Happy Thursday! Winter is finally over! It was actually hot today! Let's hope it keeps it up and doesn't run out of steam before summer hits. I don't think I could handle another cold summer.
It's great weather for wandering around, but it would be better if I hadn't ruined my knees the other day doing chalk drawings in the driveway. Not from kneeling, but from crouching and/or standing up and down. Can't go down stairs or bend down to pick something up from the ground anymore. :< I never would have expected chalking to be such intense consequences.
Must practice.
So while we were accompanying Jacqi to the WalMart for some reason, a little box of chalk jumped out so we bought it. This is me and Carolyn. Only a dollar! Put to great use, graffitiing all over my driveway with poorly remembered geek imagery. My favorites are the zombie Charmander and the right-hand curve on the X360 controller. Carolyn especially likes her Pokemon trainer.
Can't wait to recover/buy more chalk, and then we can deface Jacqi's property!
Hung out with them-all today, pretended to play some old boardgames and stuff. Broke me away from watching the Yogscast and listening to the YoGPoD.
Oh also Minecraft updated today to Beta 1.4, and now there are wolves! I tamed some. Very exciting. They are useful because they will fight for you, but that's sort of less useful these days because I've started cheating and setting the time back to morning every night. Ah, the power.
Sad that all my tv was reruns this week. This is why internet programming is catching on -- here I am watching the entire backlog of this one youtube channel on my own time, while they're adding new content almost daily. Wait a week for the new installment of your favorite show? That's so outdated.
-Steph
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Panda, go Panda
Happy Thursday! What have you been up to this week? Got any rain like we did?
Took some rain walks today which were very nice. Feels like Christmas. Went to Fresh & Easy for supplies, and after dinner my mom and I walked to Starbucks. Got to wear my hat all day.
So tomorrow is my last day of my six weeks as house chef. Thanks to me, I lost three pounds! I'm sorta burned out on coming back from work at 10:30 and http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhaving to make lunches for the next day, but I'm also wondering what I'm going to do with all my free time next week.
Minecraft?
Carolyn came over the other day and we attempted panda bread. Historically, I am a yeast-killer, but I tried real hard this time to be gentle. It might have worked, but there were a lot of other wild cards, like the original recipe (though translated from Japanese) being in metric measurements. And also we left the dough unsupervised to go to the post office, and later left it to proof in a coldish place.
There's also that we only got as far as the eyes and forgot to layer the ears in. Oh well. Oh. And how I was trying to bake them (we each made a loaf) at 200 degrees F, instead of 200 degrees C.
Tasted mostly like bread! Any future attempts will most certainly go more smoothly.
I watched three Pokemon movies this week, and one of them I liked quite a bit. I also loved this Pikachu moment where he impersonates Team Rocket's Pokemon. Ahaha. I watched that a million times.
Wrote a song about trains. Played some Borderlands. Played some guitar. Went to work. So exciting round these parts.
-Steph
Took some rain walks today which were very nice. Feels like Christmas. Went to Fresh & Easy for supplies, and after dinner my mom and I walked to Starbucks. Got to wear my hat all day.
So tomorrow is my last day of my six weeks as house chef. Thanks to me, I lost three pounds! I'm sorta burned out on coming back from work at 10:30 and http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhaving to make lunches for the next day, but I'm also wondering what I'm going to do with all my free time next week.
Minecraft?
Carolyn came over the other day and we attempted panda bread. Historically, I am a yeast-killer, but I tried real hard this time to be gentle. It might have worked, but there were a lot of other wild cards, like the original recipe (though translated from Japanese) being in metric measurements. And also we left the dough unsupervised to go to the post office, and later left it to proof in a coldish place.
There's also that we only got as far as the eyes and forgot to layer the ears in. Oh well. Oh. And how I was trying to bake them (we each made a loaf) at 200 degrees F, instead of 200 degrees C.
Tasted mostly like bread! Any future attempts will most certainly go more smoothly.
I watched three Pokemon movies this week, and one of them I liked quite a bit. I also loved this Pikachu moment where he impersonates Team Rocket's Pokemon. Ahaha. I watched that a million times.
