Feeding Frenzy

2010 - The Year of Food

2010-01-08T14:05:00.001-05:00

Perfect New Year's Resolutions or Goals

From Phoodie and Michael Pollan:

"From Michael Pollan’s book In Defense of Food, the rules seem more 1910 than 2010, but offer practical advice for those of you who like to have a friendly reminder around this time of year:
1. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
2. Avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or that include d) high-fructose corn syrup. Pollan’s example: Sara Lee’s Soft & Smooth Whole Grain White Bread, which fails every test proposed by this rule. “If not for the indulgence of the Food and Drug Administration, (it) could not even be labeled “bread.”
3. Avoid products that make health claims. The FDA’s “qualified” health claims” are all but meaningless.
4. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle. “Processed foods products dominate the center aisles of the store while the cases of ostensibly fresh food–dairy, produce, meat and fish–line the walls.”
5. Get out of the supermarket whenever possible. Head to one of the many farmer’s markets. In January it’s not just root vegetables that are in season: grapefruit, pears, brussel sprouts, kale, and spinach are on the list."

Pay It Forward!

2009-05-06T09:05:00.001-04:00

Get your swag here.

Read the rules carefully.
——————————–
The first five (5) people to respond to this post will get something made by me.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. You get what you get.
2. What I create will be just for you…if you have a blog I can mine for ideas, it might be based on what I think you’ll like - or it might be random.
3. It’ll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. It may be baked goods.
5. I reserve the right to do something strange, if inspired to do so.
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text into a note of your own - or a blog post - and make something for the first 5 people to respond to your note.
7. Send me your mailing address if you don’t live close to me!

IMPORTANT: You DO have to pay it forward.
—————————–

If you want to participate, leave a comment with a link where I can find your post. Email with your address and I’ll get around to it sometime in 2009.

Paying it forward from Kate's Blog and my participation therein.

Feeding Frenzy Takes on Food...Again

2009-04-30T10:11:00.003-04:00

When I originally chose the name of this blog, I did it because I wanted to make it a food blog - recipes, healthy articles, restaurants, etc. Obviously, I went completely off track. I have trouble allowing something like a blog to talk about more than one subject matter but once I decided it was okay, I forgot about writing about food.

So I would say "don't call it a comeback" but ... you should, call it a comeback that is. I disagree LL Cool J - this is a comeback, even though I've been here years (2 to be exact) - I'm returning to my roots a bit.

My twitter friends may have seen me writing about volunteering - this is where my inspiration comes from. I think for my sanity - I'll let the blog wear a lot of different hats - but I'd like to talk more about food and health.

Stay tuned.

Sunday Sunshine

2009-03-08T16:32:00.004-04:00

Philadelphia was (is) really warm this weekend. Saturday was 74 and today was in the mid 60s. Of course the beautiful weather has me thinking about my vacation in July/August. I'm so excited to go to Hawaii with Nick for our honeymoon so I thought I would share some pictures of the two islands we are visiting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zhulick/1438540377/
I didn't visit Kauai on my last trip so I thought I would borrow a picture from flickr.

From our hotel in Maui in 2006

Lavender field overlooking West Maui

Sunday Sunshine

2009-03-01T16:51:00.009-05:00

Okay, so I've decided Sunday is the best day for me to post a compilation of things I love ala Mrs. French with her "I heart Monday" blog posts.

I hope this will brighten up someone's day before dreary Monday begins. I ended up (not even on purpose) focusing on rooms and design.

I love BSG. This one doesn't fit the rest of the group but this is
what I've really been obsessing over recently. 3 more episodes left!

I love built in bookshelves and wide-planked country wood floors.

I love gorgeous green backsplashes.
I love open kitchens with gray granite, white cabinets, and stainless steel range and hood.
I love country dining tables, vintage chairs, and silver and blue accessories.
I love outdoor beds/hammocks.
I love a driftwood beach feel especially with the ocean out the window.

Called Out

2009-01-15T19:46:00.004-05:00

I've been officially called out by Scott on my comments.

So I'm posting something.

99 things I have or haven't done

I saw this list of events on Katie the Scrapbook Lady's blog. You are supposed to copy and paste to your own blog and bold everything you’ve done. I thought this could give me incentive to start blogging again.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (sadly no, I'm a bit afraid of camping, though I'm willing to try!)
3. Played in a band (I played piano)
4. Visited Hawaii (3 times so far!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (some large hills yes)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (chorus tryouts, yuck)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (can never tell with my stomach)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (always wanted to do this!)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (um lots of these)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Wow. Surprisingly, I didn't bold that many. There were several things on the list I've wanted to do for a long time: take a martial arts class, visit Paris and Italy, and learn Italian. If anyone has a suggestion for which martial art to do, I'm all ears. I have never started because I could never decide which one would be for me. I want to learn to defend myself but I'm also really interested in the culture behind it. I also like the control, concentration, and focus you develop while studying.

So there you go Scott. You are off the hook from posting every day!

Replacement for January 2nd

2009-01-07T08:45:00.003-05:00

Oops - apparently I'm really great at keeping my New Year's Resolution already and it was literally one day in. So to make up for it (at least in my mind), I will write a post for each day I missed instead of just skipping it.

January 2nd--

Every year, I struggle for several weeks to write the correct year after the month when I write a date down. Every year except this one. I think last year, more than any, I've been looking to the future. My wedding is this year so I'm often telling vendors and various people about July 25, 2009. I'm also looking into going to school and Nick and I are having a lot of problems organizing our life schedules. He is working on making his band popular in Philadelphia and the school I'd like to attend is in Boston. I'm constantly calculating and recalculating the years of school, timing for children and a house, and the time we spend here with his band. Very complicated and is constantly causing me stress. When I'm stressed personally, I tend to shut down. If I can't get something done right or perfectly, I often won't do it. Unfortunately this also affects my crafting. I have a lot of dreams about what I can do but if I'm worried about how well I can do it, I often avoid it for as long as possible, if not forever. I'm really hoping this year will be a turnaround year for me and I'll be able to take "risks" (though they only seem risks to myself).

On a happy note - I'll leave you with a random blog I love that if you haven't heard of it, you are missing out! It is affectionately called "Dooce".
Heather started out as a casual blogger writing about her work life in LA, her ex-Mormonism and funny stories about people in the celebrity and health conscious filled Pacific city. Even though she didn't write what the name of her company was or any people's actual names, they fired her over it. Her writing style is very funny and open and she got enough readers to support her and her family through ads alone. It has a little something for everyone. She has a great sense of humor, great style, and adorable dogs that she makes jokes about and takes lots of pictures. You just gotta look at it.

Happy New Years!

2009-01-01T22:29:00.002-05:00

So far 2009 is panning out exactly as 2008. I always expect things to happen but apparently I have to actually do something for anything to occur? Well, who ever thought of that? I always make New Year's Resolutions and never follow through. So why not continue!

Here is 1 for first day of January.
I'm going to post every day for a whole month to try and get in the mode of posting more often.

I just reread the beginning of the post and I realized it is very sarcastic and a bit sad but that's how I'm feeling now so there ya go!

Stay tuned for: home made Christmas presents and what I've been up to for the past few months

I heart hearting

2008-11-25T10:04:00.018-05:00

Okay boys who are reading this blog, stop sniggering at what the title sounds like...

I have an obsession with blogs. I couldn't even keep up with all the feeds I have if each person just wrote one per day... but many of them have multiple posts per day! One specific post I always look forward to and read thoroughly is "I heart" on Mondays on Bliss.

Every Monday, she posts things that she loves and writes underneath "I heart ___(item)". Every Monday, I click on several of those items and also fall in love. Hopefully she won't mind me borrowing her idea for my blog because I think it would really focus my interests and possibly keep me on track with writing. I'm going to work with a more specific theme though - this week is (though I may end up doing more than one per week):

I heart Etsy art

I heart this print (yeah first one is from Bliss - told you it inspired me!)

I heart this photograph.

I heart this print.

I heart this photograph. (By Bliss herself)

I heart this photograph.

I heart this art.

I heart this card.

I heart this photograph.

I heart this print.

I heart this photograph.

