good for something

Anybody following the NFL combine?

2012-02-28T23:30:00.001-05:00

I didn't follow the NFL combine that rigorously but I like these little recaps of how expectations were exceeded or fell below. I'm always amazed by the physical capabilities of these athletes only to be further surprised that sometimes these capabilities aren't enough. Needless to say, after that thrilling 3OT win over Georgia in the Outback Bowl, I'm pleased that Michigan State's QB, Kirk Cousins, emerged positively.

Anybody else curious to see how this all plays out in the draft?

Call me Rock God

2012-02-28T22:12:00.073-05:00

Last summer, I went to a walk-in clinic with some issues I thought were related to bronchitis. I hardly remember what the diagnosis for that was back then, but I do remember one the other things the doctor said to me. She asked me if I was on any medications. I said no. She paused, looked at me, and said, that's pretty good not to be on any medications at your age. I remember the reflexive words that came out of my mouth (which surprised me) was, but I'm only in my 40s. She said, a lot of people your age regularly take medications and she was a bit more pointed about type 2 diabetes.

I remember being somewhat shocked and then fairly adamant that her conception had to be way off base. Ridiculous. For some reason, I could accept that my friends could take meds for mental health, like depression, in their 20s but I couldn't wrap my head around needing meds for physical health a mere 20 years later. I mean isn't that why older folks like Wilford Brimley are cast when it comes to health commercials and meds? I mean, if you want my age bracket's attention, try getting George Clooney or Sofia Vergara to push oatmeal instead.

A couple months later, I found a primary care physician and had a physical. It was a big surprise to me when the doctor said that I had high cholesterol and will probably have to go on a prescription to keep it down, like Lipitor. Ugh. The doctor at the walk-in clinic jinxed me.

Here is how she explained cholesterol to me: one is generally given a number for "cholesterol" and ideally it should be less than 200 (mine was 237). That number is a sum of high-density lipoproteins (HDL, aka "good" cholesterol) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL, aka "bad" cholesterol), though this second number is sometimes broken down with a number for very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) as well. Ideally, the HDL number is greater than 50 and the LDL number is less than 100. Mine were 66 and 171, respectively. Though the doctor liked my HDL number, my LDL number at 171 was considered high.

The doctor said she would retest in 4 months and in the meantime I could try a low-cholesterol diet. She advised avoiding fast food, heavy meats, and greasy food. I was a little discouraged given that, as a pescatarian, I don't eat those foods, but I'd do my best to cut out foods that did have cholesterol.

I did some research online to see what I was eating that I should avoid and what foods were supposed to help lower cholesterol. In general, one was supposed to avoid saturated fats (usually found in animal products like meat and dairy) and trans-fats (usually found in packaged foods like cookies). The foods I ate without much rein that had cholesterol were whole eggs, butter, 2% milk, and shrimp. I would estimate that even with the foods I ate, I was still fairly under the recommended daily cap of 200 mg of cholesterol. But I still switched to Egg Beaters, Smart Balance and olive oil, nonfat milk and almond milk, and stopped eating shrimp. Yeesh, it was hard to give up eggs--I ate them every day as a delicious, cheap, and easy source of protein for me. And well Egg Beaters? They're not exactly the same as scrambled eggs--so man, I do miss eggs. In terms of foods that would help lower cholesterol, I turned to oatmeal (I guess Wilford Brimley was talking to me after all), Omega-3 supplements, and walnuts when I remembered.

But I also learned while visiting my mom, that regardless of how I ate, I may just be genetically disposed to it. So I got next to the fact that if my cholesterol wasn't affected by my big adjustment in diet, paying for (and taking) Lipitor was cheaper and better than costs of stroke and heart issues both to the wallet, my body, and my family. But I still wanted to try my best at controlling it with diet. And with few exceptions (pretty sure that lobster roll at Super Bowl and brunch at Maharlika were so worth it), I stuck with it.

So I did a fasting lab test last week and this morning I went to the doctor to find out the results. And luckily, for now, my changes in diet paid off. I had lowered my LDL to 133.

She acknowledged that the number was still over the desired 100 but she said my elevated number of HDL helped balance it out and most importantly she said we could hold off on a prescription, for now. She was somewhat impressed and asked me what changes I made and I told her the adjustments I made. She also recommended two herbal supplements (Red Yeast Rice and Chia Seeds) that had positive results in lower cholesterol. I'll definitely look into them as it's likely to be cheaper than getting a prescription every month. But she closed our conversation with a somewhat sobering stat that the reason over 80% of folks need prescriptions to control cholesterol is hereditary and not diet. And also, whether I should I do something about the varicose veins on my legs. Let's table that till next time, Dr. Debbie Downer!

This all said, I recognize that when I go for my formal physical again next fall, my cholesterol numbers go up again despite my dietary efforts. And I should be okay with that. But I'll still keep trying, and until then, inyaface, Cholesterol!

The Oscars happened

2012-02-27T07:40:00.002-05:00

and I was so unprepared for it. This is hands down one of my worst Oscar-nominated movie viewing seasons ever. I saw only 4 of the 9 nominated films and I have to say for two of them I felt they were overrated ("The Artist") or WTH?! ("Tree of Life"). Not my best Oscar season. I will say that after watching the show, I really want to see "Hugo" and "Albert Nobbs".

I also have to say that after spending nearly a decade on the West Coast--it came back to me how much the East Coast is screwed when it comes to live events. I passed out somewhere around Best Director and woke up to Natalie Portman, awkwardly revering this year's Best Actor nominations. Maybe it would help if the Oscars were a bit more entertaining and could wrangle up decent commercials like the Super Bowl.

Anybody else watch or have a good movie recommendations?

For those about to rock

2012-02-26T18:07:00.001-05:00

I lucked out and got to spend some time with my friend up in Charlotte to catch an 80s cover band (Blue Monday) last night. AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, and Journey songs? Yes, please. Add a dance floor and some friendly people down with gettin' down and I am so there.

I also got to meet my friend's friend who was so nice, smart, and is also originally from the Northeast:

Capped off with my first visit to the Waffle House afterward and hitting Costco AND Trader Joe's on the way back it was a very awesome time in NC!

Happy Birthday Paul

2012-02-18T23:40:00.002-05:00

For Paul's birthday, it was fairly low-key and simple. He got a couple of things from his Amazon wishlist as well as a sweet surprise of See's chocolates from his mom. I baked some donuts and the girl made a great graphic card:

Later Professor X hosted a small cookout at his house complete with campfire--I provided the gingered bourbon cocktails:

It ended up raining but the fire hung in there and so did we. It was a great time. Wouldn't mind sipping cocktails in front of a fire again sometime!

Are there no women working at PETA?

2012-02-16T22:16:00.027-05:00

PETA, an organization that claims to be for the "ethical treatment of animals", has shown a much higher interest in objectifying women lately. Whether you agree with their claimed mission or not, it's hard to avoid that their ads have been losing their focus on animal treatment and more towards entertaining straight men.

Sure, they have their "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" print campaigns. These are fairly innocuous ads featuring lovely young models or actresses in coy or arty nude poses. These started in the 90s and have been pretty decent publicity for both PETA and the young models/actresses featured. Whether these ads actually change minds of those who would wear fur in the first place is arguable. More recently in the 21st century they added males, like dreamboat Steve-O from Jackass, and an "Ink not Mink" campaign featuring tattooed males like Tommy Lee. Straight women said, uh...thanks? I guess it's still cool I don't wear fur? Here, I started to suspect that female employees had been vacating the PETA building for a while.

Than last year, PETA claimed to have made Super Bowl ads that were "too hot" and censored for airing. These were basically videos of young women in bikinis and high heels seemingly pleasuring themselves with vegetables. Is PETA run by the same guys who make those "Girls Gone Wild" videos? Because these "ads" certainly captured the same back-room, exploitative feel of them. But here's my real gripe--these ads are purportedly convincing one to go vegan. You think a guy is giving up meat because of these videos? The best result PETA got with these was getting some men to eat burgers and pizza with one hand.

And then this year, timed for Valentine's Day apparently, PETA released an ad/video that is also putatively promoting veganism. It features a young woman miserably running a grocery errand with this voiceover:

"This is Jessica and she suffers from BWVAKTBOOM: Boyfriend Went Vegan And Knocked The Bottom Out Of Me. A painful condition when Boyfriends go Vegan and suddenly can bring it like a tantric pornstar. For Jessica it’s too late."

Did I mention the she is running this errand in her bra and underwear and boyfriend jacket? Well no, because if you watch the video, there are plenty of shots of it, including one where she is climbing stairs and the sun shines between her pants-less legs. Did I have to remind you that this ad is for veganism? Oh, right...

Again it's ridiculous that this is going to convince anyone to become or go vegan. It'd almost get recommended as a comedic sketch, but the woman looks so miserable from her "painful condition" and she's in a flippin' neck brace! So frankly, it's kind of UNfunny.

Seriously, to me, PETA has become PETW--Pr!cks for the Exploitative Treatment of Women (under the guise of a higher-minded mission). This non-fur-wearing woman is annoyed, irritated, and definitely not interested.

Hope it was a Sweet Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T20:54:00.001-05:00

This sweet monkey came from a nice girl in Velina's class.

Kind of want to hit the post-Valentine's Day sales now...

The girl and her valentines

2012-02-13T21:31:00.002-05:00

Yeesh, still in catch-up mode. I'm eager to get back in the crafting groove. The girl used the same Pepto Girl valentines from last year to give to her friends. Though I tend to be against the commercialism of Valentine's Day, I wish I had more energy to at least encourage her to make some fun sweets. Argh, next year.

LINsanity

2012-02-11T00:26:00.091-05:00

A couple of months ago, while I was visiting my sister and her husband in NY, he mentioned that there was an Asian-American player on the NY Knicks roster who had some promise. As someone who doesn't regularly watch non-championship NBA games, I didn't think much of it at the time until I came back from four weeks with my mom's non-cabled, i.e., non-ESPN-enabled, television. The player he had mentioned, Jeremy Lin, has been bringing sexy back to the New York Knicks. He apparently was a 3rd string player finally called to play due to multiple injured players on the team and since then, he has been leading the Knicks in points (and some say rallying the team overall) for 3 winning games straight, after a considerable losing slump. The word "LINsanity" had taken over the city as he has brought excitement, i.e., much-needed winning, back to the Knicks.

I heard a pundit on ESPN warily say that this LINsanity was just hype. He explained that the teams beaten were not exactly top-notch teams (Nets, Jazz, and the Wizards), that it was more of a testament to the sad state of the Knicks. With a game against the well-regarded Lakers, I had to watch the game tonight and see him play myself.

