload of life so much easier to take. Mandsi and my Serenity Now Mantra lately has been "....simpler times". Ahhhh simpler times, my dear pumpkin spice latte.

Now with it being November 1st, I'm a little sad that dear PSL will only be around another week or less...perhaps it's already gone! But yes, PSL's comforting cousin Gingerbread Latte will be a sufficient replacement, even if it does mean that autumn is quickly winding down and winter is right around the corner. But for now, I'm going to try desperately to focus on the more frivolous, almost child-like stuff that life has to offer (reconsider collecting scratch-n-sniff stickers perhaps?). I gotta quit taking everything so seriously (uhh, didn't I just write a blog about that?). Because while there will always be frustrating coworkers in the world, there will also always be warm, sugary, coffee drinks at my disposal. And no, I'm not going to bathe in said sugary beverage...but maybe on some level, my bruised psyche can?

blah blah updates

2007-10-26T10:39:00.000-05:00

Alright, so I haven't updated in ages here, so I better sum up October...

#17 Another surprise house cleaning! In this case, I knew John's mom was coming into town and I thought it'd be nice particularly so she wouldn't feel like doing it herself!! ;)

#30 Milwaukee restaurant number nine is mi•key's...we were all going to do Cubanita's for Monica's pre-bachelorette dinner Friday night, but the wait was an hour and a half! So mi•key's it was and what a pleasant surprise! They never look like they're all that busy and I kinda wonder why because the food is actually way above par. I saw they had Mushroom Risotto as a side, so I just ordered that plus the House Salad which totally blew me away! A HUGE helping of greens plus craisins, Fontina cheese and a cran-rasp vinaigrette for your basic $4.50 House? Yes please! The rest of the group split a bunch of starters which I sampled as well: fancy Sliders (the one I tried was veal...mmm), to-die-for Steak Quesadillas, and Sausage/Mozz/GOUDA pizza that couldn't have been more perfect. I can't wait to go back to try one of their entrees...well, when I have an extra $30 lying around :\

#35 A couple symphony outings are in the works: in addition to the MSO Does Zeppelin in two weeks, my sis, mom and I are going to MSO does Hitchcock on Halloween next week. Good stuff!

#45 Recipes aplenty! Although I'm kinda going to combine a couple of "half" recipes together...it's like I make new stuff but it's my own recipe, so I'll only semi-count them...bah.

1/2 - Blackbean Soup: mashed up some blackbeans, sauteed some onions and garlic, simmered up some chicken broth, and whipped up a roux...it was quite delicious!

1/2 - Steak with Sauteed Baby Bella Mushrooms in Wine: I'm half-counting this because I've never pan fried steaks before and they turned out nearly PERFECT. One could say the cow was still mooing, but they're unbelievably tasty that way ;)

2 - Porkchops and Homemade Apricot (#50) Barbecue Sauce: my pride recipe of the month of October! It took me about three hours to make the BBQ sauce (well two of those hours was simmering)...but it turned out fingerlickin fab!! And I was just so amazed that the chunkiness of apricots and tomatoes actually turned into sauce without the use of any kind of ketchup or anything! I'm such a nerd. Also I've never baked porkchops before and they turned out really nice too! Of course anything tastes great with BBQ sauce!

3 - Drunken Apples: I coupled the chops with your basic sauteed apples in a thick brown sugar sauce...simply scrumptious

4 - Barbecue Chicken Casserole: I used the remaining sauce (wish I had had more though!) and combined it with pulled rotisserie chicken, corn, and sauteed onions and red peppers...spread that mixture into a baking dish and topped it with corn bread mix. Bake for about 20-25 minutes and you've got yourself a delicious sweet and savory casserole!

#69 - Two punctured and bruised arms later, I failed miserably at donating blood Oct 10th...we reconvened on Oct 16 and it was literally a race against time: I almost failed once again, but they got all the blood they needed under 15 minutes with literally only three seconds to spare or something ridiculous. I donate again on Dec 12 which means two donations in fall...now that week I also have off on Monday to Christmas shop, and have my lady doc appt on Thursday. That means I'm driving to the burbs three times in one week? Not so much. So I think I'm going to postpone my next donation to post Christmas (and post first day of winter), like the 27th. We have that entire week off of work, so that'll be nice. Man why am I thinking in words right now? I DIGRESS!