I heart this photograph.

I heart this photograph.

I heart this print.

Thanks for sharing!

I'm Tagged!

2008-11-11T08:42:00.003-05:00

I was tagged by the wonderful Bethro. And I love these things (like Beth, I love talking about myself).

Rules

Link to the person who tagged me
Mention the rules
Reveal six quirky yet boring, mundane, banal and pedestrian facts about yourself
Tag six other bloggers by linking to them
Go to each of their blogs and leave a message letting them know they’ve been tagged!

Here we go:

In the last 3 years, I've lost both of my big toenails. Yuck.
I have two very large pet peeves that are mundane things for other people: chewing and sneezing. You don't even have to chew with your mouth open for it to annoy me, if I can hear anything resembling chewing - most of the time, I'm annoyed irrationally.
Nick and I sing songs and change the words to add our cat Sophie into the lyrics.
I don't laugh aloud during movies - even if I come out of the movie and think it was very funny. The people with me always think I didn't like the movie because I don't have any actual reactions at the time.
My favorite holiday is Christmas - partly for the traditions that I associate with it. I used to go into my parents room by hiding my eyes so I couldn't see the tree in our living room and they would lead me in with my eyes closed after my mom made hot chocolate for us all. Also, Christmas Eve is pasta with two sauces (calamari fra diavolo and shrimp/clam scampi), salad and garlic bread. Yum!
If I can't do something right away, I usually stop doing it. Very bad habit for trying new things that are pretty hard. :)

Now, I tag:

Nick because Bethro stole everyone else. Anyone else who is looking at this- feel free to partake, even if you don't have a blog and just want to leave it in the comments.

101 Things Revisited

2008-11-04T10:55:00.002-05:00

So all the way back in March a couple of friends of mine posted a sort of to do list for your life or next 5 years. One of my friends has revisited it today (though hers is specifically set up for 2008) and I thought I should do the same considering I had forgotten

Here is the beginning of my list (not in chronological order):

Get a kitty -- Check! Lovely Miss Sophie
Buy car with high gas mileage -- The economy has put a bit of a damper on this one, so not yet.
Have wedding (and try not to stress out in planning) -- July 25, 2009 this will be complete. Stress part - not so much.
Set up apartment with real style (not college dorm room style) -- According to my dad, still haven't done this. Once again, economy still putting a damper on this one.
Clean said apartment more often -- We have actually done this!
Keep in touch with friends from West Coast. -- Pretty much true!
Learn to speak Italian at least conversationally -- Classes here are apparently really expensive so still trying to figure this out.
Go to Italy with family - 2010 here we come!
Go to fabulous countries (Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy (if not above), Greece) -- We might end up in either Spain, Italy or Greece for our honeymoon... still deciding.
Get a job I truly enjoy and feel I’m good at -- I definitely like my job more than the last one!
Go skiing in the Poconos -- Still not winter but this should occur
Compromise more with Nick’s DVD selection -- Still a bad fiance - not so much.
Lose 20 pounds -- I joined the gym! That's a start!
Get to toned body for wedding -- Read above note.
Take martial arts -- Nope
Take a ballet class -- Nope, chicken
Eat more organic foods – produce and meat specifically -- Not a huge effort, we definitely eat more.
Sew a bag -- Nope
Go on a fabulous honeymoon and RELAX -- Coming soon after July 25, 2009 - Please help me decide where to go! Hawaii, Caribbean or Europe (there are lots of pros and cons to each, I'll post about it on my wedding website)
Move to Philadelphia -- CHECK
Visit West Coast -- economy again
Go to Los Angeles -- economy again
Go to Las Vegas again and stay up late -- economy again
Take more pictures -- still stink at this
Buy a photographer's digital camera (for artsy photos) -- economy again
Go to a Yankees game at old stadium -- CHECK
Go to a Yankees game at new stadium when it opens in 2009 -- hopefully
Make a scrapbook of Las Vegas trip -- economy again (scrapbooking materials are expensive!)
Make a San Francisco scrapbook --economy again
Read a book a month -- basically!
Learn HTML -- Nope
Volunteer somewhere -- Nope
Use less paper products -- A little bit
Knit a pair of socks -- Nope
Figure out what is wrong with my gastrointestinal tract -- Nope, in fact, it has gotten worse since I wrote this
Learn to do something to destress -- Nope

Not so terrible, definitely better than I thought I would have done considering I haven't looked at this since March. I should have put blog regularly on that list!

Dreaming

2008-09-04T20:33:00.004-04:00

I'm dreaming of completing my 27 item long to-do list.
I'm dreaming of being focused.
I'm dreaming of being perfectly content.

That's why I said I'm dreaming :)

So now after saying weird, embarassing things - I'm going to embarass three more people.

Phil and Beth rocking a "couture" pose.

Benny Ninja - don't you just love us?

Love

2008-07-30T14:20:00.002-04:00

Birthday Fun

2008-07-27T13:59:00.003-04:00

I woke in the morning to breakfast in bed, specifically Toad-In-The-Hole (or as other people call them, Egg in a Basket) and some of my favorite candy - white chocolate and sour patch kids.

Then off to my surprise! My guess was that we were going to the mall and Nick was going to pay for me to go shopping which is a present to me a lot because I always need more clothes. He didn't know my guess. We drove past the highway and Nick said "oh I must be on autopilot, I drove right past the highway" and he pulled into a parking garage entrance. I said, "ok, turn around back up" and he is obviously looking at the sign. I was so confused! He really tricked me! Turns out we were going to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology! Every time we drove past it for the past 2 months, I've been saying, we need to go there, I want to go there! Nick planned it all out and we had a great time.
The exhibits are amazing and contain so much information. The museum didn't have that many visitors in the early morning and it was quiet and soothing. Then we headed to an Italian deli for lunch, having really missed good sandwiches in California. After, we visited two wedding places which you can check out on my other blog. We returned home and hung around until dinner time at a yummy Thai restaurant with Jill and Mike. Afterwards, we came back to our place and played Cranium. And there's the factual description of my birthday!

Some thoughts:
- Air guitar is really hard to guess when someone is using your hands to play and it is already air guitar!
- I really need to read some history type books about Egyptian culture and history. Love it!

I feel like I've been using this blog as a description place holder and I know that isn't what I want it to be. I want to be able to get my thoughts out, sure, but I don't think all in terms of what I did that day! Hopefully, little by little, I'll be able to express more creatively and emotionally!

Friends

2008-07-25T16:30:00.000-04:00

Jimmy came on Saturday evening and we cooked my mom's famous meat sauce.
Famous with me and Nick at least.

Mike and Chrissy being their silly selves!

Jimmy, Emily and Jordan at the Eternal Flame, it was only 100 degrees out...

Terrible picture of me (what's going on with my bangs!) and as usual good picture of my photogenic boyScott being very proud of his Chemistry PhD

Me throughly enjoying my birthday presents from these friends! Thanks Fizzies!

Things Are Finally Coming Around

2008-07-25T08:33:00.000-04:00

Hello friends. It has been a long, long time and I'm not going to apologize anymore. I'm just going to post more. How does that sound? Life has taken me pretty far since you last heard from me.

I managed to:
A) Get a job
B) Nick got a job
C) Heard back from the catering place and in the midst of visiting places for the reception
D) Heard back from the cat adoption place and in the midst of visiting kitties

I really don't know how everything I've been worrying about for months came together all at once. It would have been less stressful if it had been stretched out a bit... but I'm definitely not looking the gift horse in the mouth so to say.

Nick started his temporary (but money-supplying) job on Wednesday and I start on August 11th. Since my old job ends on July 31st, I've got a whole week to hopefully hang with our new kitty. We looked at one yesterday and looking at a couple more on Sunday.

This week/weekend has been one of the craziest in a very long time. Monday was the 2nd to last ultimate frisbee game, Tuesday was grocery shopping day, Wednesday was more grocery shopping and Nick's band had practice at our place, Thursday was a kitty visit and a surprise party for our friend's birthday last week, Friday is Nick and my 8 year anniversary!, Saturday is my birthday! and Nick is surprising me with something then we are visiting two wedding reception sites then my MOH and her boyfriend are going out to dinner with us and then I requested a game night because I love my games (whew, big day), Sunday is another kitty day, then Monday is our last frisbee game.

