drammatical

It's 10:30 PM on Sunday night and N has gone to work and I'm supposed to be working. Eh! Can't concentrate though. And what is it that I do when I'm trying to avoid work? Yes, correct, surf the web. I can finish up writing those Christmas cards or order the prints we need for our gifts but that just does not seem interesting enough. Plus I may be away from the wonderful work of www since tomorrow I'll be going to court for possible jury selection. Another eh! This would be something I'd really be psyched about if I didn't have a million things on my plate right now. Guess that's the ways of the world though, nothing comes at a convenient time.

What I am psyched about is this blog I stumbled onto. Haven't read it all but a six month trip, six months off, a six month sabbatical! This sounds like my cup of tea, definitely. So, if you had six months off your lives where would you go? For us its pretty easy, all over America. Might sound boring to some but not to us. We both are very interested in visiting all of South and Central America. We want to learn more about our culture, our people, our history. Other than Africa, most of the Americas remain untouched by industrious powers. To go and walk among amazonians, to see machu picchu, marvel at the highly adapted creatures found nowhere else but Galapagos, I can go on and on.

The funny thing is that the Americas are so unappreciated. The land is so full of life and culture and love. Both N and I have talked about our future, once we get to the stage in our lives when our not-yet born children are outta the house and we're up for retirement. We both agree that we plan on moving on from this place and onto Latin America. Why not? We speak the language, know and respect the culture and to boot we too are Latin American. For now though we must work hard in order to make this dream a reality. So alas I better get my behind back to report writing.

I feel so restless. It is so beautiful outside that all I can think of is anything but work. These windows behind me are only fueling my desires to leave already. Hell I may even make a trip to the SB across the street just to get out. Plus now that I'm bored I want to eat. Something with chocolate.

Alright, in order to distract my brain I'll just continue to rant. Since the New Year is looming and I'm sure everyone will be making resolutions I think I'll share my goals for the month. See I don't make resolutions. As a matter of fact a friend pointed out that NY resolutions are an urban legend, I must agree. Anyway, because I have to talk myself into almost everything I do I started, many moons ago, to make little lists of goals. Sometimes I make lists for each day, a week, or even a month. For December I've already drafted a list which of course is subject to revisions (many I'm sure). Here it is:

1. Jog/ workout at least 5 days out of the week - so far I got 2 days in.
2. Must finish reading eat, pray love
3. Must start and finish The Memory Keeper's Daughter
4. Allowed only 5 trips to SB this month
5. Make dinner at least four nights out of the week
6. Get xmas tree before the 9th
7. Mail out xmas cards by the 5th
8. Refrain from getting annoyed at idiot people, learn to relax
9. Seek volunteering opportunity at church
10. Kiss N every night before I go to bed

Yes, its sad that my poor N had to remind me of the fact that I don't kiss him every night before I go to bed. Sometimes I just lay down and that's it, I'm a goner. We also want to get a xmas tree sooner than later so we can enjoy it longer. As for not getting annoyed, that's going to be a tough one. I'm already starting to get a tad annoyed... And books, man do I have a lot that I haven't read just sitting there on our bookshelves. Yes, no more buying until I read em all. What's on your list*?

*Just pretend you have one please.

I had such a great weekend! Was filled with food, booze, jogging, family and movies. I may still be high off the festivities.

On Friday I worked from home and did some cleaning and cooking. Felt so good finishing all my chores before the weekend. Our poor little apartment hadn't had a proper cleaning since before we left on our trip to Mexico. Speaking of which...


On Saturday I did all our laundry and went for a jog. That jog was one of the most difficult things on earth. I hadn't gone out since before Thanksgiving so I knew that jog was going to be painful, very, and it was. I'm so proud of myself though because I was able to talk myself into doing it and making it at a pretty good pace. Was still very tough though. Later that evening my sis came over with her little monkeys. We had pizza and watched License to Wed. Both my sister and I thought it was quite comical but the kids were looking at us like some uncool losers. Looks as though we've been dumped off the cool train.