Wrote a song about trains. Played some Borderlands. Played some guitar. Went to work. So exciting round these parts.
-Steph
Thursday, March 17, 2011
I Wanna Be A Pokemon Hero
Happy Thursday! And happy St. Patrick's Day! Did you see the green food I made for my parents? So festive. Torn between wearing green and wearing brown and red... such struggles.
So me and Carolyn went and got Pokemon Black and White, respectively. There goes my Minecraft hours. It's a lot better than the last one I played, where everything was so new and confusing. In this one, everything is new but well manageable. The new Pokemon are not so strange, and some are pretty cute! Wanna battle or trade?
I accidentally wrote a song about Pokemon, too, and it's been stuck in my head something fierce. I'm gonna make MDMB record it. HAhahahaha.
What else happened this week? I watched Swordfish and Traitor which were really bad and only okay, respectively. Swordfish was, like, amazingly bad. So bad. Even though it was shot in Ventura and showed my favorite storefront (RIP, Nicholby's). And Traitor was a deep character drama that brought up many interesting discussions in a very bland way.
Can anyone recommend me any good Don Cheadle movies? Or do I have to watch Ocean's 11?
We also went to Jacqi's one day and washed her and Carolyn's cars. And at some point we went to Border's and I finally used the last of a giftcard I'd had for like ten years. I got Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys and Boston's Don't Look Back. Quality albums, the both.
Haha, so that's about how I spent my first week of being 24. Classic rock and Pokemon.
Best Wishes,
-Steph
So me and Carolyn went and got Pokemon Black and White, respectively. There goes my Minecraft hours. It's a lot better than the last one I played, where everything was so new and confusing. In this one, everything is new but well manageable. The new Pokemon are not so strange, and some are pretty cute! Wanna battle or trade?
I accidentally wrote a song about Pokemon, too, and it's been stuck in my head something fierce. I'm gonna make MDMB record it. HAhahahaha.
What else happened this week? I watched Swordfish and Traitor which were really bad and only okay, respectively. Swordfish was, like, amazingly bad. So bad. Even though it was shot in Ventura and showed my favorite storefront (RIP, Nicholby's). And Traitor was a deep character drama that brought up many interesting discussions in a very bland way.
Can anyone recommend me any good Don Cheadle movies? Or do I have to watch Ocean's 11?
We also went to Jacqi's one day and washed her and Carolyn's cars. And at some point we went to Border's and I finally used the last of a giftcard I'd had for like ten years. I got Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys and Boston's Don't Look Back. Quality albums, the both.
Haha, so that's about how I spent my first week of being 24. Classic rock and Pokemon.
Best Wishes,
-Steph
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Welcome, 24
Happy Thursday! I'm so so soooo so full right now. It's disgusting. !! What a crazy and interesting and nice birthday.
So let me tell you about my car. She's a pleasant old boat that my brother used to drive, and before he did, an old lady didn't. She's got a sparkly blue paint job, a real character.
For the past ...forever, she's also made this lovely terrible screeping sound in the engine. It's the belt! people on the street shout to me. I know, I know, I say. So put a pin in that.
My dad's car was in the shop, so we drove my car into LA to go see Eric Clapton yesterday. My dad had a meeting in the afternoon, so I drove out to Chatsworth and lounged in my car listening to the LP concert I had attended (the free download became ready just that morning). Finally it was time to head towards City Walk and see what there was to see before the show.
We got... two miles, and at a stop light something fell out of the engine. !! Lost power steering and the fan, the battery light started blinking because the alternator wasn't running. The needle on the temperature gauge started rising steadily. We limped into a Shell station that seemed to have a mechanic, and got it sorted out:
The screeping sound had been caused by a pulley that had been drifting out of place, pulling the belt out of alignment. This rubber bit inside the pulley had finally melted or snapped, and the pulley itself and just fallen out of of the belt system, just hanging out in the engine. So he ordered a new pulley and we ordered a rental car, and we left my sweet baby in Woodland Hills overnight.