In San Francisco, I made a lot of friends at work and had people to hang out with. Nick's only friend was a friend of both of ours from high school (love you Scott!) Now that we are in Philadelphia, Nick has tons of guy friends and I have my very special MOH but that's it! It is quite a role reversal and we are still trying to get used to it. I have another good friend somewhat nearby but she is in the suburbs so I hope I get to see her more than I have so far!

This post ended up just being a vent/excited post which is very backwards but something I needed. It is just very weird for me to be celebrating my birthday with only one friend. Usually, I'm surrounded by a lot of people but I guess I'm in a bit of a different place in my life now. Our high school friends (for those of you who may not know, Nick and I are high school sweethearts) came down last weekend to all have a mini reunion (except Danny which was sad). I"ll post pictures in the next post. I was very surprised and pleased when my friends brought Black and White Cookies from a NY bakery. They were delicious! I missed the original a lot while in California.

This is a very long post but I figured I should throw in some yellow photos since a lot of my favorite bloggers are involved! I owed at least one picture of the apartment so here is a picture of the living room area. The wall on the left that the bookcase is blocking is yellow as well as the right after the bookcases. Behind the curtains is an outdoor area that we haven't used much yet.
Part of my Nancy Drew collection that I am going to pass onto my kids. And you better believe that if I have 2 boys, they'll be reading it along with all my Babysitters Club!

Picture Picture Everywhere

2008-07-01T19:42:00.000-04:00

My new favorite meme:

The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search
b. Using only the first page, pick an image
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? (Jess)
2. What is your favorite food? (pasta)
3. What high school did you go to? (John Jay)
4. What is your favorite color? (blue)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (don't really have one)
6. Favorite drink? (root beer)
7. Dream vacation? (Italy)
8. Favorite dessert? (ice cream)
9. What you want to be when you grow up? (content)
10. What do you love most in life? (my fiancee)
11. One Word to describe you? (whoooo)
12. Your flickr name? (havergirl161)

I'd love to see yours too!

1. jolene and henry, 2. London Pasta Week: Day 1, 3. Blue Jay in flight by John K. Cassady, 4. When I'm sleeping, I slow down my breathing...Living in dreams, dreams that come true...thinking of the color blue... ZZZzzzzzz..., 5. Ladybug, 6. Mandolin, 7. Massa Lubrense and Vesuvio, 8. homemade berry ice cream, 9. We are choosing hope over fear., 10. inflection point, 11. Whoooo Are You?, 12. Sunflowers

A Long Time Ago...

2008-06-10T20:43:00.000-04:00

In a galaxy far, far away - called California...
You've missed me, haven't you? Come on, just admit it!

I guess I should give a quick rundown of what happened in the last almost 2 months for the ones I haven't gotten a chance to tell...

-Left San Francisco Friday night to stay at Bethro's. The plan was to leave early AM on Saturday the 10th but considering we didn't get to her house until 11:30pm...
-Left Bethro's house at 1pm Saturday.
-Drove through Nevada: quick story -- pulled up to a gas station in Elko, NV to take a quick bathroom break and when I come out, Nick is talking to a mechanic.... turns out our back shocks are busted from throwing so much crap in the trunk, then when they have the car up in the air, they notice the tires are about to blow. So there you go Elko, NV - have fun with my 1200 bucks!
-Made it safe to the hotel, and drove and slept for the next 4 days. Our stops were in NV, WY, IA and OH
Let me tell you a few things about driving across the country. You may think it is fun. You are sadly mistaken. Hey, if I had an RV and places to see, maybe that would be a different story. But driving without getting off the highway too far because you don't have time or the money for more gas... yeah. BORING. The scenery is pretty for the first 30 minutes in a new state... then you are in the state for 4 more hours usually, at least. Thank God Bethro graciously gifted me with a new set of needles, 1 ball of white and 1 ball of blue yarn and instructions on making a cool little dishcloth.

How about I say a few nice things about our country...
Northeast CA - beautiful snow-capped mountains and lots of treesNevada - beautiful snow-capped mountains with almost a desert in between
Utah - saw the salt flats, pretty cool, saw the mountains that I really want to go skiing inWyoming - um, is it bad that I thought this was a plains state? Western part was very mountainous and you could see the Rockies off to the south. Then the Eastern part was very cowboyish and more like the plains you might imagine there.
Nebraska - oh what can I say about Nebraska besides I wanted it to disappear. The wind was horrific - and I mean BAD, we could barely drive because I have a pretty boxy car. The wheel was constantly kept at an angle.
Iowa - still freaking windy, please go away! Very green and lots of plains - saw/crossed the Missouri RiverIllinois - saw/crossed the Mississippi, still WINDY. Almost looks like Central Jersey with farms and trees. Unfortunately we couldn't see Chicago though I don't think we were more than 2 miles away from it on 80. I'll just have to go back and visit my friends there :)

Indiana - more like Illinois... I think... we weren't in it for very long. There was a toll though. Illinois had the first toll of a whopping 60 cents. I'm not sure how they were paying for all that construction we came across.Ohio - some nice tree-filled views, it has been a while. Hit up a delicious Applebees (2nd one) thanks to Bethro and Phil - love you guys!
Pennsylvania - FINALLY, yet we still had 6 hours to go in that state. Nick and I tried to figure
out where Jon and Kate Gosselin lived the whole time. Then last week we saw the original hour long special and they said the original town they lived in before they moved, silly us. I love them and that show. They are hilarous together and the kids are adorable. They make me think I can make it - hopefully I won't be having 8 kids though!
Philadelphia! We arrived on the 14th, late in the afternoon. Nick's best friends were really happy to see him and we unloaded most of our stuff at their house. Then we headed over to my friend's where we would be staying. I believe the apartment we are living in was the 3rd one we looked at, and we knew it would fit perfectly, gave our application and there ya go! Once we signed the lease we headed down to my parents in South Carolina (where they basically retired - though they still do work to keep a good income). We stayed there and ate a lot of delicious food and got a lot of love, and a little beach time until June 1st where we (parents, Nick and me) headed up in a U-Haul to Philadelphia and moved our stuff in. Thank God for one of my best friends Jill and her boyfriend Mike. They brought water and much needed extra energy. Mike was a workhorse. We couldn't believe how much time he saved us; he just kept lifting huge amounts of heavy boxes. We owe them a super nice dinner...or two!

That was a quick recap - good thing I didn't do a longer one, right? I'll talk more about the apartment in the next post!

Meme me

2008-05-06T12:33:00.001-04:00

That sounds like I said me me me but if you don't know - Meme is a little survey that you fill out and then "tag" other people to partipate. My friends from high school will know how much I love surveys. I was always the one to send it out via email whenever I received one. I've been dying to do a meme, life has just been crazy.

I decided to take a quick break (probably multiple times) from work and fill this one out from one of my favorite bloggers: Pancakemama.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
This is going to make some people feel old but 10 years ago: I was 13 going on 14, I went on a disastrous cruise (my Dad had to leave midway through to go back to work, tropical storm = super rocky boat and bad seasickness, and I had that ship sickness that people get) but I also got my first contacts and my hair highlighted for the first time. I felt so grown up! Then I went back home and my boyfriend at the time didn't notice anything new about me. Broke my little heart/hopefully broke his eardrums when I screamed at him. Ah, high school.

My to-do list/ What I actually did recently
If I were you, I would run screaming now. Here is a slight bit of the list:
1) Sell the rest of my furniture
2) Pack everything I own (-1 carload) and ship to parents
3) Clean entire apartment and load 1 carload into car
4) Drive across entire country
5) Find new apartment
6) Miss Beth and Phil terribly
7) Fly down to SC and drive with parents and UHAUL with my stuff
8) Move into said apartment
9) See awesome friends/family I haven't seen in forever: Jill and Fizzies and Parents!
10) Get a kitty
11) Find a new job
12) Plan a wedding for July 2009

what did I do?
-sell some furniture
-pack and ship some stuff
-visited some cool places in SF before we leave - like Alcatraz and meet up with awesome Cali friends I'll miss

Snacks I enjoy
You don't even know how much I love snacks.
Cookies has been number 1 recently. Super bad for me. But I love chips, candy, you put it in front of me, I'll eat it!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire
Buy a house in Hawaii and move there and bring my family with me
Travel all over the world (buy a house in Europe too so I could vacation there)
Give money to special charities
Do stuff I enjoy all day and eat healthy, good food and hire a personal trainer to make me exercise!