#87 - Technically I didn't do this, but I'm going to cheat slightly and describe how post the unbelievably ridiculous wonder that was the Aussie Floyd concert on Wednesday, I looked up contemporary bands that have the Floyd (or Floydian?) sound: aside from the obvious Radiohead/Muse/Flaming Lips type progressive rock bands, I checked out The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, and Comets on Fire...but the progrock band that definitely fit the bill the best is RPWL. I like the "vast landscapes of sound" they've got going on. So they'll be my Pick 'o the Month!

***

That's what I got! In the month to come, you will see me eating pasta again in one of the eight, count 'em EIGHT, recipes I have to create to make up for the summer. But I will be giving up the obsession that is Eating Out (#51). Sort of. I know it won't be completely impossible, but if I do HAVE to eat out, I can only get a baked fish or HEALTHY salad (none of that Bee's crap right?!). Dressing must be on the side and I have to use it sparingly!! Anyway, this will force me to make all eight recipes and really go above and beyond there. I mean hey, Fall is theeeee most perfect time to cook! Eating out is one of my big vices, so this will be a tough one... But speaking of, my atypical veggie for November will appropriately be pumpkin! And I'm actually going to buy a pie pumpkin and make the puree myself! Could be quite an endeavor!

Also, as of November 18th, I will finish up my duties as Maid of Honor (#101)...what a ride! But there's no feeling like being the Ultimate Friend to someone. I absolutely love it!! Being indispensable and truly making their experience that much better! Lovely :)

And finally....Holiday duties: I purchased almost all the supplies for Christmas cards (#77). I'm going to try and work the "20 Soundtracks" task into Christmas somehow (#79). But I'm not sure if THIS will be Bell Ringer year (#71)? I might already have too much going on...we'll see!

Ok I gotta stop writing...this post has gotten completely out of control. Until November!

looking in the liquor cabinet...

2007-10-23T15:29:00.000-05:00

I think I once referred to that blessed recipe to whip up when life hands you lemons? Well, life hit me with a sack full of pennies, is there an alcoholic solution to that?

No no, I'm too dramatic. It's just that I can't even count how many times being nice to people backfires so easily. I recall a time when I put together a bunch of little baskets of treats/homemade ornaments for Christmas and passed them out to my fellow Roundys employees anonymously. I think there were 35 of them or so? In any case, that morning I felt so good and Christmassy about it. Well a few minutes later, strange comments went around our room...people saying they were "weirded out" by the gift and such. It was heartbreaking. I don't think I even ever admitted I was the one who created the gifts except to a few select friends who asked why I was so sad that day.

Well, something very similar happened today in regards to my 'going all out' for Monica's bachelorette party. I won't go into the idiotic details, but it hurt my feelings like nobody's business. And maybe this particular person's feelings were hurt as well...but they decided to spread the love and make sure I knew it. Whether or not this person's qualms are valid doesn't matter...it's just the way it was handled and the nonacceptance of the fact that I really tried hard with this party (..."and this is the thanks I get" comes to mind).

In any case, when this happens it's easy to lose sight of one's purpose regarding altruism and general unabashed kindness. Honestly we really aren't supposed to expect good in return...it should be kindness for the sake of kindness, MAYBE hoping that at the very least it will be contagious. We are human, however, and it's hard not to be hurt when a bad apple spoils the bunch. In this case, 99 percent of the ladies who attended this soiree were incredibly helpful, sweet, and most importantly, appreciative. So why let the one who wasn't spoil it for me? I can lift up my head, rise above it, and move right along with my mantra that kindness is always the best answer. (And when you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?? Or rather cut what you are saying short and stop before your hands get any dirtier! haha!)

And like clockwork, just now I got the sweetest email from one of the moms who attended the event... "Monica is sure lucky to have you by her side" pretty much makes everything all sunny and fuzzy bunnies again :)

Let's get serious

2007-10-03T11:56:00.000-05:00

First up, I made it through September tasks. I have yet to wrap my lips (uh?) around a fancy coffee drink, but soon, soon. This month I gave up pasta which I know will be hard now that it's all cozy fall everywhere. Or wait, is it? Near 80 in October? Not a fan. My atypical food of the month is apricots...not all that atypical right?...well they are when you make a barbecue sauce with them!! Thanks Emeril?

I made a few last minute recipes last week: a chili chicken and pesto pasta dish that worked out alright, jicama slaw that was to die for, and a creamy chicken and rice bake with baby bella mushrooms and artichoke hearts...now THIS was good!!! I even f'ed up the roux and it turned out fab!