I confess I don't know the game of basketball well at all. I've heard that Lin's position is "point guard" (my initial reaction was, there are positions in basketball?) but I think the point guard is the guy that dribbles the ball back after the other team has scored and figures who on his team gets the ball next. Anyhoo, bottom line, I was LINpressed. He was the top scorer of the game with 38 points and 7 assists (looking at the other scores, I ascertained that this is, indeed, LINpressive). He brought the crowd to their feet at times and he was appreciably humble and supportive of his teammates off the court as well.

Like Dat Nguyen, it's exciting for me to see an Asian-American athlete successfully blowing away stereotypes and perceptions. As one of about four Asian/Asian American kids in my school, I remember racist taunts as a child, but what stayed with me more were the expectations and limits of what a Chinese girl (no, I'm not Chinese but when there are so few Asians, I was generally identified as Chinese) should or could do. Because not only was it from my school-age peers but also a vibe I got from respected adults. The realization there is that as adults, it's really easy to settle into a set way of seeing things, unyielding to other possibilities, not growing. And it can get pessimistic that things won't progress.

So there is something to be said in the broader sense of overlooking talent and strength beyond Lin's example of winning the high school state championship and being named Northern California's Player of the Year for his school's division and not getting any interest from California schools like UCLA or Stanford. The inability to see the potential of Lin's skills at the next level is somewhat analogous to the limitation of the glass ceiling. But there is something to be said about how the naysayers and limitations on initial opportunities did not shake Lin's determination, preparation, and faith in himself when an opportunity did arise. After all, if all the mantras of "there has never been.." were to be believed, there wouldn't be "...a successful Asian-American NBA athlete" like Jeremy Lin. Or "...an African-American President." Or "...a good white rapper." Or "...a female CEO." Sometimes it takes a little determination and patience for both sides to be open to such possibilities too. And when it's accepted, hopefully, race and gender won't matter.

New York is excited about the Knicks again. After a what was heading into a losing season, you think they're on their feet because an Asian American is finally off the bench? Pfft. Bottom line, they're excited that the Knicks are finally winning, no matter who is rallying them back.

In that regard, I hope New York is open to the possibility that this might be a very exciting season for Jeremy Lin and the Knicks. I certainly am.

French toast for mom

2012-02-10T19:37:00.005-05:00

The last meal I cooked for my mom before I left yesterday was Mom-friendly French toast. It was geared towards being low cholesterol, low carb, low sugar, and low sodium. Interested?

I mixed about 1/4 cup of "Better 'n Eggs" egg substitute, with a dash of vanilla, dash of cinnamon, and a sprinkle of Splenda. I find a little sweetener brings out the vanilla and cinnamon. One can also add a tablespoon or two of milk but for some reason, I feel like one can forgo it with the egg substitute:

I soaked two pieces of Wonder "SmartWheat" bread (this bread is lower-calorie, lower in sodium, and higher in fiber than other sliced breads) in this mix and then grabbed a few almonds and walnuts:

I chopped up the nuts coarsely and toasted them in a dry frypan until toasty and fragrant:

I removed the nuts and then sprayed the same pan with nonstick spray (no biggie if nut dust still in pan) and cooked the soaked bread on each side until golden brown. Top with a bit of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter", sugar-free pancake syrup, and toasted nuts and ta-da!

Mom-approved French toast.

Leaving NJ for now

2012-02-09T07:23:00.038-05:00

I have been in NJ for 4 weeks and heading back home today. Besides consuming this entire jar of instant decaf while I've been here, it's been a busy 4 weeks with my mom in the house I grew up (for the most part) where I averaged an appointment each weekday (including today before my flight). There were definitely some challenges, but I think between my sister and me, we came up with ideas, possibilities, and solutions. I hope my time here was productive.

There were mellow moments too:

Like having toast with unsalted almond butter with sugar-free jelly and coffee with my mom. One of favorite things to eat now.

Come Walk in my Shoes and See the Way I'm Living if You Really Want to

2012-02-09T00:41:00.001-05:00

On another visit to Target, I was drawn to this plaid Duck Tape:

There were other colors and styles like animal prints ( and even themes like Hello Kitty) which kind of got me thinking about the craftier side of duct tape. I remember a while back seeing posts about kids who went to their proms in duct taped outfits and currently, Duck Tape even has contests for it. So when I got these boots from Goodwill, I realized I had a project. They were the perfect candidate as some of the original pleather was scratched off in places:

And they ended up like this.

Interested?

I googled around and came across great posts about such a project here, here, and this great tutorial by Crafting in the Rain here. Anyhoo, I ran into one major issue: matching the plaid exactly was not possible due to the way the pattern is printed on the tape. So I focused on syncing the broad purple lines as much as possible:

As I was using a pair of somewhat dull scissors of my mom's that got stickier as I cut more tape, I found it advantageous to work as much length as possible to prevent tearing the tape (due to cutting with dull scissors) and pattern consistency:

Be sure to press the tape into all the wrinkles of the boot by pressing outward with a hand inside the boot and pressing the tape into the wrinkles with the other hand on the outside of the boot. When I was able to lay the pieces evenly next to each other, it didn't look too bad:

The hard part was hitting the curves, where the tape can't just be laid side by side in rows:

So I would fill the blank spaces with shorter pieces of duct tape trying to sync the purple lines as best I could. I also made a boundary near the bottom edge with little pieces of duct tape so that when I cut the bottom edges of the long strips roughly with the scissors, the boundary would keep the bottom edge looking clean:

Unfortunately it was really challenging to match even just the purple lines around the bottom curve, so the bottom part of the boot definitely has a more collagy look.

Well they may not be perfect, but they lend a fun accent to simple jeans, don't you think?

This project took less about two hours so I give a thumbs up on the fun plaid Duck Tape for this upcycled boot project. Anybody else have ideas of what I else should duct tape?

Goodwill finds

2012-02-08T19:42:00.005-05:00

I was dropping off some donations to Goodwill and, even though I didn't need anything, I checked it out as well. And I scored. Now I don't usually swing by the men's section but since I had some downtime, I cruised the racks and found this:

Anybody follow Big 12 football in the late 90s? Dat Nguyen was one of the most decorated linebackers in the Big 12 at the time and obviously at Texas A&M. His story is not only a success story of a son of Vietnamese immigrants but also one of breaking perceptions and stereotypes. He was perceived too small to be a linebacker but ended up excelling at Texas A&M (where some of his records still stand) and was a great player to watch. As an Asian-American, it was exciting to watch a standout Asian American athlete in a sport where, frankly, there were (and are) very few that even play. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys where he was also a successful linebacker until he retired with a neck injury. I have no idea what this jersey is doing here in Trenton, but at $4, I snatched this piece of awesome history.

I also decided to get these cute boots. They were in great condition and only $2. I figured between me and the girl, they would get some use:

Kind of makes me wonder if anyone gets excited about buying my donations...

Another step towards equality

2012-02-08T07:04:00.001-05:00

Yesterday a federal appeals court determined that Prop 8 is unconstitutional. But you know, I could have told them that.

Of course, there will be another round of appeals...to the Supreme Court. That is a big deal--it will pretty much decide the constitutionality of this discriminatory measure nationwide. Bracing myself...

Favorite Productivity apps: DropBox and Genius Scan

2012-02-07T21:26:00.003-05:00

Being here in NJ helping my mom with her medical issues and appointments has definitely been a team act with my sister and I have really come to rely on a couple of great productivity apps: Dropbox and Genius Scan, both of which are currently free and are not limited to the iPhone.

Dropbox is a mobile server where I can load up files (documents, photos, mp3s, pdfs, etc.) from my iPhone or PC that I can access from either of them or share links to those files. It's great to load up say, the French Macaron primer pdf and be able to access it at home on the laptop or at a friends house on the iPhone. This example shows I obviously have not fully utilized all the efficiencies that this app has to offer but the possibilities are fairly clear.

I came to really put Dropbox to use in conjuction with Genius Scan on this trip. Genius Scan allows me to "scan" documents with my iPhone camera and save them as pdfs in my Dropbox. As my sister and I were sharing some of the appointment and follow-up duties, it was handy that I scanned some lab reports (she took the originals with her to fax) with Genius Scan and saved them in my Dropbox. I was able to e-mail the lab reports and expedite some appointments. Between the two apps, I'm able to scan and save records and paper work that I'd like to keep a copy of and not have to find a copier to make copies and then carry around a bunch of paper files. Upgrading to Genius Scan+ (for $2.99) gives you direct upload choices to Dropbox, EverNote, etc., but so far the free version just has the extra step of hitting the "other apps" icon and then selecting Dropbox, Evernote, etc. from there, so I'm totally happy staying with the free version.

Currently you get 2GB of memory on Dropbox for free and you can pay a monthly fee for more space. Or they offer incentives that earn you more space, like referring friends to Dropbox. So on that note, if you are interested in Dropbox, help this girl out and use this link: http://db.tt/cJyBd4A We'll both get an additional 250MB of space if you get it.

Anyhoo, whether personal or for work, both these free apps are pretty handy and easily applicable to a variety of situations. I highly recommend both--especially since they're both free!

Pic Collage app

2012-02-07T20:21:00.050-05:00

Another app that I've been playing around with is the free (currently) Pic Collage app:

What a great way to use a bunch of pix, especially when you can't decide which one is the best (or cutest). So easy to pull in, move, and re-size pictures, though I would thoroughly appreciate it if I could pull in multiple pictures in at a time (rather than one at a time which can get tedious with a lot of pictures I want to include or a camera roll as large as mine) The text feature offers a variety of fonts and colors and there are a variety of background and seasonal "stickers" as well, though I would admit the selection is somewhat limited.

I would really love a way (or template even) to get all pix evenly and neatly laid out (in, uh, a non-collagy way) for those times I do want the whole pictures in. It's kind of difficult to do it by hand on the iPhone screen and definitely looks laid out and re-sized manually:

For a free app, I love it for being a way to share multiple pictures or share the highlights from an event without clicking and sending actual multiple picture files. And in a collage format, you can highlight the meat of the pix by the collage arrangement. If any of this appeals to you, I highly recommend it--it's one of my new favorite apps.

Super Sunday: Super Bowl 46

2012-02-05T19:54:00.001-05:00

For Super Bowl Sunday, I went up to the city to help babysit this cutie while his parents had an appointment:

Is it naughty of me that I thought it was hilarious that he's "holding" my coffee?

Anyhoo, I fell madly in love with my Hipstamatic app all over again today! Deets on lenses/films are in the caption. When he woke up, I took him to the playground:

Loftus lens, Pistil film

He enjoyed it much more than holding my coffee.