3 bad habits
Stress. My life is defined by stress. I'm not sure if it just a bad habit anymore - as much as it is a lifestyle. OCD just adds on top of that - but I'm not considering that a bad habit - just my favorite disorder.
Laziness. Lack of exercise is included here, also the whining "Niiiiiick can you get me ____" which is usually about 2 feet from me. I really try not to do this too often... I swear!
Procrastination. I'm an expert at this - once again, another lifestyle. I do it with EVERYTHING in my life. Including this blog.

5 places I've lived

Port Chester, NY
South Salem, NY
Haverford, PA
Palo Alto, CA
San Francisco, CA

5 jobs I've had

Library "page": stocking books, covering books, checking out books, and generally being a know-it-all. Yeah, I loved the Dewey Decimal system and if you had named a number, I could tell you what was in that section. Dork.

Retail: H&M, not entirely sure I actually made money that summer. I think I spent it all on clothes. Definitely made me appreciate the crap that retail people put up with.

Camp Counselor: Love little kids. But these weren't little. They were snobby, bratty, cranky 11-12 year olds at a sports camp, and I still loved them :) Except for the kid who threatened to bring in a knife and stab me, him not so much.

Research Assistant (various times) including: capturing about to mate female frogs - throwing them on ice - bringing back to lab until morning - and then play male mating sounds and see where they hop to; dissecting baby rat brains to get neurons to test - ultimately looking into what causes chronic pain; my senior thesis in which I was working with embryonic fly DNA to create genetic markers

Publishing: Editorial Assistant to Assistant Editor to Associate Technology Project Manager. This is where I am now. Quite an interesting ride.

5 people who have interesting blogs that I'd like to tag
I'll just say anyone who is interested rather than putting the pressure to perform on them :)

Now I Have

2008-05-02T10:37:00.001-04:00

Officially fallen off the face of the earth that is.
You will not believe how many emails I'm getting per day in response to Craigslist/Freecycle postings of our furniture. The good news is that people ARE taking stuff. The big ticket items are still around but we just dropped the price a little and I'm hoping to get rid of them soon.

My poor blogging life (reading AND writing) has really suffered with this adventure in patience -- that is moving, people. I can't believe I only have a week left in California! It is completely unreal at the moment, except for the fact that our furniture is slowly disappearing, all our books and DVDs are gone, and Nick and I have gone absolutely bonkers.

One thing I'm looking forward to is going to Alcatraz with my favorite East/West transplant, Bethro and her husband, Phil. Then, I'm super excited for them to move back East in 2 years... yeah I'm already anticipating that (and I know she is too).

I'll try to post a couple of more times but if not... we should be arriving in Philadelphia on May 13th (possibly 14th). Watch out East Coast. I'm baaaack!

Face of the Earth

2008-04-15T11:06:00.000-04:00

I didn't fall off it... the face of the earth, that is. I promise.

I've been so busy over here trying to see all my friends, pack and find a new job/apt before we move. Originally, I thought I would be able to keep my job and telecommute but orders from higher-up say no new off-site people. My boss is nice enough to give me temp work for him for up to 3 months (my company's max temp contract) but that means I still have to find other work. If you know anything in Philadelphia or telecommuting, let me know! I'm open to anything!

I was just talking to be my good friend Bethro about jobs. Senior year of college, I thought I might want to be a vet and did a lot of research into it. I've also thought of doing public health, public policy or some type of nutrition. All this indecision lead me to standing still and not doing anything to further my knowledge or help me make a choice. Now, it is 2 years later and I realize that going to vet school would change the rest of my life plans (in terms of children, money and location of living). So to make a drastic understatement, I'm stressed. If you have any insights, please feel free to pass them on.

Craftwise, right now I'm working on a Knit-A-Long for Amy March's Slippers. It's been an exercise in patience to say the least! I don't have a picture right now, but I'll post one later.

The Weekend

2008-04-07T23:00:00.000-04:00

Warning - picture heavy post! YAY!

Nick and I had a weekend that makes me really happy and satisfied! (Though as usual, I didn't take nearly enough pictures, even if you think this post shows otherwise)

Friday night - Nick and I headed out into the typically chilly weather of San Francisco and walked down to In and Out which is almost a mile and 1/2 away. Along the way, we were walking down a steep hill when Nick decided that it would be a cool picture. He held the camera at the same angle as the street so it looks like I'm leaning backwards. You can't actually tell how steep it is - but if the cars are parked at 90 degrees on a hill - it is super steep!

Then I stole the camera and took one of the boy to kind of show the angle. I don't know. It was Friday after work - that's my only excuse!

All that walking and silly picture taking really worked up our appetites so we each had burger and fries and split a milkshake. Way too many calories but I pretended that the calcium in the milkshake made up for the fat that I ingested.

I'm pretty sure there was some drug in that delicious cup of ice cream because we couldn't stop laughing for 20 minutes and therefore stepped into the street when the light was still red and almost got run over by a car... Well it was a good story to us anyway...
Then went to have coffee in North Beach (which is like a Little Italy for you non-San Francisco people) at our favorite place, Stella Pastry.

Saturday - We wandered down to our favorite cheap sushi joint. On the way, I finally remembered to take a picture of an interesting Nob Hill institution - these lovely ladies.

Creepy, I know. Then we walked back up the hill to Grace Cathedral since we lived 4 blocks from it for 9 months but haven't been in there yet!

We gangsta.

Well, we are something all right.

Then we headed off to a friend's engagement party at her parents which was a lot of fun. I only took 3 pictures total there and two require me to burn your eyes out after you see them (I don't have a double chin in real life! I swear!). So here is one of her parent's pretty tree which matched her fiancee's shirt.Sunday - picked up my favorite relocated East Coasters and went to Napa for a drunken good ole' time

I'm trying to remember what we were all "discussing" here,

though I'm sure I agreed with Bethro.Well that's all folks. Just a million pictures and lots of words!

101 in 1001

2008-03-30T17:29:00.000-04:00

I did indeed steal this idea but I don't think she'll mind.

I've been feeling restless and unfulfilled recently. When Catie posted her 101 things in 1001 days, I knew I should make a list of goals. This is exactly what I needed during all the things changing in my life (job, location of living, and even marital status). I always end up making some of my goals very general but I definitely have some specific ones as well.

Here is the beginning of my list (not in chronological order):

Get a kitty
Buy car with high gas mileage
Have wedding (and try not to stress out in planning)
Set up apartment with real style (not college dorm room style)
Clean said apartment more often
Keep in touch with friends from West Coast.
Learn to speak Italian at least conversationally
Go to Italy with family
Go to fabulous countries (Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy (if not above), Greece)
Get a job I truly enjoy and feel I’m good at
Go skiing in the Poconos
Compromise more with Nick’s DVD selection
Lose 20 pounds
Get to toned body for wedding
Take martial arts
Take a ballet class
Eat more organic foods – produce and meat specifically
Sew a bag
Go on a fabulous honeymoon and RELAX
Move to Philadelphia
Visit West Coast
Go to Los Angeles
Go to Las Vegas again and stay up late
Take more pictures
Buy a photographer's digital camera (for artsy photos)
Go to a Yankees game at old stadium
Go to a Yankees game at new stadium when it opens in 2009
Make a scrapbook of Las Vegas trip
Make a San Francisco scrapbook
Read a book a month
Learn HTML
Volunteer somewhere
Use less paper products
Knit a pair of socks
Figure out what is wrong with my gastrointestinal tract
Learn to do something to destress

That's all I've got for now, but I know more will be popping into my head soon!
I could have put a lot more things down about the wedding but it kind of seemed like cheating...