This past Monday night I installed Creative Suite 2 and Studio 8 with MUCH success!!! I now have Illustrator, Photoshop, Go Live, Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, etc etc etc at my PERSONAL disposal! Now all I need is a project? HA! Never thought I'd say that! I'm actually almost finished with my secret TBA creative project...just a few tiny details, and then I'm set!

In any case, moving on from the updates...I'm trying to determine if I take life too seriously. I mean I know fun and good times, but I can be pretty judgmental about which "good times" are and are not a waste of life. Ouch! What does THAT mean? What is a waste and what isn't? My other question is: Is there a point to living if you're just going to go about it all careless and haphazard? I don't want to ask people to live the same way I do...what kind of boring world would THAT be?! It's just hard to let go of my stubborn principles sometimes.

Then again...what's with all the shrinks and self help books and advice columnists? Surely people need others to tell them what they are doing wrong. I don't have a degree in psych...is that why I shouldn't? And you know what? No one even listens to advice anyhow! I think everyone secretly hopes the adviser feels the same way they do in order to get that reassurance. Then there is the role of the adviser: an addicting, yet simultaneously frustrating position. Telling people what to do and not do is like crack. With the sobering withdrawal symptoms echoing the frustration that is said person ignoring everything you advised. Yet the same people who sober you up, DEAL the drug, so how are you supposed to break the cycle?? It can be infuriating. I suppose if you're honest, and more importantly, vocal about your frustration, they'll stop coming to you altogether!

Am I referencing myself in all of this? Well, I think I'm speaking for anyone who has ever been on this side of the fence. I've also NEEDED plenty of advice in my day. But I've tried desperately not to ignore it either, as I know the frustration involved. My John issues several months ago required more advice than I've ever received in my life! Self help books included! And I want to say I handled it ok? Perhaps at times I felt a bit sloppy, but then I'd catch my balance and try to look at things objectively. And it seems to have worked out for the best in the end! I did NOT get stuck in a dead-end relationship like so many of the couples in the help books. Then again, I think I also swallowed the bitter pill of responsibility in venturing down a road I knew had the CHANCE of going nowhere. If things hadn't worked out, I knew my friends and family would be there for me, but I also knew that THIS time around I wouldn't be blindsided. I knew what I was getting myself into and had to be prepared for the consequences. Did I luck out? Or did my passion for personal responsibility, and taking life so seriously, work to my advantage?

Life is serious business. Whether or not you believe in an afterlife or not, the seriousness is still very important. Either we get one life, and we have to make the most of it. OR we must intensely prepare for whatever is next for us: a heaven, a next level supported by our karma, whatever! Either way I take pride in trying to build something here that's important. It doesn't matter if it's important to anyone else either. However, I can't help but take offense to those who don't hold a similar point of view. You know, that feeling like you want to shake someone by the shoulders a bit? But his or her life isn't mine. I'm here to walk along side everyone, not lead the way. I'm obviously not a messiah, nor should I act like one. The best I can do is be an example I suppose. Examples aren't the rules; they are merely illustrations providing a possibility.

So I shall continue to work on all that stuff up there. I'm trying to be honest with myself. I mean whenever you point your finger, you've got three pointing back at you, right? Like I said, I know how to have fun. I know that life is full of mistakes and that they are our teachers. With that said, I also know how precious life is and how fast it can get taken away. Perhaps someone's gravely ill family member and my deceased father's 'would-be' 52nd birthday today got me on the existential thinking track this morning, I don't know. I'm not wallowing...just thinky.

Anyway, this weekend I've got some mad fun to be had in Chicago...I leave Thinky Katie at home and let loose a tad.

wishing I had several brains and more time

2007-09-26T15:55:00.000-05:00

Currently I'm dealing with an explosion of creativity and no time (and money??) to work with it! It's like the opposite of writer's block. Which is fun and exciting, but definitely frustrating when you can't do anything about it. Kinda like artistic sexual tension....wha??? Anyway, I'm too busy with the bachelorette party to really work on my own projects. But once Christmas arrives, not only will I have tons more time (the dead of winter is perfect for craft projects!) and more money via JoAnn gift card(s!) and such. Excellent. Meanwhile I fear that because I have this craving to go nuts with creativity, I'm going to get all crazy with the bachelorette party creative crafty shenanigans. And 'getting all crazy' is just another word for spending all my moneys. STOP ME OH-HO-HO STOP ME!!!!