Loftus lens, Pistil film

Then my sister, Augie, a friend (Colleen), and I grabbed brunch at Maharlika. This time I had the ilog breakfast with garlic rice, fried egg, and bony milkfish--delicious:

Loftus lens, Pistil film

It was great catching up with Colleen, a friend since Annabelle and her went to college together (hee! do you see the little guy napping in the pic?):

Chunky lens, Pistil film

She's one of those wonderful people with such wonderful positive energy that always puts a smile on my face:

Chunky lens, Pistil film

After brunch, we got geared up for the Super Bowl:

Loftus lens, Pistil film

With moments of contemplation:

Buckhorst H1 lens, DC film

While squeezing in a selfie with Auntie:

Buckhorst H1 lens, Cano Cafenol film

And there was awesome food to be had, including Luke's lobster rolls, chips and dip:

Loftus lens, DC film

And we were thrilled when the Patriots scored a touchdown:

Loftus lens, DC film

Including some high-five celebrations:


Chunky lens, DC film

This guy definitely had a good time and went to bed before the final score, therefore he went to bed happy.


Loftus lens, DC film

Personally I thought the best part of the Super Bowl was the half-time show with Madonna. That grand entrance, the parkour guys, that wacky tightrope guy, the drum corps, the robed choir, the awesome guest singers--I loved it all. Kind of made me want to put "Madonna concert" on the bucket list. I remember having a slight anxiety that the half-time show was going to end any minute now because I was enjoying the show so much.

What disappointed this year were the Super Bowl commercials--I can hardly remember them. What was with those GE ads? Am I supposed to buy a turbine? And those Budweiser, historical, post-prohibition ads did nothing for me though I thought it was a catchy soundtrack on its Eternal Optimism ad to lay Flo Rida's "Good Feeling" vocals over the opening bars of The Cult's "Sanctuary". And I thought those commercials that tried channeling a "Victoria's Secret Come Alive!" theme were over-the-top to the point of eye-rolling (Fiat and Kia, I'm looking at you--yeesh, are you really expecting an uptick in sales from those ads?) And good grief, haven't these typical GoDaddy.com commercials of promised unrated girlie material run out of gas by now?

I will admit that the Chevy Sonic ad made me Shazam the song ("We Are Young" by Fun featuring Janelle Monae). And I've been enjoying the current run of Samsung ads that poke fun at the Apple devotees who are constantly waiting for the latest iDevice and the Super Bowl version was the most lavish version yet. Other than that, a disappointing Super Bowl ad year.

So on that note, looking forward to next year's Super Bowl!

Five Guys Burgers

2012-02-04T18:23:00.001-05:00

My sister came down for a packed 24 hours to help with appointments with our mom. On the way to the train station, she was really craving a burger so we decided to try the Five Guys Burgers that opened up in our town recently. I didn't try the burger but gladly helped with the fries, which were good and crispy. My sister definitely enjoyed the burger and I think we both agreed that Five Guys offers a great value for loaded burgers and good fries. For a regular order of fries, it was a portion that bested most other chains' "large" portion that, despite my efforts on portion control, got the thumbs up from me. And my sister liked the generous variety of toppings (that are all free) for the solid burger. So thumbs up from the both of us!

Ink joy

2012-02-03T21:38:00.016-05:00

I was wandering Target on errands and these new Ink Joy pens by Paper Mate caught my eye. They were about $3.50 for each package:

First, the name--Ink Joy--grabbed me alone. As a crafter and scrapper, those two words together just made me want to scribble with them. Second, the ink is smooov. When I tested it out at Target, it was a like a Segway in my hand, the pen just glided across the paper. That said, when I got mine home and started just writing with it, it's almost too smooth and fast. My handwriting can get hard to read if I write too fast. So generally, my handwriting actually benefits from a stickier ink because it forces me to write more deliberately. But I certainly loved the feel of the smooth ink. Guess I should work on my penmanship. Finally, I loved the availability of colors. To find all these colors in ball point (rather than markers) was such fun find for me and the colors are satisfyingly saturated.

The numbers, like the 700RTs and the 300RTs above, stand for the style. The higher the number, the higher (or fancier, e.g. cushioned grip) the style. RT stands for retractable, which I always prefer to pen and cap (because I inevitably lose the cap). So far, they've become my new precious pen along with my Seven Year Mustache pen.

They even inspired me to do a little smashing on a plain blank page:

I used all the colors to make my own pattern paper:

Added this cute instax of Velina and Augie together:

A little washi tape and tiny letter stickers to frame them:

And some other tiny embellishments, some journaling, and accenting of some of the hearts with my black 700RT:

A really basic page, but I heart it.

Healthier Microwave Popcorn

2012-02-01T21:15:00.014-05:00

My mom was craving a snack and specifically mentioned microwave popcorn, but the stuff available hardly fit her low-sodium needs. So I did a little research online and decided to try to make a healthier version of microwave popcorn. The results were impressively healthy, easy, and cheap. And tasty enough to satisfy my mom's popcorn craving. Interested?

You'll need some popcorn kernels and brown lunch bags. For the light butter-ish flavor my mom was craving, I also got some buttery topping/spray.

For a decent 4 cup snacking portion, put 2 tablespoons of popcorn kernels in the brown lunch bag. You could definitely put 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) in a lunch bag for a larger portion. Some versions online also added 1 tsp of olive oil and some salt to the 1/4 cup of kernels in the bag as well to add flavor, but I stuck with the no-oil version to keep it healthier for my mom:

Fold the top over twice and stand up in the microwave. In my mom's new 1100 watt microwave, I set it to 2 minutes on HIGH. The timing varies--it could be done in 80 seconds or a minute and 45 seconds--you'll want to stop it when the popping slows down to about 2 seconds between single pops. Definitely hit stop when you start to smell burned popcorn.

It kind of didn't look like much in the bag:

But when I poured it out, I only had a few unpopped kernels. I was pleased at how crisp the popcorn was--as crunchy as regular microwave popcorn and I'd say it's crisper than air-popped corn. Here you could top it with real melted butter and salt, but again, to keep it lighter for my mom, I sprayed the popcorn with some buttery topping/spray and tossed it to kind of spread it evenly. By then, my mom was ready to grab the bowl:

Nutrition-wise (from what I gathered from the label), this 4 cup serving of popcorn was 60 calories, 13 grams of carbs, 0 sugar, less than 1 gram of fat, almost 3 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein, 0 cholesterol, and about 20-35 grams of sodium (5 for the popcorn, 15 for 5 "sprays" of buttery topping--though I think I did about 10 squirts).

And bonus! This was much, much cheaper than buying packaged microwave popcorn. That 2 pound sack of popcorn kernels pictured was $2 and will yield over 50 four-cup servings, at about 4 cents each. And that 100 pack of lunch bags was also $2, so at most it's 2 cents at a time (though, since I didn't use any oil, I could see reusing a bag if I was going to pop more than one serving).

So a healthy snack at less than 10 cents a serving. I've said it before: I don't know who is more excited: the fat bastard in me or the cheap one!

Lunch with TomB, PictureShow App

2012-01-31T23:25:00.004-05:00

I lucked out that my old college friend (who also has a political blog and a family blog) was able to meet up for lunch while I'm here in Jersey. I feel like I spent most of the time kvetching and lamenting the necessity to monitor our health as we get older and older, no matter how we feel. But like a good friend, he patiently listened, concurred, and offered me updates on folks from school to cheer me up. Just what I needed on this extended trip.

Another plus, I played more with my Picture Show app ($1.99 on iTunes) and ran these pix through the Retro filter. It's one of my favorite apps in terms mixing up filters, frames, and effects really well:

Unfortunately, it can't do anything about my big potato-head. Even switching to sitting behind my friend, my face. Is. Still. So. Huge.

Here's the original for comparison:

Picture Show is a well-loaded app. It lets you add text to pictures, it has toy camera multi-lenses (which I haven't really explored), and it also has a cool tilt-shift effect which I would like to play with more:

And if all the filters and effect don't bring the magic, maybe the free app, Happy Snapper can:

I really, really love iPhone photo apps.

Found again

2012-01-30T21:24:00.012-05:00

While my sister was over during the weekend, we started going through some of our old stuff in the closets. She found my old enamel pins:

Man these brought me back. I'm sure for people who know me now (where I wear fairly simple, minimalist clothes), it would come as a surprise that in my teens I loved, loved vintage, retro clothes and jewelry. My favorite places to shop were rummage sales and used clothing stores. I also loved upcycling clothes--I would take a tank shirt and sew a tiered skirt on to it. Remember "Pretty in Pink"? I LOVED her clothes in that movie.

One of my favorite outfits I would wear to school was this red pleated sheer circle skirt (red leggings underneath) with a tuxedo jacket that had TAILS (!!!) and oxfords on my feet. And these enamel pins on the lapel. Yeesh, I wish I had pictures. Yeesh, I wish I had those clothes.

Because the pins don't quite work on the clothes I have now:

Anyhoo, these enamel floral pins are sweet remnants from that time. Sidenote: the little lion is one of my first stuffed animals I can remember having. He was in the discard pile, but I pulled him out. Shhhh, don't tell my sister...

4 miles!

2012-01-29T23:01:00.007-05:00

To prep for the mud run, I was pointed to some online running training programs. And the one I'm kind of using is running 2 miles a couple of times a week, with a 40 minute run once a week. And the idea is then eventually move up the mileage by week. I've been averaging a pace barely under 11 minutes per mile when I did my 2 mile runs earlier this week. With my sister and Augie keeping my mom company, I was motivated to do my 40 minute run today. I was so pleasantly surprised when my RunKeeper app announced I was at .5 miles at 5 minutes, that I decided to see if I could keep that 10 minute per mile pace for the next 5 minutes. And when I did, I pushed myself for the next 5 minutes, and before I knew it:

Between the farthest distance and the best average pace since I don't know when, I was really psyched that I did this run. It definitely got harder to keep that pace in the last half of the run and I was breathing so hard in the last 5 minutes I worried people in their houses could hear me gasping for breath. I'm sure if my hands were clutched around my heart instead of my iPhone, people would have assumed I was having a heart attack.

I probably should go up in mileage or something but I think I'm going to hang at these distance/time goals for a couple more weeks--at least until it's not nearly as painful. I get achy in my lower back and starting to feel a little shin-splinty--anybody got any tips on running form?

Take my hand, we'll make it I swear

2012-01-28T22:03:00.002-05:00

Augie still doesn't quite get the idea of PocketBooth, but his visit this weekend still put a big smile on my face.

It hasn't been a vacation here in Jersey given the circumstances, but this little guy reminds me to cherish the joys in life.

Plus I'm addicted to smooching these sweet cheeks!

Photo shoot two years later

2012-01-27T21:06:00.002-05:00

Two years ago, I shot some pix of this family:

And I was honored that they asked me to take some new ones. What a photogenic family--

So I got to play in Photoshop--

I love these 70s tones:

And of course, my favorites are the unplanned pictures:

I know I've said it before--I can't believe how much these boys have grown from two years ago:

Thanks again to this beautiful family!