The rental car was a massive minivan with satellite radio and automatic sliding doors on both sides. Meh. It got us to Universal Studios just fine.
Ohhhh Eric Clapton. Where do I start? The Gibson Amphitheatre was a classy venue with nice seats and great sound. Here's a picture. I would guess I was sitting right to the right of that aisle where the shot was taken from. Possibly another section over? Not bad, though. And what with those giant screens, there weren't really any bad seats.
I don't have as much to say about Clapton as I did about LP, because the day had started so early and been so distressing. But I mean, the man can play the guitar. I mean, in case you didn't know. I would say he's just as good now as he's ever been. And in my opinion, the strength of his voice last night was even better than any track or youtube performance I've heard. Maybe it was the sound system? Either way it was amazing.
He was wearing these old jeans with holes in the knees and a green pukka shell necklace, and he looked very sleepy. But he rocked the house. Played Layla unplugged style, played Old Love and Badge and I Shot the Sheriff and two songs from the new album. Before the encore of Crossroads, he finished with Cocaine. It ended like this:
Eric Clapton: She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie...
Crowd: COCAINE
Eric Clapton: *smiiiiiiiiiiiiiiile*
It was really great, he's a master. Definitely worth it. Thanks for going with me, Dad!
So today I had to drive the rental car back and pick up my car, and that went okay (as okay as could be expected, but whatever, at least there was a bank within walking distance). Carolyn went with me! And then we swooped by and picked up Jacqi and then my mom from my house and then my dad from VC and we went to the Greek at the Harbor.
Cake and ice cream at my house, and presents! That's why I'm sooo full. From the cake, not so much from the presents. Although Jacqi did bring me cookies. Thanks everybody, for your thoughtful gifts! It was nice to spend the evening with you.
And thanks to everyone else who wrote on my wall and all that, and to my sister who sent me like a million texts. And if I hadn't been on the road all day, I would have talked to more of you on the phone. I'll call you tomorrow!
Right now I think I'mma go pass out in a food coma. Happy 24, everyone!
-Steph
So let me tell you about my car. She's a pleasant old boat that my brother used to drive, and before he did, an old lady didn't. She's got a sparkly blue paint job, a real character.
For the past ...forever, she's also made this lovely terrible screeping sound in the engine. It's the belt! people on the street shout to me. I know, I know, I say. So put a pin in that.
My dad's car was in the shop, so we drove my car into LA to go see Eric Clapton yesterday. My dad had a meeting in the afternoon, so I drove out to Chatsworth and lounged in my car listening to the LP concert I had attended (the free download became ready just that morning). Finally it was time to head towards City Walk and see what there was to see before the show.
We got... two miles, and at a stop light something fell out of the engine. !! Lost power steering and the fan, the battery light started blinking because the alternator wasn't running. The needle on the temperature gauge started rising steadily. We limped into a Shell station that seemed to have a mechanic, and got it sorted out:
The screeping sound had been caused by a pulley that had been drifting out of place, pulling the belt out of alignment. This rubber bit inside the pulley had finally melted or snapped, and the pulley itself and just fallen out of of the belt system, just hanging out in the engine. So he ordered a new pulley and we ordered a rental car, and we left my sweet baby in Woodland Hills overnight.
The rental car was a massive minivan with satellite radio and automatic sliding doors on both sides. Meh. It got us to Universal Studios just fine.
Ohhhh Eric Clapton. Where do I start? The Gibson Amphitheatre was a classy venue with nice seats and great sound. Here's a picture. I would guess I was sitting right to the right of that aisle where the shot was taken from. Possibly another section over? Not bad, though. And what with those giant screens, there weren't really any bad seats.
I don't have as much to say about Clapton as I did about LP, because the day had started so early and been so distressing. But I mean, the man can play the guitar. I mean, in case you didn't know. I would say he's just as good now as he's ever been. And in my opinion, the strength of his voice last night was even better than any track or youtube performance I've heard. Maybe it was the sound system? Either way it was amazing.