Yesterday all we did was watch NFL and drink. Good times I tell ya. Out of all the years I've been watching football I must admit that I only really pay attention when (a) I'm at the game or (b) I have a (monetary) vested interest in it. Since we don't have any NFL teams in our city it was (b) that had me glued to the tube. N won a ton of cash which made him very happy and made me very happy!

Also, I did manage to trick myself into another run yesterday. Boy was that even more painful than Saturday. I was so tired by 6ish that I had to literally take a disco nap. I blamed N's cold claiming that my body was probably trying to fight the cold N has but I really think that those two runs just did me in. What a fattass I've become. The shame. I'm going to give myself some rest today since its Monday and all but come Tuesday I'll have to lock myself out of the apartment to continue with my jogging.

As promised:

20 medium mushrooms
3 tbsp. minced onion
½ cup butter or margarine, divided
1/3 cup of dry bread crumbs (I use both plain and Italian herb)
¼ cup shelled, roasted/ salted pistachios, finely chopped
2 tbsp. chopped parsley (either fresh or dry works)
¼ tsp. marjoram, crushed
¼ tsp. salt

Remove stems from mushroom caps; finely chop stems. Sauté stems and onion in ¼ cup butter until tender. Add breadcrumbs, pistachios, parsley, marjoram and salt. Mix well. Spoon Stuffing into mushrooms caps. Place on baking sheet; drizzle with remaining melted butter (I never have any remaining butter so I just add more butter). Bake 350° F., 5 minutes or until hot.

N loves these and so do I! If you make any please let me know how they came out. Also, I sprinkle parmesan cheese over them just before I put them in the oven.

I'm so happy and relieved yesterday is over with. Was a rough one but in the end it all worked out. Thanks Felicity for the great insight!

I've been trying to fight being SAD and have been pretty successful. The only thing I'm not to proud of is that I've slacked on my running. Must make a better effort to start this up again.

In an effort to lift my spirits up last night I baked some pumpkin walnut loaf. Wasn't able to try it till this morning and man was it good! Really, not to toot my own horn but I've always loved to bake. It's like my hobby! So after I had the bun in the oven we sat down to watch Maxed Out [gulp]. Talk about a scare. I recommend that everyone watch this film. Hell I'm even going over to my parents tonight just to make sure my baby brother watches this. To sum the movie up its a documentary-type film about debt and finance. All the fees attached, gimmicks people fall for, and the true value of all that we pay for. Both N and I make pretty good money, we don't drive luxury cars, our debt isn't out of control but after this film we feel like we've just realized we've been bent over for the last ten years. In other words we're cutting up our credit cards.

Seems like we both have had certain ideas on life and they're all being validated by all these documentaries we're watching. I mean we're not taking what they say word for word but the idea, the concept is right on. It's so scary, terrifying even that so many of us go on without a clue to whats going on around us.

Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see
Its getting hard to be someone, but it all works out
It doesn't matter much to me

Yes, I have taken the the red pill...

This song pretty much sums up my day today...

Help, I need somebody,
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone, help.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me?

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,
My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
But every now and then I feel so insecure,
I know that I just need you like I've never done before.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me, help me, help me, oh.

... for some california grass.

I'm back, from Mexico, Thanksgiving, Out-of-town assignment, and so on. Luckily I won't be going anywhere for work anytime soon. At least not till January/ February until I'm assigned a new job. But enough about that. Now to some fun stuff.

#1. Mexico. Was. Fucking. AWESOME. So much so we were literally depressed coming back. The people, my people, the food, the environment, the water, the booze, the gra… it was all so great. Beyond great.

We went to Ixtapa/ Zihuatanejo. This place is so beautiful. Still so very virgin, which made it so breathtaking. Both N and I have always talked about moving to Mexico, away from this Matrix world. A place full of peace and love and all that. No, we’re not tree huggers, at least not yet. Anyway, it was so refreshing to see people in there domain. Living freely, without a worry. I mean yes people work hard, they work their asses off but in the end it pays off. Here we work our asses off and for what? A Porche? A BMW? To live in the 90210? Seriously, I can’t live like this anymore. The commercial American way that is. So yes, this trip was not only relaxing but also an eye opener. More like a validation to our already thoughts on life. I can seriously go on and on but I’ll stop right here. Just make it to this place if you can, and please go with an open mind. Please treat people with respect. Treat the land with respect. Unfortunately we did see some American tourists already bringing the ways of the gringo down there.