Decaf Almond Latte

2012-01-26T18:21:00.001-05:00

I've been finding sweet comfort in super easy decaf almond lattes. Interested?

I just heat up a mug of almond milk in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, add a spoonful of instant decaf and wha-la:

Creamy, delicious comfort. Plus fairly calorie-friendly--with the original (sweetened) it's 60 calories a cup or I've used the vanilla unsweetened with a little Stevia which runs 40 calories a cup.

Mifi

2012-01-24T22:32:00.003-05:00

Spending more time than I planned in my mom's technology-deficient house (though I just put in some new cordless phones--welcome to the 90s, Mom), I needed a way to log into work. And I figured I'll be visiting my mom more so I made the leap/investment into a mobile hotspot, aka, a Verizon Wireless MiFi:

I was trying to decide between an aircard and a mobile hotspot. I was attracted to the mobile hotspot for its versatility--in theory, I could hook up to 5 devices to it and it wasn't limited to just a laptop, so something like my iPad could be mobile now. But the reviews online of this MiFi were across the spectrum with the worst issue for me being connectivity inconsistency. And since I plan on using this for work, that's a huge issue and I went to VZW leaning towards an aircard (which would plug into a single laptop via USB), which seem to have consistent connectivity.

But the salesperson there suggested the MiFi. She said connectivity issues are more likely to come up for those using data streaming (e.g., videos, music, etc.) and those out of the 4G range (connectivity will bounce between 3G and 4G). Looking at the map, it seems the main areas I plan on using this had 4G coverage and streaming videos and music are not priority.

So I'm giving it a go--I've got 14 days to try it out and return it if it doesn't work. So far, after a night of voraciously checking out the craft blogs that I haven't read in nearly 2 weeks, it's been dynamite. Keeping my fingers crossed that this little guy is a keeper.

Happy Lunar New Year

2012-01-23T21:27:00.003-05:00

Happy Lunar New Year! Year of the Dragon--a lucky year.

Hoping this is a great year for everyone!

Cuteness at the Target

2012-01-22T21:36:00.002-05:00

My weekend was made with some adorable cart-pushing:

Doesn't diaper butt look so cute in footy outfits?

Oh yes.

Snow day in NJ

2012-01-21T20:34:00.005-05:00

Well, luck shone on me and I got a little snow day here in NJ. On the plus side, it was only about 3-4 inches. On the down side, it's enough that I had to shovel it.

Including the initial path to the car...where I left my gloves.

Some more time in NJ

2012-01-20T21:30:00.002-05:00

Looks like I'll be in NJ with Mom for a spell longer. Fortunately, sweet Paul sent me my DVDs. Since my mom doesn't have a DVD player (though she does have one for VHS!), I have to watch them on my laptop.

But it doesn't look like I'm suffering from the smaller screen size too much.

Amy Karol's Magic sauce

2012-01-17T19:20:00.004-05:00

I started reading Amy Karol's blog a while before actually trying out her book, Bend the Rules Sewing. And some of my favorites posts are her cooking and food posts. For those that know me, I'm sure it is no surprise that I would glean the food posts from a sewing author's blog. Anyhoo, one of my favorite posts was the one for her magic sauce.

As I was cooking for my mom trying to come up with a delicious low-sodium, low-sugar, low-carb, low-cholesterol meal, I decided to try out her magic sauce but without the added sweetener and whittled it down to just:

- a cup of no-salt added salsa (thanks Trader Joe's!)
- a fat spoonful of no-salt added peanut butter
- a little water to thin it out a bit

heated briefly in a pan to warm and blend and then spooned it over a plate of tofu, spinach and carrots, and a whole grain mix. Sooo good, regardless of the health parameters it fulfilled! Curious to see if the sweetener and regularly salted ingredients would make it any tastier. Either way, it was so easy and quick. I highly recommend this to everyone to zip up any basic, bordering on bland (yet healthy meal), though my mom did call it "that weird sauce".

Definitely a new favorite for me!

So cold

2012-01-16T19:19:00.001-05:00

Well, I ate the cookies. And felt fairly guilty enough to run again. Also I was curious to get the distance I ran yesterday calculated correctly. It didn't warm up:

But I did find the correct distance--it was 2.42 miles! Over TWO miles! Though it did make for my worst pace average at 10:53 min/mile.

But I somewhat improved the pace today at 10:40. In the cold! I think I earned more cookies!

Running and freezing

2012-01-15T17:09:00.006-05:00

While at my mom's house, I partied hard with my sister last night. And by "partied hard", I mean pretty much finishing a tub of cookies and fruit jellies while watching Augie's Patriots win the playoffs. So I had caloric guilt as motivation for run #3 this year. It's freezing here in Jersey so I waited until the afternoon to hopefully let it warm up. As you can see, it was worth the balmy wait:

28 degrees. That's like freezing, right?

What made it tough was my nose runs more in the cold. And my legs feel extra stiff and less reluctant to move--I'm pretty sure they just want to hug each other instead. Also, my lungs felt like shriveled beef jerky.

They say to run "comfortably" you should be able to have a conversation while running. Unless gasping and breathing hard punctuated by foul language is considered conversation, I've still got a long way to go. On the plus side, I went for over 26 minutes. Unfortunately the GPS on my Runkeeper was off so I don't have the distance. I'll aim to run again and the same route to see if I can get a correct reading. But come on, 26 minutes, 28 degrees--I'm giving myself some credit for this one. Or cookies.

Cuteness for the weekend

2012-01-15T11:11:00.001-05:00

Think he sees a lot of grownups on the phone?

Only he could make pushing a walker look totally adorable.

In a Year

2012-01-14T07:51:00.005-05:00

I hope to say I finished two Mud Runs. I found some great encouragement from this post from Karen Russell (I took a great photography and scrapbooking class with her) when she did her first Triathlon. Besides a wonderfully honest post, I loved this quote from it:

Time is inevitably going to pass and one year from today, you can find yourself in the exact same spot you're in now, you can find yourself further away from your goal or you can find yourself closer to your goal - so where do you want to be a year from now?

Obviously this resonates not just with running but really anything that you want to grow in. And I love that it's not necessarily about accomplishing your goal--but that there is something to be said about working toward your goal. And of course, it is always pretty awesome when you do reach your goal. But it's a reminder that sometimes taking those initial steps is worth something too.

Eat Healthy While I'm Gone

2012-01-13T19:51:00.003-05:00

Whenever I take a trip away from home, I try to leave it "taken care of" the best I can. That at least means that the bills are paid, the laundry done, and that groceries have been shopped. Ideally, I wish the house was clean and stuff put away before I left but that unfortunately falls to the wayside more often than not.

Knowing that Paul and Velina pretty much don't eat vegetables unless I prepare them for them, I at least try to leave plenty of ready-to-eat fruit so they at least get some fresh vitamins in. I also leave them with easy-labor, somewhat-healthy dinner and lunch ideas but I'm pretty sure there will be pizza boxes and sandwich wrappers in the garbage when I get back.

But at least they will have eaten some fruit.

Smashing

2012-01-12T19:20:00.002-05:00

Well I was able to get a little creative on the plane on our last trip to NY with the smash book I had made with the girl. I printed out a few phone pix in wallet size and packed some other memorabilia (like restaurant business cards, labels, etc.) I brought minimal supplies--a couple pens to write with, some decorative tape and glue stick for adhesive, a pair of blunt-tip child scissors (trying my luck since it was carry-on) to trim anything if necessary, and a small pad of decorative stickers and tiny alphas.

It really brought me back to scrapbooking--which I can't even remember the last time I put a page together. It's a much more simplified version but in that regard, it put a lot less pressure on designing a nice page and it lent itself to more journaling about the pic or moment. And it went faster too--I did a half dozen pages in a two hours of plane ride versus getting only one (if I was lucky) 12x12 layout done.

I'm heading back up NY/NJ tomorrow to help my mom with some doctor appointments and other things. I've printed out some pix from the last trip and aim to smash them in my downtime. Also hope to motivate myself to do some running. I'm thinking I'll be pretty occupied between the three--

For the mud run

2012-01-11T19:28:00.000-05:00

After saying I would run Monday, then flaking, then saying Tuesday, then flaking, I put my foot down this morning and said I'm going to run today, come heck or high water. And of course it was raining. And to make it worse, so to speak, I was determined to add some distance and run 1.5 miles.

But I did it.

And I even bettered my average pace up to 10.16 min/mile. Am I dazzling you?

No, me neither, despite a congratulatory e-mail from RunKeeper saying I went my farthest distance today.

But I'm pressing on. The mud runs consist of a 10K or approximately 6.2 miles. I believe the conventional wisdom is to be able run half the distance comfortably (as in, on a regular basis), with a few occasions of running distances closer to the mud run distance. So that puts me at 3 miles comfortably. And goodness knows, I'm not comfortable now doing half that distance. I've got quite a ways to go in my mind, but at least I've got a few months to get there. Definitely open to the thought that I can get there.

Peanuts

2012-01-10T07:48:00.013-05:00

On this third day after rebooting--enjoying some natural peanut butter on a rice cake with a decaf coffee latte made with almond milk:

Yes it was delicious. I'm doing okay with the decaf. I think what I really missed about coffee in the morning was the sweet, warm ritual of it and for some reason, bitter green tea wasn't cutting it. I know that even decaf has some caffeine in it, but hopefully not so much that it would debilitating again to be without it.

SAG Awards season

2012-01-09T21:42:00.003-05:00

Another reminder that it's good to quit Netflix--SAG Awards are coming up!

Despite that I'm trying to cultivate an non-cluttering mindset, I kind of prefer the DVD screeners to the free rentals on iTunes because I can watch them on a TV screen, which is much bigger than my computer screen. But either way, I can't complain--really looking forward to watching (and voting on) some great movies!

Rebooted

2012-01-08T08:13:00.012-05:00

I survived the reboot. The first two days were the hardest with just two shakes per day, plus water and green and herbal teas. And when I ate my first "food" of a rice cake with almond butter on the third day, I almost broke out in a sweat, like I do when I overeat. Sidenote: Paul goes, uh, you sweat when you eat sometimes? And I said, yeah, I guess when I overeat. What, you don't sweat? And he says, uhhhh...no. Yeesh I guess I should listen to my body more when it's kind of telling me it's had enough of eating.

The foods for the next 5 days are foods that discourage toxins and aid in the detox aspect. So it was mostly organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and grains. Foods that I was to avoid were foods that were determined to not aid detoxing (e.g., some contained common allergens), so no coffee/black tea, oranges, corn, soy, gluten, peanuts, dairy, eggs, and fish. So I had a lot of hummus and veggies, black bean soup and rice, lentil soup, etc. Another benefit after the first two days, was it kind of allowed me to reset my sense of portion control. I couldn't eat a huge meal, so it was great way for to get on track eating smaller meals.