Well this weekend is a bit busy so I'll have some pictures to post at the end of it! See you then!

Easter - Bethro and Jess style

2008-03-26T00:15:00.000-04:00

Yeah. I know. I brought my camera and once again, forgot to get pictures! But it was really good - I promise. Today's posts are all about trusting my judgment. This is all I've got folks (that phrasing is inspired by the lovely Ms. Bethro below).

The Menu:
Frittata (de la Feeding Frenzy family): Pepperoni, Salami, Virginia Ham, Boiled Ham, Mozzarella, and Parsley
Home Fries (de la Mama FF): Red Potatoes, onions, garlic
Sugar Cookies (de la Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and a little bit of me): Pillsbury sugar cookie rod sliced into cookies, Betty Crocker Vanilla Icing and decorations with bunnies and eggs (you can see them in the picture)

Turkey (de la Bethro family): well, it's a turkey, what do you expect here?
Stuffing (de la Nana Bethro): It was really good. You should ask Nana Bethro so someone else knows how to make it before she "goes" (as my Grandma likes to say).
Mashed Potato: (de la Phil family)
Spinach (de la Phil sorta)

+ tons of Mimosas (which you see there), beer, Cadbury Creme Eggs, and Jelly Beans

Close Your Eyes and Imagine

2008-03-25T23:32:00.000-04:00

Close your eyes and imagine... that this picture actually looks appetizing. It was really delicious. I promise!!!!!

Really. I know you don't believe me. You can ask Nick too! I don't want to write what I think it looks like but feel free to guess in the comments.

I found the recipe on a random site- just a simple Lentil Salad. I'm sure it is perfect as a side dish but Nick and I ended up eating it as a main dish, so it works either way. We also had some leftover for lunch which was delicious cold too.

Recipe:

1 1/4 cups dried lentils
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
1 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup thinly sliced celery

Place lentils in a large saucepan; cover with water to 2 inches above lentils, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain well, and set aside.

Combine lemon juice and next 5 ingredients (lemon juice through garlic) in a medium bowl; stir with a wire whisk until blended.

Add lentils, tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, and celery to lemon juice mixture; toss gently to coat.

Serves 4.

Yum in the Tum

2008-03-20T23:44:00.000-04:00

Parmesan Chicken Paillards with Cherry Tomato Sauce

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1591066

Ingredients

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Preparation

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Combine cheese and flour in a shallow dish. Dredge 1 side of each chicken breast half in cheese mixture.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 chicken breast halves, cheese side down; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 teaspoon oil and chicken breast halves. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in broth and vinegar; cook 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates. Add tomatoes, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and oregano; cook 2 minutes.

Wine note: These chicken breasts have a piquant Italian flavor. I love to serve them with an Italian red made from the sangiovese grape. Try the incredible Marchesi di Frescobaldi "Campo ai Sassi" Rosso di Montalcino 2004 (Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy), $20. -Karen MacNeil

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and about 1/3 cup tomato mixture)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 264(20% from fat); FAT 5.9g (sat 1.8g,mono 2.6g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 42.6g; CHOLESTEROL 102mg; CALCIUM 95mg; SODIUM 504mg; FIBER 1.3g; IRON 1.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.4g

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-17T22:08:00.000-04:00

I'm not the least bit Irish and neither is the boy. We are also very lazy and decided to stay in unlike a lot of other 20 somethings who are out partying at the bar. Plus, it's a work day. So I'm watching Jeopardy (now House Hunters by the time I'm finishing this up) and Nick is drinking a Guinness. My evening has nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day so I'm letting him take care of that. I do love my beer, but I have acid reflux and it's been a disaster recently so I'm trying not to have anything - even tonight.

He was very proud of the head on his Guinness (apparently very important to this drink) so I took a picture (and he decided to be silly at the last second)!

Hope you had a very lucky day!

Weekend Love

2008-03-16T22:36:00.000-04:00

This weekend Nick and I got to babysit two of my favorite kitties.
I only have pictures of one because the other one really hates me now. My good friend Bethro and her husband went away and the vindictive kitty, Toby, got crystals in her bladder right before they left. I offered to take care of their two babies because a) I do love them and b) I know it would ease their minds for someone to watch the sick one. Pan, the super friendly cat, was very excited that we were there to visit. She liked to put her face in everything, including the controllers we were using to play the Wii.

ate scrumptious pizza, delicious hamburgers and completely satisfying breakfast for dinner
pet soft kitties
played Super Mario Galaxy for the first time
had marshmallows that my dear friend left me for me because she knows my weakness/love
bought a desperately needed new bra (I never buy anything for myself!) and wedding book, magazine, and notebook for ideas
wandered through Williams-Sonoma getting ideas for a possible future registry
watched some of Howl's Moving Castle (great movie!)
started knitting another fun red hat!
welcomed spring into our house (look at the picture below)

This weekend was pretty quiet, but we had some much needed sleep! Have a happy Monday!

The Big News

2008-03-12T00:18:00.000-04:00

Some of you know this, and some of you don't - but I'd like to get everyone on the same boat.

Nick and I are moving.
Here.

http://www.gophila.com/assets/dmt/images/4.Skyline-A.SinagogaPCVB-G.jpg

Yep, that's Philadelphia, PA. What are we doing moving back to the East Coast and pretty close to our old college town? Well, as you may have seen from a previous post - the boy had a concert with his band. They are going to work on making a living out of playing music. The other three members live in Philadelphia currently and they have some connections into the scene in Philly. Plus, it's only a 2 hour drive from NYC - one of the two biggest music scenes in the US.

That's my big news of the year! I've told most of my friends at work and outside work, but my good old blogger friends don't know yet! A lot of people have asked me if I'm excited... well... that's a tough question. I keep flip flopping. I'm happy to be moving closer to my parents and to the area of the country (read: northeast) that I so dearly love, but I will miss San Francisco (my first real home without my parents) and the good work friends I made here. Hopefully I'll be back to visit a decent amount, and that some of them will come out to visit me. Plus, I'll miss the weather out here - though I know I would love SoCal's weather 100% more. I'm really all about the warmth. Surprisingly, I'm looking forward to 90-100 degrees in Philly (though 80s is my favorite temperature). I'm also looking forward to planning my wedding in Philadelphia (and by looking forward, I mean getting the stress off my chest!)

Thanks for listening and reading along! I'm sure I'll write more later because I have a pretty free night for once.

Green Week 4 and 5

2008-03-09T20:08:00.000-04:00

This was my Sunday. Yum.

And thus ends Green Week. I actually experienced some natural green at the end - Nick and I took a stroll through the lovely San Francisco weather down to North Beach, where I got some gelato (Madagascar Vanilla and Nutella flavors) and he picked up some coffee. I brought along some strawberries so I didn't feel too guilty about the gelato.

Anyway, the reason it took me so long to post this is because Blogger apparently hates me. I've been trying for 2 days to post pictures but it wouldn't allow me! Hopefully that won't happen again so I can write more tonight!

Green Week 3 (a little late)

2008-03-07T16:47:00.000-05:00

Oops! I've had quite a busy week so I haven't been on my computer at all when I get home from work. One day was a doctors appointment (for that dreaded pink-eye)/dinner out to cheer me up, another was my first time at a late evening exercise class and now it is Friday and I still haven't posted my third green picture.

They will all go up tonight though. Thanks to Emily for linking to me about Green Week. For anyone visiting from there, (thanks for the comment raining sheep!) I'm warning you - my blog is in the same shape as my body right now. I'm failing both my New Year's Resolutions! I'm not particularly surprised because I've never managed to do one properly but of course I thought this year would be different. I do have some big news that I will post later tonight and hopefully getting that off my chest will allow me to write more freely and frequently.

I'm cheating a little on this green picture because I didn't take it this week, but it is from the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco's beautiful Golden Gate Park and it makes me excited for spring so I think it should count.

Green Week 2

2008-03-04T23:48:00.000-05:00

You have no idea how much I love this jacket.

It is the perfect spring jacket. Of course, I love the brilliant green color but what sold me was the gorgeous interior. It looks very 70s with the linked chains. I like to think my mom owned something like this.