#2. Thanksgiving. This was really our first Thanksgiving here in the States as a married couple. We hosted N’s mom and sister for brunch at our little casita and then headed off to my sister’s in the boondocks for dinner. Except we were so full from brunch we didn’t eat. Whoops. Fun was had all day though. Lots of drinking of course and catching up with my sis. I love her to death and I hate that we don’t spend more time together.

As for the food, I actually took it upon myself to become Suzy Homemaker for a day. I did all the prepping/ cooking on Wednesday and on Thursday it was nothing but reheating. I made two quiches (thanks G!), stuffed mushrooms, gravy, brownies, and a fruit salad. I wanted to also make a pumpkin pie but I was really done by the end of the night. I took pictures too! But those will be uploaded later, I swear. As for my recipes:

*My modifications are in italics
Quiche alla Geefunk
10 oz Chopped Spinach [TJ’s frozen]
1 pkg Cubed Pancetta [TJ's] (I used sweet Italian and spicy sasauge from local Italian market)
1/2 an Onion (used brown onion)
1/2 cup diced Mushrooms (maybe next time I’ll add a bit more)
8oz Sour Cream
1/2 pkg TJ's 4 Cheese Italian Shredded Cheese (used 4-cheese from Italian mrkt)
4 Large Eggs (used 5)
3/4 cup half & half
1 1/2 tsp Dry Parsley (used fresh Italian Parsley)
2 - 9inch unbaked pie crusts (used TJ’s frozen pie crusts)
Salt & Pepper

Preheat Oven to 375°

Cook cubed pancetta (sausage) and set aside on paper towel to drain. Cook
spinach according to pkg instructions and allow to cool. Sauté diced onion until transparent. Add diced mushroom and sauté for 2-3min. Mix in cooked pancetta (sausage) and remove from heat. In a bowl mix the sour cream with the drained spinach [use your hands to squeeze out liquid] and season with salt and pepper. In another bowl whisk the eggs, half & half, dry parsley, and salt & pepper. Split mixtures into the 2 pie crusts in this order - spread the sour cream/spinach mixture evenly for the 1st layer, add the onion/mushroom/pancetta (sausage) mixture for the 2nd layer, add a cheese layer, and top with the egg mixture to coat the top. Remember to spread everything evenly on both pie crusts.
[Side note: I felt the need for more of the egg mixture. I think next time I'll use another egg] (Thanks for the rec G!, it worked better with the xtra egg)


Place the 2 quiches on a baking pan and pop in the oven. Cook for 40 mins - until top is golden. Allow to cool for 5-10min. (I only put them in for 30 min since my oven is like Satan’s lair)



Brownies
13 ounces of butter
11 ounces of chocolate chips (usually come in 12 ounce packages – this allows for a little chef snack!)
2 1/2 ounces of dark chocolate
1/4 cup of corn syrup
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
6 ounces nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.), chopped

Preheat the oven to 300F. Spray or grease a baking sheet and line with parchment paper. You may also use a silpat.

Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan, remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips, chocolate and corn syrup until fully melted and mixture is well combined. Set aside to cool.

Whip the sugar, eggs and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy. When the chocolate mixture has cooled to just about room temperature, add it to the sugar and egg mixture until incorporated. Continue mixing and sift in the flour and cocoa powder until combined.

Spread mixture evenly on prepared sheet. Spread the chopped nuts over the top, pressing down with your hands. Bake for about 1 hour until the top is springy to the touch. (all ovens are different, I only have mine in for 40 minutes) To cut, let cool, turn upside down onto a cutting board, remove the parchment paper, reinvert and cut into desired pieces.

Stuffed Mushrooms
... will post later