Overall, I'm glad I did it. I will say that I felt a general drop in energy during this week, though I'm not sure if it was lack of coffee, drop in calories, or both (which kind of got me thinking about how dependent I am on caffeine--leaning to switching to decaf). And spending a week of not eating processed foods decreased my desire to eat them--eating whole foods felt much cleaner. And though it's not the aim of this detox to lose weight, I got on the scale this morning and it said I lost six pounds this week--down to 154.5. I do understand that it had a lot to do with the drop in calories consumed this week and that I started exercising again--including that arduous run yesterday. So I'll see how the weight levels out after I add non-detoxing foods this week.

As I start eating some of the foods that were avoided during the detox, I was advised to add them one at time to see if certain foods affect me in a negative way. And I'm aiming to stay with whole foods (i.e., not packaged, prepared, or fast foods) for as long as I can. The first food I decided to incorporate was soy, I think my body is craving some protein.

Tomorrow is coffee/tea--kind of really looking forward to that--even if it is decaf!

Running is kind of hard

2012-01-07T18:37:00.014-05:00

I was so motivated by my decision on the Mud Runs that I decided to run this morning. A friend recommended the Runkeeper app for my iPhone so I can track my mileage, pace, time, and hopefully progress.

I ran a mile straight, no stopping or walking. Yeesh, it sucked. I kept checking the Runkeeper to see how much farther I had to go. I felt like an asthmatic clomping horse with bricks for shoes. I'm pretty sure I could feel every step I ran in my brain. So, it kind of made me think about running form.

I was e-chatting with a friend about running more on the fore-foot. The idea behind all those Vibram and other minimalist-type shoes, is to mimic barefoot running which is in theory how we're supposed to run. With all the cushioning in most running shoes, it's engineering us to run so that we land/slam on our heel, which creates an impact on our heel and through to the knees, hips, and spine, no matter how much cushioning there is. But according to the theory of barefoot running, we'd land more on the fore-foot and by instinct we'd control our landing on the fore-foot and therefore, it would be less of an impact on our bodies. So next time, I'll try to run more fore-foot. I'd like to feel less like a clomping horse.

Okay, I'm open to progress--here we go!

Mud Run!

2012-01-06T23:35:00.011-05:00

As I took on the resolution to break 150 this year, I didn't exactly have a plan except to do everything (exercising, eating better) more or harder. But yesterday I was given some focus, somewhat a la The Sermon. A friend at the gym where I work out was encouraging me to do the Mud Run here in Columbia in April. We had talked about it last year but at the very least I didn't think I could handle the running, much less the obstacles. She ended up joining a team that was fairly mixed and skewed towards non-hardcore athletes and she loved the experience. Somehow she thinks I'm a woman of determination and some degree of fitness and she said I would really enjoy the challenging experience as well. I was really tempted as she suggested we could be on the same low-pressure team.

Then a friend at work e-mailed me a few hours later that a group there wanted to do the Mud Run at Camp Pendleton in June and was I interested? Coincidence? Or a sign? Actually, years ago, another friend in the office and I would talk about putting together a team together for the Mud Run but it would sell out before we would actually do anything. And to a degree, I was kind of talking out of my butt because I found all the running, climbing, obstacles, and wet, wet mud, fairly intimidating at that time, too.

To be honest, I still find the mud run, wherever it is, pretty daunting, because A, I'm not a runner, B, I'm not a runner, and C, I'm not a runner. Also the obstacles sound a bit overwhelming and I'm not inclined to expect my friends try to shove 160 pounds of Franny over a wall. And then to do all this soaking wet in mud.

But barring Divine providence, here is what I'm making of this: that I should be open to getting out of my comfort zone. That a departure from my norm may open me up to other possibilities. That sometimes opportunities to grow present themselves and should be taken. And that I get to cross something off the Bucket List.

So yes, I'm signing up for both Mud Runs. Here we go, 2012!

Note to self: Cancel Netflix

2012-01-04T20:53:00.017-05:00

When I was a kid I loved the library--I remember my parents would take me there every week. Needless to say I was a reader and the library is a great value and resource, available for free, which was pretty awesome then and still is today. In these days where the internet can be such a quick resource and you can buy books on sale and get them practically delivered to your hands, I think the library has gotten less attention.

But as I'm determined to maintain clutter-free (and remembering how many books I ended up donating), I've really fallen back in love with the library. The current system here impressively keeps up with latest titles and I can request books/CDs/DVDs online and they'll be delivered to my closest branch where I just waltz in and pick them up. I've borrowed fiction books that I wanted to read but not necessarily keep on my shelf. I've borrowed various sewing books and retained information from only a certain chapter and glad I didn't buy the book to collect dust in my bookcase. And on the flip side, I've borrowed a book or two that I want to re-read or re-reference in the future and may just end up purchasing it. So library books are great test-drives that way too.

I've also been enjoying borrowing CDs and catching up on some of the latest tunes and some of the ones I've missed. I just got a notification that Adele "19" CD is waiting for me. Hooray, new tunes!

Now I've finally checked out the library's DVDs and checked out some ones I've totally been wanting to see:

What I like about borrowing these DVDs from the library is that it also focuses my attention on movies I want to spend time watching rather than just mindlessly flipping through Netflix when I have downtime. Which I've confessed before was often spent catching up on tv shows rather than thought-provoking indie films (still haven't finished "Man on a Wire" as opposed to the episodes of "South Park" and "Family Guy") as I had initially planned. So I've decided to cancel Netflix. Besides not spending that money, it'll be focusing my downtime better. Does that count towards managing time better? I hope so.

New Years Resolutions Addendum: One Little Word=Open

2012-01-03T07:38:00.008-05:00

After some thought about how I barely achieved half of my New Year's resolutions last year, I wondered what drives me to continue with these every year. Is it because I'm a "list person"? Maybe except, that the joy of being a list person is being able to cross things off when they're done and well, I'd be missing some of the satisfaction there. I think maybe it helps me to have goals because it gives me some focus and there is a benefit to at least try. It seems opportunities are not just the ones bestowed on us but also the ones we make or plan for ourselves. And frankly, even when I'm trying and failing, at least I'm learning and growing.

So believe it or not, I'm also embracing One Little Word for this year. And my one little word is Open.

Because I realized to learn and grow I have to be open to change, surprises, and ugh, being wrong. I've witnessed a lot of stubbornness and I see that often it just doesn't pay off. And worse, there frequently is a burden one carries from that inflexibility. Yes, I recognize the productive version of this as perseverance or principled, so the hard part is recognizing when it's worth more to yield a bit. I think one mistake I've made more than once is thinking I'm done--like once I learn something then there isn't a need to learn another way to do it. Or if I reach a certain weight, will I think I'm done watching what I eat and do? I know some of the obstacles I have are due in part to stubbornly clinging to a certain way I do things or believe is the most efficient or right way to do something. I just hope I'm not too set in my ways to be open to different or new ideas and thoughts.

Okay, so here we go 2012!

Michigan State wins the Outback Bowl!

2012-01-02T20:42:00.008-05:00

It was a busy day of Bowl games, including the Capital One Bowl where Paul was torn between rooting for South Carolina and Nebraska, though USC won out. The Outback Bowl game was easier for me when Michigan State bested Georgia in the 3rd OT with a blocked field goal. Michigan State was also the only Big 10 team (out of five) to win their Bowl game today so that felt pretty good too.

The hardest part of the day was being on day 2 of the reboot where I could only have 2 "shakes", which it seems there wasn't any effort to make it a nice smoothie flavor. It sort of has this vague savory and woody flavor which really has me craving a nice fake strawberry flavor badly. The first day (yesterday) wasn't so bad as I seriously think my body has so many excess calories stored that it didn't really register the few calories I consumed. This second day my body definitely recognized that all I was giving it was 2 more measly shakes. And it responded with a mild headache and general fatigue. And the worst bad breath. Definitely looking forward to tomorrow when I get to eat food. Rice cakes never looked so good.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T10:15:00.012-05:00

So I've been pondering last year's New Year's resolutions and my goals for 2012 the last few weeks. First, I didn't get much further on my 2011 resolutions since November. Second, at 160.5, I am over two pounds heavier than the first day of 2011--where I was about two pounds heavier than the first day of 2010. Yeesh, this better not be a trend. On that note, I've decided to start my reboot today. It'll be kind of a bummer to watch the Bowl games tomorrow without my usual fave snack foods but I'm pretty sure my body is craving a reboot more. Finally, I decided to narrow my focus on this year's resolutions.

When I reviewed what I came up short on, I was most disappointed with my pace in photography (even more so than my weight gain). I'm disappointed that I'm still stymied by a post-production workflow. So that's a priority this year.

Also, watching my mom's various diagnoses roll in was a sort of wake-up call. I will credit myself that I'm more active than I think my mom was at my age but I know my eating habits can roll into the indulgent more often than they should. So I'll keep my goal of breaking 150 because I know that exercise alone isn't going to get me there, eating healthier will and that's something I want to focus on this year.

Overall, I think managing my time and productivity will be key to everything. It's not just about working more, but also about working more efficiently. I feel like I've read a good bit on this and it's really about putting it into action. Then I hope to have more time for crafting, movies, and books.

In summary, my New Year's Resolutions for 2012 is:

- Manage time better
- Getting a good post-production workflow for photos
- Break 150

I know I need to break this down to a specific plan but this is the big picture for me in 2012. Anybody else got plans for the new year?

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T23:14:00.004-05:00

We flew back to SoCar to Paul who was happy to have us back. We arrived after 9:30pm and we managed to pick up a nice dinner at Al-Amir of pizza and my favorites--baba ganoush and hummus for New Year's Eve:

And well, we decided to say goodbye to 2011 with native Carolina treats, Krispy Kreme doughnuts:

See ya, 2011.

Butter Lane

2011-12-31T16:45:00.007-05:00

After that wonderful brunch we spent a little time in the Tompkins Square park playground and decided to get cupcakes on the way back at Butter Lane. They have only a couple of cake choices--vanilla, chocolate, and banana:

But offer a sweet array of frostings featuring French or American buttercream:

We had vanilla with caramel frosting (haha--bonus, popcorn!), banana with raspberry frosting, banana with cinnamon honey, and banana with cream cheese frosting. And since we bought a four box, we got a free "icing shot"--we chose sea salt chocolate.

The raspberry was a nice surprise--kind of refreshing for frosting, but they were all delicious. Sweet way to end our visit.