Anyway, I don't know what is wrong with me but now I'm sick again! Pinkeye! How old am I??? Also, Tuesday is my TV night (Biggest Loser, Big Brother and Carpoolers) so I'm off to finish watching with my watery, itchy eye.

Green Week 1

2008-03-04T23:13:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends,
I found a new blog that I love and Emily has started a Green Week for the new month of March. I suggest you all participate! Dreary February is finally over and spring is approaching. Over here in San Francisco, spring (or fall) feels just around the corner all year because it is always 50-65. This area really takes the climate "temperate" to heart. My camera is dying so I couldn't really get great pictures but the two things I've taken so far have some meaning to me at least.

Green Week 1 (this was supposed to be yesterday): My very dear friend Bethro remembered that I always love to read Young Adult books when I asked her to recommend something not fantasy (my usual read). This was the perfect book to really let go and just have fun (and its green!)

Twins

2008-03-02T23:04:00.003-05:00

Finished my first two hats! So now Nick and I are kind of matching... which definitely wasn't my intention. Here is what we look like :)

Had a little bit of a rough Saturday night/Sunday with some sickness so I'm off to rest.

I'm Back!

2008-03-01T14:01:00.001-05:00

Hello world. How have you been? I know I've been ignoring you recently but I'm terribly sorry. Can you ever forgive me? Yes? Okay then! Let's start again.

I'm back from Philadelphia and now that work has settled down a little (though the learning curve is still very sharp), I can get back to blogging! Nick and I were in Philadelphia from Thursday - Sunday. Saturday night his band, Sex Piano, played an amazing show. Here are a couple of pictures from that adventure.

Left to right (Matt playing bass, Zack playing guitar, Nick singing and playing guitar, their drummer is back in there somewhere - sorry Pete)
Mike and Adam playing horns, Zack and Nick singing together

Today is a good day in my crafting world. Kate is having Bethro and I over to do some knitting/sewing/whatever our little crafting hearts desire. I finished my first hat before Philadelphia and am now half way through with one for Nick (though I haven't been working very hard on it, sorry sweetie!) I'll let you know my progress when I return!

Off the Record

2008-02-21T23:18:00.000-05:00

That's what I've been recently. Thanks to all the people who have checked to make sure I've been alive and given me nice notes! (Thanks Angie!) I've been around but working after work and barely been having anytime to myself!

So I'm in Philadelphia right now doing some visiting. I'll have lots of pictures and entries to post when I get back (Yeah Sex Piano!)

Lots of Love,
Jess

Stress

2008-02-06T23:47:00.000-05:00

Stress = no brain power or motivation
Stress = gaining another pound this week
Stress = unproductive workdays
Stress = fatigue and leg pain that I call my stress pains
Stress = cranky Jess

Hopefully I'll feel a little more up to this tomorrow...
Still love you all though! Valentine's Day is coming up - here is a little something different for that. My friend's circus troupe from college - Vassar's Barefoot Monkey's - twirling fire.

Love the Lists

2008-02-04T22:53:00.001-05:00

Yes, it's a list. This is how my brain works, so get used to it! Some of my favorite things: NY sports, shopping, eating and crafting!

1) Super Bowl
Super Bowl weekend turned out better than I could have imagined: YEAH GIANTS! I was so surprised they won, but then again, I irrationally hate Boston teams (this comes from being a die-hard Yankees fan) so I was thrilled! I don't really have much else to say about yesterday, except that I ate way too much and fell off my healthy eating wagon. A couple of friends at work and I have been using SparkPeople to lose weight and I love the site! It has a nutritional tracker, exercise track/plan and tons of articles and supportive people. It isn't just for people who are trying to lose weight either; you can also choose the option to "get healthy" and it gives you all kind of support for that as well.

2) New Purchases
Craft stores with Kate = trouble. I spent way more than I meant! I will admit that it was stuff I needed, but I'm not used to the price tag that comes with crafting + I'm way too addicted to fun crafting stuff to enter those stores without buying too much anyway!3) Food
I didn't take a picture but I've just got to share this lentil soup recipe. Nick and I have made it twice but somehow I always forgot to get my camera involved. It is from Epicurious and it was so delicious. I would eat it everyday! I highly recommend it- if you don't want to eat vegetarian, I'm sure it would be good with some sausage or bacon in it!
Below is the recipe edited for how we made it (to find the full recipe, click on the link above):

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra–virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery stalks
1 cup chopped carrots
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups (or more) vegetable broth
1 1/4 cups lentils, rinsed, drained
1 14 1/2–ounce can diced tomatoes in juice *Italian style

Preparation
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium–high heat. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add 4 cups broth, lentils, and tomatoes with juice and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium–low, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 35 minutes.

Transfer 2 cups soup (mostly solids) to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to soup in pan; thin soup with more broth by 1/4 cupfuls, if too thick. Season with salt, pepper, and a splash of *lemon, if desired. Ladle soup into bowls.

Enjoy with corn bread!

4) Love the hat!
Almost done with the hat! I just need to thread a piece of yarn on the top and pull, but you can get a perfectly good idea from this WIP picture. The color is actually a little darker than that but I couldn't get it quite right with photoshop.

Thanks

2008-02-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to throw up a quick post and say thanks to everyone who has supported the change and commented recently!

Of course, I love my friends (Dianna, Jean, Beth, Kate, Jacki, Jill, Emily and Danny who have been reading along with me - and I didn't even know it!) and I really appreciate Beki and Angie for checking out my site because I'm in love with both of their blogs!

I had tried to write emails to both, but wasn't paying attention to the actual address when I responded to the comments. I'm sure they didn't go anywhere... but I just wanted to let you know, I am reading the comments and I really appreciate the thoughts!

East Coast Loving

2008-02-02T12:42:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures from Christmas of my favorite people. This is a picture heavy post! It is also random because blogger won't let me move my pictures around!

My first kitty- Pepper, she's a bitch... can't you tell?

My mom and me

My dad and me - doing the face we always do every picture

Rusty - my baby catMolly - Nick's eldest niece... soon to be mine as well!

Annika and Toby - Nick's niece and nephew

The Fizzys - that is what my high school friends call ourselves, playing the game that Danny made up - CHEN , best game ever!Annika- cutie pootie!

Grace - the new niece in the family!

Kacy - reading along with her Grammy

Pizza - done right

2008-02-01T00:30:00.000-05:00

New York Pizza. Portofino's to be exact... If you are ever in Westchester, NY- get off 684 at the Goldens Bridge exit, up (1 minute or so) Route 22 to an A&P shopping center. Seriously- check it out.

How can you pass this up? It needed two plates to hold the whole thing. Not only is it huge, it is DELICIOUS! Slice of pizza + drink = 5 dollars. Can't beat that. I can't even type in full sentences because this has me drooling all over again and I can't think! Tomorrow I'll post some of my favorite people in NY... it isn't all just about the pizza, you know!

Third Times a Charm

2008-01-31T00:17:00.000-05:00

So this is going to have to be quick because I just did 1 1/2 hours worth of extra work and now I want to go to bed (yeah I know, I'm 23 and its 9:20). A couple of exciting things happened today:
1) Got a haircut - Finally I can take my poor hair out of a ponytail!
2) Got the new work laptop - Currently writing on it. Useful for blogging, not useful for when I feel like I need to do extra work (note the first sentence!)

I don't know if any of my friends have noticed that not only do I write with lists all the time, but I also speak them. When I'm talking I'll say, "well a) blah blah blah and b) blah blah blah". I should really try to catch myself on that, because I'm sure most people don't care about these random points that I think I need to make! I think it is related to the fact that I don't normally think before I speak and as Nick (my fiancee for anyone who is just joining in) just pointed out, I organize my thoughts while I'm speaking them as opposed to ordering them in my head first. Ah well. It makes it interesting right?

I don't have a picture because my desktop computer is slowly breaking down and is a total pain to turn on and off - but check below for the new flickr account I opened. It has those flower pictures (with others) that I've posted for the last 2 days. Good night!