The other day I suggested to a couple coworkers who are on the Culture Committee that our company should do some sort of art/craft fair. Even to raise money for charity or something. So my brain's been in that mode this past week and I've thought of so many cool ideas. Even if we don't have a fair, I do have to gather up a selection of items in case I were to be in one anyway (#14).

In the meantime I'll try and be as conservative as I possibly can for this batch party. And keeping writing down all my little ideas. PS My fave ideas always come to me when I'm falling asleep. It reminds me of college days :) There's nothing like creative brainstorming to lift the spirits, I think!

It's bloggin time

2007-09-24T10:54:00.000-05:00

...while our servers are down. As if Monday's aren't hard enough...now we're just sitting around waiting to work. Ugh, that's the worst.

You know what else is the worst? Wasting talent. Today's topic of conversation is how I'm living in this naive world with my fingers in my ears going lalalalalalalalala in regards to the fact that I am undoubtedly wasting my talents at my current place of employment. And who isn't? We've got a lot of talented people here and all we do is type addresses and phone numbers into white and black boxes full of mundane text. The worst part is that we do this in Adobe Illustrator of all programs. Suddenly the irony is suffocating.

And why are my fingers in my ears in this scenario? Because every once in a while, I'll hear about former colleagues of mine who are doing MUCH bigger and better things. The worst part is that I was the first to get out of the hellhole that was my prior job. I thought I was the cats pj's because I was moving on to the agency world while they were stuck in a world of grocery circulars that everyone throws away. Well, now they've all moved on too and I'M the one who's stuck in the receptacle.

So with all this said, I'm going to play devil's advocate a tad. First of all, I don't ONLY type addresses and phone numbers into white and black boxes full of mundane text. I've had several creative opportunities here of which I've taken advantage in their fullest capacity. I wish there were MORE opportunities, but at least there have been a few. Secondly, my mom is my hero. Like me, she works for a fantastic company that treats its employees very well. I too have tons of perks, benefits, and stability here. With that said, however, like me, it isn't as if my mom gets to express her most wondrous talents at work. No, let me restate that...she expresses her wondrous managerial and organizational talents at work ;) but the creative opportunities are few and far between. So how has she solved this problem? By becoming a published author in her spare time! While authors all over the world are struggling to get noticed and simultaneously trying to earn a living by doing so, my mom writes and publishes her own novels (AND does most of her own PR/marketing!) MEANWHILE earning her regular paycheck! My mom is someone to which I aspire.

Now I know there are the rare people out there who do both: creative, fulfilling career WITH creative, fulfilling hobby/moneymaker on the side. What? Yeah I don't know. It seems impossible, but I'm sure these people exist. But I don't think I'm one of those people. I mean just sanity-wise. With all that creativity 24/7, my brain would most assuredly melt into my spinal cord. And at this point in life, I don't see myself getting, or even WANTING, the crazy 60-70 hour agency art director position. Therefore, it only makes sense to put all of my creative energy into a spare time freelance hobby of some kind. And, like my mom, the added bonus would be making a tad of extra money :)

So while my peers and colleagues move along the advertising and graphic design career path, I'm going to keep my fingers in my ears, lalala-ing MY way down a path where I watch my humble paycheck automatically deposit into my checking account, and yet I am satisfied with the logos, business cards, brochures, greeting cards, and invitations I design for friends and family. Besides, the world needs lowly production artists just like cities need garbagemen right?

[ed. note: Halfway through this blog, my mom emailed me to let me know my beloved CS2 from eBay arrived. SAVE ME HOME COMPUTER COMPLETE WITH GRAPHICS SOFTWARE! SAVE ME!]

it's really happening....

2007-09-21T16:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I tried looking up the link my mom sent to a company that sells Adobe CS2 and I was saddened to see that the software was no longer available. So I quick hop on over to eBay, and sure enough, some fabulous fellow is selling it for $300 cheaper. HOLY HOTDOGS BUY IT NOW! That's what my brain AND mother exclaimed anyway. And so I did. Oh man. It better install. It better work. I better not lose $1100? But the joy and wonder to finally have it...I can just imagine :)

In other news, we all know how often I use quotes right? I even sheepishly mentioned it in a past blog. Well, speaking of talking about quotes in a blog, check this out: everyone hates quotes. Siiiggggh. It's like the word random. Did I go off on that once too? I don't remember. But ya know? Sometimes people have ticks. Why not talk about how bad it is that people shoot other people in the face instead? Because it isn't funny. And the chick's site is pretty hilarious actually. People are pretty dumb sometimes. But who cares? I'm going to continue to use the word random superfluously, say awesome constantly, and use QUOTES, as well as Quotes' dirty annoying cousin Air Quotes, as much as I damn well please! Until next time............. "

major project completed!!!