Maharlika

2011-12-31T16:13:00.002-05:00

Though it was a really busy trip, we were able to squeeze in trying a new restaurant that opened up around the corner from my sister's. On our last day, we had brunch at this "Filipino Moderno" restaurant, Maharlika:

For our departing meal from New York, it hit the spot. We weren't familiar with Filipino food, but it seems we were enjoying high end production of traditional food. Annabelle got the Barrio Breakfast, which featured pandesal, a delicious sweet bread which came with guava jelly and macapuno jam. Josh got the ilog breakfast featuring garlic rice (sinangag) and egg (itlog) and garlicky sausage (longsilog-longganisa)--I loved the garlic rice. :

I got the Eggs Imelda which seemed like a twist on Eggs Florentine, but instead of spinach, there was taro root leaves laing as well as grilled prawns on the side. It was delicious and the kamote home fries were perfect. Also interesting was the banana sauce instead of ketchup.

Velina had the mango stuffed French Toast, which was as good as it looked:

Augie actually dozed through our meal but woke up at the end as pleased as if he had eaten it as well!

Great food and great company made for a perfect meal.

Hanging out

2011-12-30T22:11:00.004-05:00

The cousins spent some quality time hanging out in the car, during our multiple trips and errands.

Sometimes it was just easier on the kids rather than dragging them through a Target.

Sometimes the little one was sleeping and the girl would be wonderfully helpful and stay with him in the car (I'm sure an mp3 player helped mitigate the downtime).

And when he woke up, he was in a good mood to hang out.

Hopefully they'll remember these sweet times!

Purl soho

2011-12-30T21:12:00.002-05:00

Due in part to Linda's fabulous catch, I made a trip to Purl Soho.

Unfortunately, I did not score a stack of polkies like her, but I do dig the florine Lotta Jansdotter fabrics and viewmaster reel fabric I got. Of course, I don't have a specific project for them, but they were too lovely to pass up, right?

Memories found

2011-12-29T22:11:00.007-05:00

On one of the visits to NJ I found a chest at my mom's house that I filled with, what I assumed was my precious items before I left for college:

Aside from the multiple letters, autograph books (anybody else remember those?), photos (OMG), a few plaques, and a stamp collection, I see that I felt the advice of famed "60 Minutes" curmudgeon, Andy Rooney, and a sentient porcine puppet, Miss Piggy, would serve me well after college. It also reminded me why I still love listening to "Pyromania" to this day.

I also found various report cards and my efforts for college choices. I forgot that I applied to my parents' alma mater, Michigan State University, and they had offered me a small academic scholarship if I went there:

In the end, the ride to NYU could not be topped, but that's a whole other story. Kind of made me wonder how different my life would be if I went to MSU instead. Anyone else ponder such decisions in life and curious how our lives would alter?

Busy in NJ and NY

2011-12-28T23:22:00.011-05:00

This trip up to the Northeast has been pretty busy including commutes to Jersey to visit Mom (replete with road-rage-inducing back-ups on the turnpike and Holland Tunnel). But we were able to squeeze in a few trips to the park (even if it was a little chilly):

Who doesn't love swings?

A part of living in the city I kind of don't miss is the stairs. Believe it or not, this is the easiest way to transport Augie and his stroller from the bottom floor to the 3rd floor:

And well we managed to make more than one trip for some Pommes Frites:

And for some ramen, including shio and spicy miso at Setagaya:

Our mindset was to enjoy foods that we can't get in SoCar. I know some folks unfamiliar with Pommes Frites think that they are just french fries but these are ten times better and I haven't found anything close to them in SoCal or SoCar. So we indulged a couple of times. And fresh ramen! It's perfect in chilly weather and well, a hundred times better than the boil for 3 minutes kind (though truth be told, we certainly indulge in that kind too). Hopefully we'll branch out beyond comfort food here!

We're having a Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T12:11:00.001-05:00

And we're wishing everyone Happy Holidays!

Holiday in CT

2011-12-24T22:11:00.001-05:00

We're having a great time getting ready for the holidays in Connecticut. Whether it's decorating gingerbread houses:

Or discovering fire trucks:

On way to Northeast

2011-12-21T12:09:00.008-05:00

Velina and I are headed to the Northeast to see my mom and my sister and her husband's family. As seems to be the tradition when we're traveling between the Carolinas and New York, we were delayed. But eventually we were on our way.

Here's to a safe and productive trip!

When you put it like that

2011-12-20T19:56:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I finally cooked a decent meal of spaghetti with Boca Burger "meat" sauce and green beans. Even the girl thought it was a good idea that I come down from my sick-days-binge of processed food: "Yeah, I thought it was a little gross that you ate those 3 bags of gummies in one night...then finished those two bags of kettle chips the next day AND that giant Symphony bar...and then you starting making s'mores in the microwave..."

Yeesh, hearing it like that sounds a lot grosser and more pathetic than when I was actually consuming it all. Additionally, I'm not really exercising. So I feel even grosser, if that's possible. Oh and definitely already over 160 pounds AGAIN. E suggested this 7 day cleanse diet:

It sounds fairly stringent with the first two days being the most miserable--only two shakes a day and water. But she said it's to get rid of the toxins (food, stress, environmental) in the body and I feel like I've had plenty of all of it. Then she said, "think of it as a reboot" and I was sold. My body could definitely use a reboot.

Obviously I'm going to wait until after the holidays so the big question is whether to start on New Year's Day proper or wait a few days until after the Bowl games so I can properly indulge in Bowl Game food.

Either way, I'm half dreading it and half looking forward to my system getting a reboot.

Luck is turning for the better

2011-12-18T23:56:00.000-05:00

First, the big news--North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is dead. My initial reaction was relief, as if some great monster was finally slain. But before I let myself get excited about a change for the better I realized that change doesn't come easy. It's been exciting and inspiring over this year to watch people rise up against unjust and greedy autocrats, but it appears that as significant as it is to remove a poisonous head of state, putting in a new system is fairly arduous process as well. Will the North Koreans currently in power have the heart and guts to change the miserable system in place? Or are they going to try to continue the dictatorial system of their Great and Dear Leaders that has a majority of their country starving? I definitely want to be hopeful as more of this story unfolds.

Second, as opposed to last week where I was dead last in my football pool, I came in very close (but can only achieve 2nd place) this week:

The big upset of course being the Kansas City Chiefs beating the defending Super Bowl champs Green Bay Packers, ending their streak at 13-1. The Chiefs?! I'm pretty sure this week they get to own the "BELIEVE" mantra that's been making the rounds with various teams, most recently with Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. Despite losing this pick, I have to say I'm happy to lose it when it means such an underdog wins. Probably one of the few games I was excited about losing.

And finally, I think I'm getting out the fog of this cold and infection. I still have a lingering cough, which is annoying and I have a massive list of things to do that I should have been doing last week but it feels good to be conscious again.

Let's hope luck keeps getting better...

Pig swig

2011-12-17T19:28:00.002-05:00

Is it the DayQuil...

or does this six-pack look very promising?

Sick

2011-12-16T18:56:00.003-05:00

I came back from California feeling under the weather and it really came to a head by the end of the week. I'm ready to pass out armed with antibiotics, five bags of various gummies, and a few different bags of chips. I guarantee the edibles will be gone in 24 hours.

Football Pool misery

2011-12-15T07:18:00.000-05:00

Argh. Unlike my glorious overall win last year, including a few weeks' wins, this year I have only come as close as 2nd (which means nothing) in a week and have come in DFL 3 times this year, including last week. Overall, I'm currently in the middle and it's very frustrating and annoying.

With only 3 weeks left, I pushing to at least win a week. Hopefully, I'll get a good start--let's go Jacksonville!

Holiday Concert

2011-12-14T18:31:00.002-05:00

Last night was the Holiday Concert for the band, orchestra, and chorus at Velina's school. Velina was very excited (and secretive) about the side project she was working on for the show.

It turns out that she hardly played her viola at all--she was part of the group that danced around in wrapping paper with a Santa during one of the songs. Hmph. Well, it wasn't what we expected but Velina really enjoyed herself.

M Vista

2011-12-13T17:26:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Groupon, we enjoyed a nice lunch at M Vista, a restaurant which features various Asian cuisine, like delicious sushi:

Besides the classics like yellowtail and eel, they also do nouveau type rolls, like this Mojito roll in the center featuring fresh lime and whitefish:

And they still give a fortune cookie at the end:

Oh yes, please.

Goodbye SoCal

2011-12-12T22:56:00.002-05:00

As I left SoCal today, I was able to sneak in one last coffee with Linda, though Oli got juice instead:

I was also able to get a few last kisses from him, the best being "with sound". He leans in and gently puts his cheek near mine and makes the "mmmmmm" sound and eventually caps it off with a "muah". I loved it.

I actually got on a flight with a movie, "Crazy Stupid Love", which is such a rarity for me since I usually fly so many short leg flights. I fell asleep. Good thing I already saw it.

And finally, my dinner at the Chicago airport:

Does this look like a $15 meal to you? I know, me neither.

Venice Visit

2011-12-10T18:35:00.003-05:00

I was able to squeeze in another visit to LA and spend an afternoon in Venice with a friend of mine who lives in downtown LA. As suggested by the crafty Amy Tangerine, we hit the splendid Lemonade and my lovely friend treated me to an awesome lunch:

I wanted to eat EVERYTHING. I settled on blood orange lemonade and four salads:

Namely:
- Beluga lentils with house made salmon sausage, lemon & horseradish
- Watermelon radish with ahi tuna, snap peas, and sesame
- Spaghetti squash with farro and pomegranate vinaigrette
- Snap peas with edamame, sesame

They were all soooo good. Yes, I ate them all.

I also got a sandwich of spicy tuna, avocado, carrot slaw, sriracha aioli on laffa bread:

Yes, I ate the whole thing. And for dessert, this giant salted caramel macaron:

Afterwards we walked around a bit. We stopped in this Scandinavian store, Huset, and I picked up a house-warming gift for the newlyweds I was seeing later: Totally cute right?

We refueled with a couple of ridiculously delicious iced lattes from Intelligentsia:

And also hit Urbanic, where we both got these 7 year moustache pens. Man it will be a bummer if I lose this pen in less than 7 years:

And I also picked up some cute washi tape and some of Amy's illustrious mixtape.

We also spent time at the Tortoise General Store, where I picked up some cute animal mugs and color pencil set for another friend's daughter's birthday. Regretfully, no pix! I also regret not picking up the Yoshitomo Nara (hands-down, one of my favorite artists) sketch book "Nobody Knows" or this other book "Brooch" by Yoshie Watanabe and Yayako Uchida (it was like a piece of art that you could journey through) while I was there.

Well, that definitely motivates me to visit Venice again next time I'm in SoCal! Needless to say, it was a great afternoon!

Awards Banquet

2011-12-10T01:34:00.003-05:00

The blessed reason I came out was the Awards Banquet and it was wonderful. There was a moving tribute to our COO who had passed away this year and the food was fantastic. Chocolate souffle anyone?