He was wearing these old jeans with holes in the knees and a green pukka shell necklace, and he looked very sleepy. But he rocked the house. Played Layla unplugged style, played Old Love and Badge and I Shot the Sheriff and two songs from the new album. Before the encore of Crossroads, he finished with Cocaine. It ended like this:
Eric Clapton: She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie...
Crowd: COCAINE
Eric Clapton: *smiiiiiiiiiiiiiiile*
It was really great, he's a master. Definitely worth it. Thanks for going with me, Dad!
So today I had to drive the rental car back and pick up my car, and that went okay (as okay as could be expected, but whatever, at least there was a bank within walking distance). Carolyn went with me! And then we swooped by and picked up Jacqi and then my mom from my house and then my dad from VC and we went to the Greek at the Harbor.
Cake and ice cream at my house, and presents! That's why I'm sooo full. From the cake, not so much from the presents. Although Jacqi did bring me cookies. Thanks everybody, for your thoughtful gifts! It was nice to spend the evening with you.
And thanks to everyone else who wrote on my wall and all that, and to my sister who sent me like a million texts. And if I hadn't been on the road all day, I would have talked to more of you on the phone. I'll call you tomorrow!
Right now I think I'mma go pass out in a food coma. Happy 24, everyone!
-Steph
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Good Eats
Happy Thursday! My sister-in-law is having a Thursday birthday today, so let's all wish her well. Happy Birthday!
Pleasant walk to Target, construction started on my ghost town, dinner with friends and lunches all set out for tomorrow. A nice day off.
So I was never much into salads. Until like, I don't know, maybe within the last year they've started to be okay. Now most days I'm usually making one and sometimes two. My go-to salad filler is romaine, because that's good, it seems more nutrient-filled than iceberg (which is what I grew up on), but not too bitter like some of the darker stuff. Crispy, too. For the three of us, per salad, I'm chopping up an entire romaine heart.
But then what? I started out cutting it with spinach, but my dad wasn't too big on that. Tried a fish salad this week, including cod flakes and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and green summer squash. A lot of times with chopped nuts and dried things like blueberries and craisins and stuff. We've had a Greek-style salad at least once a week so far, with the tomatoes and cucumber and feta. The one today also had mushrooms and olives and celery, and was strikingly good. I think because it was a combination of vegetables (and fungus!) rather than a heap of lettuce with things in it.
Does anybody have some fun salad ideas? That use lettuce to its full potential or perhaps are some interesting vegetable combinations?
Oh here's one:
Have I told you about Russian potato salad? It's the best. Basically it's all these chopped things, but crazy things, like potato and carrot (boiled), cucumber AND pickle, boiled egg, um, ham. Onion? I like to add frozen peas, give it a nice pop. And it's got a mayonnaise based dressing like regular, and also dill? I forget the recipe I originally used, and there are so many versions out there. It's fun to just put whatever you want in it. I like it with a dash of mustard.
So I made that this week, what with the potato and the egg (I forgot to buy ham or even turkey :< ) and then all the vegetables it would be a full enough meal. Chopped some celery as small as the peas, for a nice crunch. But I wanted to do right by my family, and so instead of using a heap of mayo, I used a heap of garlic flavored hummus. !! Protein boost right there, as well. It worked out just fine, and my mom didn't even realize. That particular hummus had a strong...pickly? flavor to begin with, which I attribute to the garlic. They use garlic in pickle brine, don't they? So it was able to contribute that potato salad tang with, like, a third of the calories.
Also, I like to think that adding celery to anything automatically cuts a portion of the caloric content, being as you burn more calories digesting celery than you got from eating it. Fact.
Dinners have been pretty easy since I've been relying on the frozen Dream Dinners bags for the main course. Dream Dinners is this place where you go and package a bunch of fresh-cut ingredients into dishes they've set out ahead of time, and then you freeze 'em and use them when you want. At first I was all mlehhhhh about it, but now that I'm putting on a nightly show, their convenience cannot be overstated. I just provide the vegetables (mostly salad although today was also grilled summer squash), and maybe a grain product of some sort.