2007-09-20T16:13:00.000-05:00

Omgomgomg the invitations I made for Monica's bachelorette party are in the mail!!! Let's see, I started this project July 28? It's funny because I created the design in a couple hours. Seriously. But all the planning in order to write out all the details inside the thing, and then all the paper buying (and more paper buying), and then the printing (and more printing, and more printing), it's crazy how much time I put in. But total, the project wasn't even that expensive! I'm impressed and proud! Especially once they were all coming together...totally stoked. Hopefully everyone likes them...especially the bride-to-be! ;)

I've still got a lot to do bachelorette planning wise, however. I mean the core plans are made, but all the little details have yet to be worked out. It should be fun planning though :)

weeee!

when life takes a turn toward the meh

2007-09-18T12:33:00.000-05:00

Ugh, what a day yesterday...not fun at all. I don't like arguing and yelling, but I don't like not being able to stand up for my principles either. At the end of the day, however, not everyone is going to be a grownup and follow the rules. And I have to learn to accept that. I'm not sporting my rose tinted shades by any means, but with so much crap going on in the world that is beyond our control, I feel that much stronger about injustices that we CAN control. But that's what happens sometimes and hopefully things will carry on for the better the rest of the week. N-N-Now th-th-that don't kill me can only make me stronger??

On a more productive positive note, here are some updates!

#17 - I was proud of John for his hard work lately and so surprised him with some eggrolls and homemade Orange/Kung Pao Chicken. Yum!

#28 - John and I took Grace to the zoo a couple weekends ago so fun!! We did indeed pet some sharks (rough skin) and sting rays (soft skin!)...and collected five Mold•A•Ramas. Gotta love the zoo! It was probably the most perfect day too...clear blue skies, about 70 degrees...gorge. I love the zoo!

#30 - One more new restaurant to add to the bunch: Cafe Lulu! Now what a fantastic place THIS is...the decor is all funky and hipster (as is the clientèle!) and the food is absolutely delicious at the most perfect price. Ok "free" would be a perfect price, but a huge avocado/bacon/cheddar melt and ginormous helping of the best Asian slaw I've ever had for $7.50? You can't go wrong. Plus downtown you'll get a Jack and Coke and fancy drink for $6 and $9 respectively. At Cafe Lulu (in Bayview just outside downtown) you'll get a Jack and Coke and, in my case, an Oranjito (don't get me started) for $4.50 and $7 respectively. Amazing!!! Haha! We also got a side order of "Bleu Lulu" chips: those really thick, good quality, homemade chips with blue cheese dip! Mmmmmmm. Now I just need to go to their breakfast: toasted sourdough bread topped with boursin, garlicky spinach, roma'matoes, two poached eggs and hollandaise??? You gotta be kidding me.

#87 - New-to-me band/artist of THIS month is Mark Ronson: kickass producer/dj/musician of the year. Obsessed. So much talent.

The only other thing I've got in the works right now is the bachelorette party. I cannot WAIT to be done planning!!! Not that it's a pain in the ass or anything, but just a lot of little things to keep tabs on, cancellations, making sure everything is fair, splitting up costs, etc. Not to mention the invites which are almost finished thank the powers that be!!!

To conclude, when life hands you lemons, make a vodka tonic...with lemon...but when life hands you lemons and you're at work and can't find the key to the booze drawer, listen to some good music....

Quarter of the way there...

2007-09-06T11:29:00.000-05:00

At the end of this month I will have officially closed in on the quarter marker of 1001 days. Do I have a quarter of my tasks completed?? Let's do a quick recap for those playing at home:

•Tasks officially crossed off: 17
•Tasks in progress, but will be completed in the near future: 4
•Tasks continuously in progress until the end of the 1001 days: 21
Total tasks completed/in progress: 42!
And we all know that 42/101 is almost half, so I think I'm making some good progress here. But that might be because most of the remaining items are all complex and difficult or require dropping a chunk of change.