Grandma's Machine - The First Project

2008-01-29T21:48:00.001-05:00

FINALLY! I have had a bunch of fabric, thread, sewing machine, and ideas...but not a lot of confidence. Before Christmas, I decided to stop being a big wuss - IT'S OK TO FAIL! Therefore, this beauty was born for a Christmas present for my mom. I got the tutorial from Sew, Mama, Sew! and it was super easy and relatively cheap.

My mom said she has been using it every night on her poor stressed out neck. My dad had surgery at the beginning of January and he wasn't allowed to drive or really move all that much for a long time. For my active, home-fixing dad- this was torture! Hopefully he won't be using this therapy pad, because he had surgery to get rid of the pain in his neck! By the way, I asked my mom to guess where I bought it and she said Bed, Bath and Beyond. When I told her I made it, she was shocked! I guess that means I did a good job!

Another thought about the change in the blog- I was worried about my title. It was perfect for a pure food blog, but now that this is a mixture I was concerned that it would sound weird. Then I thought about the way I think and act. Which is in a frenzy. At all times. So I think this will fit just fine!

I have a couple of crafting ideas on my plate (as well as getting up those food posts I owe).
1) 3/4 done with a cool scarf- I'll have a picture at some point!
2) 1/2 done with a hat- My first hat! I started this weekend after Bethro took me to knitting stores in SF. I really loved Noe Knits. It was cozy and the people were really friendly and helpful. I'll definitely go back there again! We tried to go to Greenwich Yarn but they were closed on Sundays! Boo! I'll try there again too because it is the closest one out of the three we visited.
3) 0% done with a bag- Just in the idea stage. I was planning on using the Quilters Complete Guide to make a patchwork type bag but after seeing the bags made by Artsy-Crafty Babe, I'm thinking of buying one of those patterns and trying my hand at that.
4) 0% done with Las Vegas scrapbook (or any scrapbook for that matter) - My mom bought me some great supplies for Christmas- a paper cutter, picture rounder, and double-sided adhesive tape. I have a decent amount of paper but somehow the pictures are still on the computer - not ordered. That's the first step and hopefully I'll be able to get somewhere next weekend!

I'll leave you with one of my favorite pictures that I've taken. I have a crazy Chinese parchment obsession!

The Change

2008-01-28T00:30:00.001-05:00

For my few readers out there- I've made a big change in the blog!

1) Physical appearance - colors, template, banner, etc.
2) Content - Last weekend I had a blogger epiphany. I realized the reason I don't write on this blog everyday -- I don't only love food. Duh. I have lots of other interests and loves and I feel constricted to writing about food since that is what I set out to do. I read a lot of other talented women's blogs this weekend (sorry guys, you just can't represent!) and they inspired me to really use this as a jumping point. I've wanted to get reacquainted with my photography, start crafting (sewing, scrapbooking and knitting more) and I want to just write like myself, instead of feeling like I need to be someone I'm not.

So there it is. The beginning of the beginning, I guess...

Sick as a Dog

2008-01-06T23:22:00.000-05:00

Well... starting Thursday evening, straight through to today, I've been in one position on my couch, going through 2 entire rolls of toilet paper (yeah I know, I should buy some tissues). My family uses the phrase- sick as a dog and I just realized that I have no idea where that would come from. So of course, I googled it! I got several doggie health websites but I managed to find an answer that I thought was interesting (whether it's right or not... that's a different story).

"The earliest known usage of "sick as a dog'' dates back to 1705. It has been suggested that the phrase originated from the fact that dogs, being domesticated, are the most common animal we've seen vomiting besides ourselves. Our intimate relationships with dogs have also allowed for many other "dog'' phrases like "every dog has his day'' and the straightforward "you can't teach an old dog new tricks.'' British English has sometimes employed similar phrases involving other animals - "sick as a horse'' and, yes, "sick as a cat'' - but "sick as a dog'' is the only choice in American English.

A surprising variant that has become popular in Britain in the past several decades is "sick as a parrot,'' which typically describes someone who is very disappointed or disgusted rather than physically sick. Parrots aren't especially known for being either sick or disappointed, and no one knows exactly how this phrase originated. (One theory traces it to a famous Monty Python sketch involving a dead parrot.) It was first recorded in 1979, and it has been popular in the years since, especially among British athletes describing their extreme disappointment over losing a match."

So I'm finally feeling good enough to sit up with a work loaner laptop in my lap. Unfortunately, all my pictures are still on my camera which would need to be plugged into my personal desktop, which requires me to sit up for more than 5 minutes at a time....just not going to happen today! I thought I would throw in a post about a) how sick I feel so you can feel sorry for me :) Is it working? b) what is to come in the next week or so...

1) Some left over posts from last year of various yummy meals
2) Dianna's request: what you need in your kitchen
3) Christmas
4) Some new meals that I've made this year

I hope you enjoy!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to my 3-4 faithful readers! This is literally the beginning of the new year. I have a new attitude towards food and several new books to help me along! You'll definitely be seeing a lot more posts (with the same terrible photography) soon. I figured I should get up one on the first day of the New Year. So Happy New Year!

Cookies Galore! Funfetti Cookies

2007-12-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

Stefanie's cookies brought back all those birthday parties where I wasn't worried about eating half the cake! Who knew that you could make cookies with Funfetti Cake Mix?!

Ingredients
1 (18.9-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® Funfetti® Cake Mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 (15.6-oz.) can Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Funfetti® Vanilla Frosting

Directions
1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil, and eggs: stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cooki sheets. With bottom of glass dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness.
4. Bake at 375°F for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.
5. Spread frosting over warm cookies. Immediately sprinkle each with candy bits from frosting.
6. Let frosting set before storing. Store in tightly covered container.

Cookies Galore! Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2007-12-10T23:52:00.000-05:00

Catie made some delicious cookies that combine everything you would want in a holiday cookie: peanut butter, chocolate chips and oatmeal!

She got her recipe from Martha Stewart Living.

Ingredients

Makes about 6 dozen.

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups salted whole peanuts
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Put sugars, butter, and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
Reduce speed to low. Add oat mixture, and mix until just combined. Mix in peanuts and chocolate chips.
Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop balls of dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

Cookies Galore!

2007-12-10T00:10:00.000-05:00

Yay for cookies and the holiday season! This is the first of hopefully 11 different recipes (combined into a smaller amount of posts for lazy readers). I will "highlight" (you'll see what that means) each cookie and give its recipe! I hope you enjoy and have fun with your holiday baking!

Official

2007-12-07T13:47:00.001-05:00

This is an official blogger promise.

I will write at least one post every 48 hours.

Really! I promise this time! I can't guarantee that every post will be extraordinarily interesting but there will at least be one.

I'm about to write a series of posts- inspired by my favorite style maven- Miss Kate! The series was a request from another loyal reader about "How to Stock Your Kitchen". I immediately thought this was a great idea- but does she mean with utensils and gadgets? spices and long term staples? pots and pans? Well, why not answer all of the above! Therefore, you will soon be embarking on an adventure into my wild mind (and the world of internet research that I will perform to write this post) so I hope you find it useful!

In an additional note, my friends at work (which include my muses from the above paragraph) decided to do a holiday cookie exchange. I will be asking for the recipes from each of them and posting them on here for your enjoyment!

Awesome Salad Dressing with Pan-Roasted Garlic

2007-10-21T18:40:00.000-04:00

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_75379,00.html

Delicious dressing- that's all I have to say!

10 gloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 hearts Romaine lettuce
Grated romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano In a small skillet, combine the garlic cloves and the oil. Over a low heat, caramelize the garlic until browned and soft, about 20 minutes.

Transfer garlic cloves to a blender or food processor. Add the vinegar and mustard. Blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in the reserved garlic oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Chop the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and put in a large salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the lettuce and toss to coat. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top and serve immediately.

Overeating is for suckers, suckers and girls...

2007-09-26T23:43:00.000-04:00

What person doesn't overeat at some point? Whether you do it to relieve stress, make you happy, or because you are plain old bored, we all do it! Sometimes it comes to a point where it is completely unhealthy and is related to binge eating and bulmia.