The other day I used their salmon fillets, and added a mushroom and spinach couscous as well as a bag salad. They make 'em with the dressing and stuff, and sometimes that's an easier alternative to chopping the romaine and trying to figure out what else needs to go in it. Gotta start using more of those steam-in-a-bag vegetables, too. Bought one for today but it was too small for all of us and it was delicious. Yellow carrots and navy beans and spinach. Gotta get more of that.
Don't get me wrong, it's not all salads and fish around here! This week we had spaghetti (omega3 grains) and jello and tomorrow they get roast beef sandwiches and chocolate-yogurt covered raisins.
And so do I. :>
-Steph
Pleasant walk to Target, construction started on my ghost town, dinner with friends and lunches all set out for tomorrow. A nice day off.
So I was never much into salads. Until like, I don't know, maybe within the last year they've started to be okay. Now most days I'm usually making one and sometimes two. My go-to salad filler is romaine, because that's good, it seems more nutrient-filled than iceberg (which is what I grew up on), but not too bitter like some of the darker stuff. Crispy, too. For the three of us, per salad, I'm chopping up an entire romaine heart.
But then what? I started out cutting it with spinach, but my dad wasn't too big on that. Tried a fish salad this week, including cod flakes and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and green summer squash. A lot of times with chopped nuts and dried things like blueberries and craisins and stuff. We've had a Greek-style salad at least once a week so far, with the tomatoes and cucumber and feta. The one today also had mushrooms and olives and celery, and was strikingly good. I think because it was a combination of vegetables (and fungus!) rather than a heap of lettuce with things in it.
Does anybody have some fun salad ideas? That use lettuce to its full potential or perhaps are some interesting vegetable combinations?
Oh here's one:
Have I told you about Russian potato salad? It's the best. Basically it's all these chopped things, but crazy things, like potato and carrot (boiled), cucumber AND pickle, boiled egg, um, ham. Onion? I like to add frozen peas, give it a nice pop. And it's got a mayonnaise based dressing like regular, and also dill? I forget the recipe I originally used, and there are so many versions out there. It's fun to just put whatever you want in it. I like it with a dash of mustard.
So I made that this week, what with the potato and the egg (I forgot to buy ham or even turkey :< ) and then all the vegetables it would be a full enough meal. Chopped some celery as small as the peas, for a nice crunch. But I wanted to do right by my family, and so instead of using a heap of mayo, I used a heap of garlic flavored hummus. !! Protein boost right there, as well. It worked out just fine, and my mom didn't even realize. That particular hummus had a strong...pickly? flavor to begin with, which I attribute to the garlic. They use garlic in pickle brine, don't they? So it was able to contribute that potato salad tang with, like, a third of the calories.
Also, I like to think that adding celery to anything automatically cuts a portion of the caloric content, being as you burn more calories digesting celery than you got from eating it. Fact.
Dinners have been pretty easy since I've been relying on the frozen Dream Dinners bags for the main course. Dream Dinners is this place where you go and package a bunch of fresh-cut ingredients into dishes they've set out ahead of time, and then you freeze 'em and use them when you want. At first I was all mlehhhhh about it, but now that I'm putting on a nightly show, their convenience cannot be overstated. I just provide the vegetables (mostly salad although today was also grilled summer squash), and maybe a grain product of some sort.
The other day I used their salmon fillets, and added a mushroom and spinach couscous as well as a bag salad. They make 'em with the dressing and stuff, and sometimes that's an easier alternative to chopping the romaine and trying to figure out what else needs to go in it. Gotta start using more of those steam-in-a-bag vegetables, too. Bought one for today but it was too small for all of us and it was delicious. Yellow carrots and navy beans and spinach. Gotta get more of that.
Don't get me wrong, it's not all salads and fish around here! This week we had spaghetti (omega3 grains) and jello and tomorrow they get roast beef sandwiches and chocolate-yogurt covered raisins.
And so do I. :>
-Steph
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