(Sorry for the photo of the half-eaten dessert, I just about inhaled it when I realized I wanted to take a picture of it.)

And bonus! K., who bid farewell in June, was in town and joined us for the get-together afterwards.

Sigh. Just like old times!

My Secret Santa efforts

2011-12-09T07:05:00.004-05:00

My Secret Santa efforts were a bit thwarted as I was traveling in and couldn't really pack anything to do my usual decorative adventures like in 2009 or 2008. My recipient had put down sun and beach as interests so I tried to create a sunny theme by absconding with these decorative balls from my friends and attempting to spray paint them yellow and orange. My plan was to hang them from her ceiling like little sunshiny orbs. Unfortunately, it appears I should have primed them first:

Fail. My first day as Secret Santa, I simply gave a lotto scratcher (which I heard won her a dollar--hooray!). Then my friend L, suggested making a beach scene with supplies already there. BRILLIANT. That night, magic happened--I felt I got my Secret Santa mojo back. What do you think of this little office beach?

Including a wave on her door--yes!

On the following days, I gave her a mixtape CD, an iTunes card, and for the gift under the tree, a jump rope she asked for and this cute hypotrochoid set (anybody remember Spirograph?):

I also had the opportunity to help another Secret Santa whose recipient, S., loves Marc Anthony and candy. I found this close-enough look-alike at the dollar store, gave him a microphone made from a rolled-up post-it, and put him on a stage of candy that said "Marc Anthony Sings S. Sweet Something".

Man, I LOVE Secret Santa!

SoCal time with Linda

2011-12-08T22:01:00.002-05:00

I got to spend some time with Linda, where she made the most delicious cupcakes ever--Salted Caramel:

Wow, they were perfect. The cake was delicious and she managed to get the top just a little crispy and then the frosting was the perfect addicting combination of salty and sweet. She says she got the recipe at Sprinkle Bakes so I aim to try to recreate these myself someday.

We also had a little fun with Siri on my iPhone 4s:

And of course, a little PocketBooth fun:

Oli even indulged me:

Would have loved to spend more time with my beautiful crafty friend, but grateful for the time I got!

Secret Santa!

2011-12-08T22:00:00.002-05:00

I managed to convince my workplace to do an abbreviated Secret Santa while I was out there and they were down with it! I was so excited--I just love the opportunity to do a little something nice for someone you may or may not know so well. And well, it's pretty nice to get sweet surprises everyday too.

On Day 1, I received some sweet "coal" (peppermint bits rolled in chocolate) and a $5 Starbucks card--awesome way to start a Monday:

On Day 2, I got this fancy Green Tea soap and cute memopad keychain:

On Day 3, some sweet Ghiradelli chocolates, Christmas candle, and this wild "instant vase":

On the final day, under the office Christmas tree:

I got the Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows part 2 DVD!

Thanks to my Secret Santa, K! It was perfect.

Getty Center

2011-12-07T23:32:00.002-05:00

I managed to convince a friend to take a trip up to the Getty Center. I made a trip before with the girl and her friend, but when led by two 5th graders, I didn't get to check out a lot of the pavilions. After going through it, I have to say that for such a richly endowed museum, I'm a little surprised how sparsely curated it is. On the other hand, it makes for a very doable day visit. This piece struck me the most:

It's called "Christ and the Adulteress" by Valentin de Boulogne (French, 1591-1632). It's the scene from the Bible, where an adulteress is brought to Jesus to confirm that she should be stoned. And Jesus writes on the ground and says, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." First, one of my favorite Biblical stories rebuking self-righteousness as righteousness. Second, I'm fascinated by the use of light in this painting. The informational placard says the artist was influenced by the dramatic light and realism of Caravaggio and I'm drawn in, not only to the dramatic lights on Jesus and the Adulteress but also the state of dress and body language of the Adulteress. Finally, I just love the composition overall of innocence and judgment, dark and light, and cruelty and hope.

The other piece which grabbed my attention was this 1950 sculpture "Angel of the Citadel" by Marino Marini (1901-1980). I love that this had a sign that said "Do Not Enter" because I could see all sorts of great photo ops ranging from oblivious parents putting their kid on the horsey to a clever hipster mimicking it saying "so EXCITED to be here!"

The exhibit that my friend and I were struck by the most was a temporary photography exhibit by Carrie Mae Weems entitled "From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried" where she overlaid 19th century African-American portraits with a powerful and, at times, poignant, narrative. Wish there was a catalog or that they allowed pictures--I highly recommend it if you can make it up there before the exhibit leaves March 11, 2012.

But frankly the best part of the Getty Center is the Center itself. The architecture and gardens are amazing and then, there's the view of LA:

And it's pretty awesome when the sun goes down too:

Happy Birthday Augie!

2011-12-07T07:19:00.002-05:00

Enjoy the big One, Handsome!

On a plane to SoCal

2011-12-04T10:59:00.002-05:00

I'm off to SoCal for our company's Awards banquet--looking forward to seeing everyone and eating at my fave vegetarian places.

Skimming the airline magazine, I am in love with this beautiful point-and-shoot, the Fujifilm X10:

Even if I had the money to burn, I couldn't justify getting this camera for myself considering the DSLR and awesome glass I already own BUT if I did have the money to burn, I'd love giving this as a gift to my friends. Honestly, I love this little camera like some folks drool over jewelry. Gaaahhh! I just want this beauty around my neck, I'm sure it would great on me!

Wedding Reception in Columbia

2011-12-03T23:25:00.002-05:00

We were fortunate to be invited to the wedding reception of the owner of our gym, E. and her softball team coaching wife, T. These lovely ladies actually went up to New York to get married but wanted to celebrate with all their friends and family in South Carolina. They were dressed in elegant black and white and they had an entourage dressed in a rainbow of colors. Before they made their entrance they had us guests line up, Soul Train style. Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" played and the entourage came dancing in with the happy couple making their happy entrance:

Later in the evening the brides and entourage performed a choreographed dance to Chris Brown's "Forever":

Definitely cute, fun, and can't help put a smile on your face.

On top of that, T's softball team put together their own choreographed dance together to LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It":

Needless to say, like the whole wonderful night, it was awesome.

Big Gay Ice Cream

2011-12-02T00:57:00.008-05:00

I took a break from NJ and drove up to New York for a night. My sister and I decided to check out Big Gay Ice Cream down the street from her apartment. It started as an ice cream truck and was famous for their interesting combinations like vanilla soft serve with dulce de leche, sea salt, and chocolate:

It was delicious:

Worth the trip!

I bring Trouble

2011-12-01T07:39:00.002-05:00

On my last trip to SoCal, one of the friends I stayed with pointed out that whenever I stay with them, something goes awry with their home--unannounced water shut-off, unexplainable sulfur smell emanating out of their kitchen drain, etc. Well, apparently, my gift for trouble has branched out from the Golden State to the Garden State.

Just a couple of miles down from my mom's home, there was a police standoff for a few hours yesterday. When I passed by around 4, there were some Philly news vans, and the road was blocked off. There weren't many details in The Trentonian, but apparently a distraught man, originally from Florida, fled from a Pennsylvania road stop (possibly with a gun), and ended up holing up for a while on Jones Farm, which ironically is run by the NJ Department of Corrections. Fortunately for all, the stalemate ended peacefully with the suspect turning himself in and I get to edit my reputation of bringing resolved trouble wherever I go.

Welcome to Ewing

2011-11-30T22:55:00.008-05:00

For the most part, I grew up in the idyllic suburbs of Trenton, NJ. The township was Ewing, but at some point after I graduated and moved to NYC, Ewing seceded and became its own entity and now, technically, I'm from Ewing.

Near our neighborhood, is Jones Dairy Farm, a minimum security prison farm run by the NJ Department of Corrections.

They actually produce dairy products bought and sold in the state of New Jersey. One of my clear memories of my adolescent years was my friend's mom firmly declaring that we should stop riding our bikes past it in the summer time in our shorts.

When I was senior here, we had one Advanced Placement class, Calculus. By the time my sister graduated here, they were up to three. I wonder how many they have now.

One summer I worked as a waitress for Stewart's Root Beer, but now it's a Greek restaurant:

I remember my boss saw me fill a soft serve cone and he said I put too much in it. He said it was unnecessary to fill the cone and just start it on the lip of the cone. From then on, he made me weigh each cone I served making sure it only weighed 3 ounces.

There used to be a lot of industry in town, including a Fisher Body plant for GM, but it's gone now.

But now there is a Kung Fu/Tai Chi school (they let me work out there a couple times this week):

And now there is a sushi place here:

I had their salmon teriyaki bento box for lunch:

And had a fortune cookie for dessert:

Starbucks = Sweet internet

2011-11-29T21:27:00.002-05:00

Treated myself to a Peppermint Mocha and helped myself to the internet after a rainy day here--sweet.

Big Monday Adventures

2011-11-28T21:16:00.003-05:00

I love a good sandwich and hoagies (or heroes or subs) are my hands-down fave. So when in Jersey, I feel I should be allowed to treat myself to a good one, so I went to Primo Hoagie:

I got the Cheese Deluxe:

Man, it hit the spot. In hindsight, this is definitely heading in the opposite of one of my resolutions (finishing a bag of Milanos last night didn't help), but so good. I think the crusty bread really makes it. That and just the right amount of oil and vinegar to brighten the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and peppers. I would love to eat another one right now.

Also headed to the local library:

Internet at last! I centered some of the pix from the previous posts (it was driving me crazy) and I'm actually getting sucked into a book (Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell) here (which at least sending me in the positive direction for a different resolution). Since I can't check it out, I hope it's still here tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Sunday night

2011-11-27T23:29:00.014-05:00

Mom doesn't have Internet (I've been posting with my iPhone), but I did watch another one of my many football picks go horribly wrong on one of her 12 channels:

Yes, I finished those Milanos and yes, those are portraits of me and my sister from a vacation to Cape Cod decades ago. I remember it being a great family vacation. My dad was excited to have an artist draw our portraits on the spot. I think I was 11 and my sister about 2. I remember we went to an all-you-can-eat clambake on the side of the road. See? I told you it was a great vacation.

I also found the gumption to replace this dinosaur of a microwave:

With this one:

So worth it. The old one took forever to heat up food. And gotta love those "Express" buttons. What an improvement 30 years makes.

Happy Birthday and Rest in Peace, Dad

2011-11-27T13:00:00.003-05:00

For what it's worth, this is the only way our kids will know Dad.

He passed away less than a month before Velina, his first granddaughter, was born and he also didn't get to meet his first grandson, Augie.

Or properly PocketBooth with him:

(Don't worry, Dad would have been cool with this.)