I'm not talking about that (though it is a very important topic). I'm discussing "normal" overeating. You walk into the kitchen, grab a bag of chips, sit down with it in front of America's Next Top Model, and an hour later... oops! All gone! Where'd it go? Did I just eat an entire bag of chips? No... the boyfriend had a few... but the grease and salt on my hands is a sure sign that I had well over my fair share. This happens to me very often, which takes a toll, not only on my poor tummy (where all the fat congregates) but on my grocery bill. It almost seems like someone hypnotized me so I forget what I'm doing every time I eat a snack...

I came across this article on the Weight Watchers website which reminded me- there is something I can do about my little (multi-chip) problem. This resulted in more searching the internet for other ways to beat the chip bag. I like the ideas from WebMd- no distractions, smaller portions and knowing when you're full. I also found another article about different reasons people overeat and how to beat it. It suggests solutions for everything from boredom to feeling overwhelmed to daily habits.

Feel free to comment about your own overeating- or about how you looked at the questions that help determine if you are an overeater on Overeaters Anonymous and you qualify for therapy... (join the club!)

These are some of those foods that disappear really fast in my house...

Rosemary and Lemon Chicken Dinner

2007-09-22T14:46:00.000-04:00

DELICIOUS! We've made this twice and it has been our favorite meal to make and eat! The chicken has turned out very tasty and tender and especially good because we went out of our way to buy fresh rosemary for this meal (from the Farmer's Market), and it was worth it!

Recipe for Lemon-Rosemary Chicken:

Yield: 4 servings

2 medium-size lemons
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
4 small skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves (1 pound) *(we used breast tenders- they were frozen from costco, we pulled them out the day before to defrost)

1. From 1 lemon, grate enough peel to equal 2 teaspoons. Thinly slice half of second lemon; reserve slices for garnish. Squeeze juice from remaining 3 lemon halves into small bowl. Stir in lemon peel, rosemary, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.

2. Spray heavy skillet-grill or 12-inch skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium-high heat until very hot.

3. Meanwhile, toss chicken-breast halves with lemon-juice mixture.

4. Place chicken-breast halves in hot skillet; cook 5 minutes, brushing with remaining lemon-juice mixture in bowl. Turn chicken over and cook 5 minutes longer until juices run clear when thickest part of chicken breast is pierced with a knife. Garnish with lemon slices.

This meal is pretty quick (as long as you put the baked potatoes in the oven well in advance). I rubbed the potato with olive oil and sea salt before putting it in the oven at 350/375 for an hour. Meanwhile, I made the peas and chicken and a butter for the inside of the potato. I melted Smart Balance butter (gotta save my cholesterol!) and threw some rosemary in!

I really recommend this so let me know if you make it and how it turns out for you!

Olive Oil

2007-08-29T00:02:00.001-04:00

Oh how I love tomato, basil and mozzarella with drizzled olive oil over the top! This picture shows no cheese because we didn't have any at the time, but our little appetizer was still delicious. I also love how olive oil is very healthy for you.

That's all I have to say about that for now. I have a bunch of posts backed up so I'm trying to get them out a little quicker!

Wine Country

2007-08-27T23:59:00.000-04:00

My parents came to visit and we headed up to Napa to drink some wine. The thing is... I didn't like wine at the time. I know it has great health benefits, but it just made me cringe at the taste. However, when I went to wine country, I found that I actually liked some of it. I'm not surprised; I like the expensive stuff!

We only hit 4 places because we got up there late but that was enough wine for me- hey, I was the driver!

Beringer: Pretty grounds, great wine- my favorite Chardonnay, really great servers, 3 tastings for $5
V. Sattui: Had a deli, wine was ok (cheap tasting but not a lot of wine- we also had a coupon), server was not very nice though!
Robert Mondavi: Gorgeous grounds (picture above with the statue), you can wander around them with your wine tasting ($10 for 2 almost full glasses)

Domaine Chandon: Made me love champagne! $15? for 4 tastings- well worth it!

Farmer's Market

2007-08-26T23:36:00.000-04:00

I love the San Francisco Farmer's Market. Well... I haven't been to another farmer's market so I can't really compare! It is also a little too expensive for me to go every week but I love to wander around and taste samples of 3 dollar peaches! Here's an article on how to eat green and has recipes too!

I also like to go and pick out things that catch my eye and build a meal around that. Following this post, you'll see the fragrant (and cheap!) rosemary I bought at the market in a meal that has become my favorite meal ever! Here is an article about using seasonal vegetables and fruits in your meals (Savor the Season).

Welcome back to me!

2007-07-29T17:54:00.000-04:00

Well. I've been away for quite some time. First there were visitors (=no cooking and definitely no time), then apartment hunting (= no time) and then of course came the moving.

So, although there are boxes all over the floor and I'm not sure where half of my kitchen supplies are, I'm starting up again and I will be much more diligent this time! My friend Jean decided to have a "craft day" at her apartment and since all my scrapbooking materials are packed away still...here comes a post!

Since I obviously haven't cooked anything with the move, here are some sites I find useful/good/interesting.

Hungry Girl: I used this website when I was on Weight Watchers. It has lot of good tips for low fat/low cal foods. You do have to pay attention because it doesn't really take health risks such as cholesterol/sodium into account when recommending foods. It is written by a regular female who has been keeping an eye out for things like this for you and me!

Food Network (Healthy Eating section especially): Food Network in general may not have all healthy eating (any of Paula Dean's stuff that she loads with butter!) but there is a special section for people looking for something that won't clog the arteries. There are tips and articles about what types of food are healthy and in season and what nutrients are needed and where to get them.

Simply Recipes: This is a blog that somehow is lucky enough to be a widgit on iGoogle! She (and her family) try every recipe before she posts one. They aren't all perfectly healthy but she organizes her old posts by types of food including a section on vegetarian recipes and low carb recipes. Otherwise, you'll just have to sort through by hand! Also, she has a monsterous list of other food blogs to refer to for other ideas.

I think I'll stop there- I'll post more every once and a while! I'll leave you with a final article about 6 Superfoods! Thanks for reading along!

Peanut Asian Sauce Chicken Lettuce Wraps

2007-06-17T13:54:00.000-04:00

So I'm still getting used to taking pictures of food... it is definitely harder than I thought! This is a little concoction that I pulled together, which of course means I didn't measure any of the ingredients! My dad always told me this was the sign of a good chef, but it is also the sign of a bad blogger of recipes! I have a good estimate here though, and of course, taste the sauce before you use it to make sure it is to your liking. I will probably make this again soon and add a comment if it comes out different- please also add your comments if you make it!

Ingredients:
~1 pound of chicken (I used frozen chicken tenderloins from Costco- cheap and very quick to make)
~1 head of romaine lettuce
~3 large tablespoons of peanut butter (can be fat-free to increase health value!)
~3 tablespoons of soy sauce
~1 teaspoon sesame oil
~2 cloves of minced garlic
~2 teaspoons of rice vinegar
~2 tablespoons of cooking sherry
~1 cup dry minute brown rice

1) Cook chicken through.
Meanwhile...
2) Start making the minute brown rice according to directions (mine takes 10 minutes).
3) Make the sauce in medium size bowl: add peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, rice vinegar, and sherry and whisk together.
4) When chicken is done, put hot chicken in bowl with sauce and mix it up while cutting into pieces.
5) Wash and dry full romaine lettuce leaves
6) Arrange lettuce on plate, put some brown rice on and the chicken on top of that-- so simple!

Serves 2 (with a little leftover, but we also had a side of veggies)

Please enjoy this quick and delicious meal!

Welcome

2007-06-17T13:39:00.000-04:00

This is my first post on my new blog about (mostly!) healthy eating. As a on and off dieter- including Weight Watchers twice- I was constantly trying to find recipes that were both delicious and on my diet without spending a fortune on recipe books. As a 20-something always on the go, I like my meals to be quick in both preparation and cooking time, but still homemade. This site will combine recipes I found from books/the web/friends, and recipes I've tweaked or made up on my own. Of course, they will all be taste-tested by yours truly! I hope you can find something on here you like! Thanks for visiting (and thanks to all my friends who helped me think up a name for the blog- especially Kate, since this name is her idea!)