There are a small handful of tasks I may have to adjust due to time restraints or financial status (here's lookin' at you trips to Vegas and NYC)...but for the most part everything else seems do-able. Once Monica's wedding is over, I'll be able to focus back on my own creative projects; bust out my pinking shears at least a couple times this coming winter. A Jo-Ann gift card is certainly in order this Christmas as that will alleviate the financial burden of creating a scrapbook so intricate and involved as the INKYTNMO book will be!

In other news, the monitor for my prize mac has been purchased, the site from where I will buy the memory has been marked, and I think, with my mom's help, I have located a place to buy Adobe CS2. What a pain in the ass that was. Adobe swallowed up all the remaining CS2s to pave the way for CS3 (which we're actually getting at work in the next couple weeks!). But I don't want to pay $1800 for a creative suite. I want to pay the original $120o price. Well the one my mom found is $1400, BUT comes with Flash which would be pretty awesome to have since I already know the basics of the program. Now it's simply a matter of taking that money out of my savings :( Why suddenly is it so hard??? Well, obviously I have a huge problem with parting with huge sums of money: a character trait that has haunted me since my poor college days and even poorer post-college days. But also, right now I just don't have enough Quality Time to spend with my dear Adobe and Apple products (See: Monica's Wedding). So buying it now feels like a waste. HOWEVER my opportunity to purchase CS2 is quickly waning and who cares if I don't use it right this very second? Right? Right? Right.

In still other updates, I made it through the entire month of August without sipping any alcohol other than Miller Lite (oh and the occasional sip of church wine...blood of Christ, come on). The funny thing is that I had three Miller Lites the night of August 31st...something I've done many a time...and for whatever reason, paid dearly the following morning. Undoubtedly because of the 6.5 hrs sleep I got, but I almost like to think it was Miller Lite bidding me a not-so-fond farewell. Well F you too ML! Anyway, what was my first alcoholic beverage of choice on Sept 1st? Point Beer. Ouch. Haha! But that's all they had at this drive in party I attended. Come Sept 2, my SECOND alcoholic beverage of choice? Some random sparkly berry wine cooler that was chilling out in John's sister's fridge. I never even drink wine coolers! But my THIRD alcoholic beverage of choice: A sweet, refreshing, ice-clamoring glass of Jack and Coke. Ahhhhhhhh. My first in over two months! Yum. In any case, this months "give up" is fancy coffee drinks (a la Starbucks)...much easier than August, and it'll also get me revved up for delicious pumpkin spice lattes at Barnes & Noble come October. I do so love to deprive myself of things in order to truly appreciate them. And I'm a masochist, what can I say?

whaaaa???

2007-08-28T18:05:00.000-05:00

I DID change things up around here! With late summer/early fall, I thought some nice warm colors would do the trick. Plus I needed something to go with my new header? In any case, hope ya likes. Meanwhile I should be working on the back of my mom's bookcover right now instead of putzing around on blogger, am I right? Yiko's!!

2007-08-24T16:19:00.000-05:00

Nothing all that new to update, but I'm in a MUCH better mood and excited about life because I HEART THE GRADIENT MESH TOOL!!! One of the artists here at work sent us a bunch of graphic design related links, one of which contained a link to various gradient mesh MASTERS! Oh man these people are crazy. Here's an example:

um, what? This is an ILLUSTRATION people. Not a photo...not even photoshop'ed. I know it's hard to understand the significance of this without actually working in Adobe Illustrator, but trust me, it's intense. For more of Yukio Miyamoto's work, please visit his site!

Anyway, I was so inspired (in addition to the fact that I've always wanted to be SO much better at shading in Illustrator), that I found a tutorial on how to do a pepper. The artist provides you with the pepper photo that you use as a base for the colors, as well as the step by step process to create the realistic looking pepper just in Illustrator. Well, HERE is my very first attempt at the gradient mesh tool!

SO! I mean it's no Yukio by any means, but I was pretty proud! Yay pepper!!!

And speaking of peppers, the other night I made my last recipe of the month, Orange Kung Pao Chicken! I followed Z's recipe and then added orange juice and zest to the sauce. SO GRAND! I loved it! Plus I satisfied my atypical produce item by adding some sugah snap peas. Yum!

Sooooooo this weekend will consist of more maid of honor duties, more Miller Lite, and possibly Coldstone Creamery???? ahhhh I can't resist!!!!!!!