Some PocketBooth fun

2011-11-26T18:17:00.003-05:00

A little PocketBooth fun with Augie, though I couldn't quite get him hip to the concept of making different faces for each snap:

Though I certainly had fun trying!

On the plus side

2011-11-25T21:15:00.001-05:00

I get to see this adorable guy:

Who lifts spirits other than just mine:

Going to NJ

2011-11-25T13:30:00.003-05:00

Mom finally got seen by a doctor after a number of years and she has a laundry list of afflictions that just made me want to run for 5 miles and eat nothing but carrots and celery. So she's not feeling super. But everything can be manageable. Going to meet up with Mom and Sis and help her feel better.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T23:47:00.002-05:00

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving!

BTW, these Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Parmesan are keepers:

Courtesy of Real Simple:

1. Heat oven to 375. Oil a shallow 3-quart baking dish
2. In a large bowl, toss:
- 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4" rounds
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Pour into baking dish, cover tightly with foil and until tender, about 45 min.
3. Then remove foil and sprinkle with mixture of:
- 3/4 cup of chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp of fresh thyme leaves
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
and bake uncovered until pecans are toasted, about 10 min.

If you find the canned yams or the sweet potato casseroles topped with marshmallows too sweet, this side dish is a nice balance of sweet and savory with the help of the Parmesan and fresh thyme. And the crunchy pecans were a great pop too!

They balanced nicely with my "dirty" mashed potatoes:

AKA, too-lazy-to-peel-so-many-potatoes.

I'm always on the lookout for something new and relatively easy. Anybody have new dishes they tried for Thanksgiving?

Bend the rules sewing

2011-11-23T22:01:00.001-05:00

I recently took this book out of the library for some more sewing inspiration, Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol:

Velina had a friend over and I thought the "No Cash Wallet" would be a good project for the girls and they were game. They both have a little sewing experience but it was easier for me to cut the fabric pieces for them since I did it from measurements rather than the pattern. But overall, they did a good job, though one can see it's not so easy to sew straight:

They enjoyed picking out the fabrics for the outside and inside:

Overall, a good job, right?

Do you Smash?

2011-11-21T19:06:00.003-05:00

The latest craze in scrapbooking are Smash Books. Truth be told, the concept isn't new but I have to give a mad tip of the cap to their marketing. Here is their killer video that just gets you hooked:

Even the girl got hooked! So then I figured I definitely have enough paper and other supplies, including a Bind-It-All , so why not make our own Smash Book? I found a great tutorial for a near replica of a Smash Book on Francine Clouden's blog, but we decided to try her lovely simple spiral-bound journal first.

Ta-da!

Here are some of the papers Velina chose--LOVE these polka dots:

I was crazy about this bird paper--glad it's being used!

Velina also chose this lovely flower paper--man, what was I saving it for?

And here is some of her "smashing"--spontaneous penny art:

And some pix of her friends that she cut and wrote around:

Smashing, right?

Regional orch

2011-11-20T08:24:00.000-05:00

Last spring, Velina made it into the the County Honors Orchestra. Recently, there were tryouts for the Regional Honors Orchestra. A Regional Honors orchestra encompasses a number of counties and there are four total in the state. Velina was the only one from her school that made the cut (she was 8th chair Viola):

I have to say their performance last night was really enjoyable--I credit the selection as well as the talented kids--I even shelled out $20 for the CD and look forward to listening to it. I really hope she sticks with playing the viola!

Maus

2011-11-18T23:04:00.009-05:00

I know this is a graphic novel, but I'm counting it as a book (book #5 of 10 for my New Year's Resolution, fyi). Really well done. Despite its "comics" form, the author/artist really conveys the gravitas of the Holocaust as well as the heart-aching aftermath of the lives of some of the survivors. I started reading it and couldn't put it down. I recommend it.

Vista Lights

2011-11-17T23:20:00.003-05:00

Tonight we checked out Vista Lights, where there is a tree-lighting ceremony and shops kick off the holiday season.

We kind of dug the S'more's station set outside Longhorn's:

You just grabbed a marshmallow (already put on a stick) and toasted it over the fire:

And assembled the rest with the graham crackers and chocolate:

The girl dug it too:

And the nice tree lit up with one of the shortest speeches ever (which I totally appreciated as the temperature was dropping fast into the 40s):

Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner at Miyo's:

With a very nice dessert:

And by that I mean--I hope the fortune comes true!

Is this a sign?

2011-11-16T23:19:00.004-05:00

that I really need to get crackin' on one of my New Year's resolutions?

Yeesh, I was stuck behind this truck for a mile. A long, slow mile.

Finished, finally: The Now Habit

2011-11-15T23:43:00.005-05:00

I finally finished this book I borrowed nearly half a year ago, The Now Habit (a book to overcome procrastination--oh yes, I totally see the irony):

Besides being more productive in general, or at least productive without the proverbial gun to my head, I'm aiming to be more efficient with my time for not only things I have to get done, but also things I want to get done.

Which of course, made me think of my New Year's Resolutions for this year:

- At 158 (about 2 pounds heavier than last year's New Year Day), I AGAIN aim to break 150

Argh, not even close. I managed to gain weight during the year but only drop back down to the 158 I am today.

- Manage productivity better: declutter and manage time better

Ok, honestly, I think I've gotten much better with the decluttering. I already got some positive comments from friends and family who have visited me now (and knew me before) and said I have definitely improved on decluttering. To my credit, I have really enjoyed having less stuff and often look for ways not to accumulate more stuff and still see what I can get rid of. One of my new favorite websites this year has been Unclutterer to help keep me in that mindset.

In terms of time management--hopefully this book will help me.

- Get a better workflow for post-processing photos (I have no trouble taking lots of pictures, it's the uploading and clean-up editing that takes so much time and daunts me)

Epic fail. Not even close.

- Get comfortable with flash--yes, including my 580EXII

Finally, a Yes!

- Do 6 photo shoots (including post-processing) in 2011 (including one inspired by the beautiful Tim Walker book my sister gave me)

Not close again. I did one planned shoot and one learning shoot this year so far...but didn't produce finished pix.

- Make stuff (using the stuff I moved out here to SoCar) - focus on upcycling

Okay--not bad here, I'm going to give myself a Yes. I had my porch redo, I upcycled a stained sweater with a patch, made French Macarons, and of course, made zippered pouches for my big project, "Crafting for Alzheimer's", where I used up a nice portion of my fabric stash. And best of all, now I'm really itching to do more...

- get out more--especially with the girl

This I could do better. Except a trip to the beach during her spring break, our excursions have been mostly for errands and taking her to her activities--though I will qualify that conversations, games, and any time I get to have with her has been quality, considering how much more time she likes to spend talking and hanging with her friends.

- read 10 books in 2011

Falling short so far--I have a near dozen books I have started that I haven't finished. In terms of finished books I read: This is Where I Leave You (by Jonathan Tropper), Bossypants (by Tina Fey), Ape House (by Sara Gruen), and The Now Habit (by Neil Fiore). Yikes, let's see if I can finish 6 books in 2 months.

- watch 12 good movies in 2011

I'm going to say Yes on this one. I did catch up on bunch of movies: Young@Heart, Pulp Fiction, Source Code, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, The King's Speech, The Social Network, Bridesmaids, The Town, Beginners, Crazy Stupid Love, Tree of Life, Cedar Rapids, Due Date, Horrible Bosses, and Bad Teacher. Though I wouldn't necessarily rave about all 15 of them, I'd recommend the first 10.

- write more

Well, this was vague, wasn't it? Write more than what? Hmm, I'll give myself a pass on this one. That's one thing confirmed from the Now Habit--much more specific goals.

Okay, let's see what I finish in these last 2 months of 2011!

The dance

2011-11-12T08:30:00.003-05:00

The girl had a fun time at the dance and even acknowledged my presence in pleasant, non-horrified manner. She and her friends had a great time just hanging and jumping to the music. Sigh. Like mother, like daughter.

Despite getting more familiar with my camera and flash together this week, I wasn't able to use them because the printers the PTO was printing photos with didn't accept my CF card. So I ended up using a different camera with a fixed on-board flash that I couldn't swivel, re-direct, or adjust the flash exposure compensation. The pictures were a bit blown out with the flash but the seasoned PTO mother who has run this "photo booth" before assured me that the kids didn't even notice that. I did get informed (and told to re-take pictures) that the kids couldn't make "hand signs" of any kind in the pictures, so going forward I had to keep an eye out and tell the kids to keep the hands down. I was a bit disappointed that the pix weren't as well exposed as I had wanted (and practiced for) but another PTO mother thought the pictures came out great and like how I composed them. And more importantly the kids loved them. So I'll take it as a good learning experience and hope I'll get to do it next year.

On your way, you pretties

2011-11-11T07:11:00.004-05:00

For the girl's dance, I opted to make these chocolate dipped pretzel rods. So much quicker and easier than baking cookies--plus they're a nice combo of salty and sweet, rather just sweet. At my age, I can't handle so much pure sweetness. I'm banking on some kids feeling the same way. Otherwise, I wonder if these are the equivalent of apples and pencils being given out to Trick-or-Treaters?

Getting ready

2011-11-10T07:28:00.002-05:00

I scored a chaperoning gig for the girl's 7th Grade dance. Like last year's dance, the girl is thrilled.

But besides setting up the cafeteria, providing gift cards for door prizes, donating to the sandwich trays, and baking a dessert, I am going to be one of the official photographers there taking group pictures! So I'm boning up on my flash use:

Kind of really excited!

Temptation Be Gone

2011-11-09T07:28:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while when when there is tempting junk food in the cupboards (thanks to my optimistic expectation of Trick-or-Treaters), I think, "this has just got to be out of here." And for some reason, the most efficient way I come up with late at night is to stuff my face with it. I have managed to apply this "method" to bags of chips as well.

Anybody else use this method for clearing out junk food? No? Just me?

My $100 cup of coffee

2011-11-08T20:16:00.000-05:00

Velina goes to an orthodontist that came highly recommended and he seems very popular. It's a very nice office, which includes complimentary coffee and a nice selection of popular magazines in the comfy waiting area, like People and O, not just those lame free ones that the pharmaceutical companies publish.

And as anybody who has experienced orthodontic expenses, you can be sure I like to get there early, get my hot cup of coffee, and settle in with some gossip rag to get my money's worth.

Ka-ching. I'm winning, right?

And they're off

2011-11-07T07:45:00.000-05:00

I finished making the zippered pouches for my Crafting for Alzheimer's fundraiser:

Including adding the tags:

And wrapping them up for shipping:

They're going out today (except those I'm still waiting on mailing addresses)! Thanks again!

READaissance

2011-11-04T07:56:00.001-04:00

The girl had a READaissance at her school last night, celebrating literacy through the arts. She was asked to read a poem as part of one teacher's celebration:

Of course, very proud of her.