I'm not dead, I swear! I feel like I've been running around all week, so that doesn't leave a lot of time to posts on Dreamwidth. I've also been doing a lot of cooking this week and have some pictures to show for it.

( Pics, pics, pics )

Mood drained Music The Fashion Show, in the background Tags: cooking diaries, food, pictures

Okay, so after a month of breathless anticipation, I plunked down at 10:00 to watch the season premiere of My Life on the D-List and now I have one question: was it just me, or was Bette Midler really frickin' rude to Kathy? I mean, I know KG can probably grate a little on people, but she was so obnoxiously imperious throughout the whole show that I couldn't help wondering why she agreed to be on in the first place. Apparently BM exchanged her appearance on the show for Kathy's emcee services, so she obviously knows what KG's like. I gotta say, I felt so bad for Kathy when she went to congratulate BM and the first thing out of the singer's mouth was that she didn't approve of her onstage joke. Hello? That's what Kathy's best at - scandalizing middle-aged people!

Anyway, today was a nice, well-rounded day. I got up, did a little bit of cleaning, tried to buy 212 from Sephora but couldn't because the site was down, traveled to Yellow Springs with Dad and my brother in order to see the therapist (hereby known as Dr. Funke) again, got lunch at skeevy Subway, had strange session at therapist's which involved yelling angrily at stuffed animals, came back home to pick up Mom, finally ordered 212, went to awesome Japanese place for dinner, ordered bibimbap but couldn't eat it because I wasn't sure if the brown curly things were a type of vegetable or animal intestine, came home to watch Kathy Griffin, then Conan, and am now writing this. Well done, self.

Mood relaxed Tags: food, life at home, mental health stuff, shopping, television

Monday was Memorial Day, and for my family Memorial Day = awkward cook out. I frickin' love cook outs. I love the drama of choosing between a hamburger and a hot dog. I love planning which salads (out of the 20 billion varieties that abound in the Midwest) are going to be made. I love that there is a very big chance that flavored lemonade is available. So, yeah, I'm a cook out fiend. I really want to learn how to grill this summer so when the time comes for me to host my own cook out, I will be so ready. Since I can't grill yet, I couldn't contribute any meat, so I decided to do dessert. Because this was actually a holiday, I decided to aim big, and so I spent most of the day making Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes.

( CUPCAKES! )

Mood lazy Tags: cooking diaries, food, holidays, life at home, pictures

So there I was, my hands all gritty with cornmeal, making biscuits, when all of a sudden a lady from Von Maur, one of the stores I applied to, called. OMG! She sounded really interested in me...until I said that I was only looking to work during the summer. Apparently they don't hire temp workers. I was pretty crushed, so my dinner ended up missing that certain zing that comes from being fully engaged in the cooking of it. I was pretty sad, and so I was a bit sloppy. Overall, it wasn't bad but it could have been better. This is going to bug me for a while, I can tell.

Anyway, my menu evolved partially as a private joke - it's very loosely based on the concept of an English dinner, as shepherd's pie is the main attraction, but it's heavily Ameicanized. I got a little smirk out of literally making pudding to end things, because it's another word for "dessert" in England, but I didn't want to be too over-the-top themey.





( Images, Ahoy!  )

Mood sad Tags: cooking diaries, food, pictures, work?

Tonight was my first night to cook, and I think everything turned out really well. There were no disasters in the kitchen, the food turned out as described and tasted good, and I gained some cooking confidence that will serve me well. I documented everything, so you can see what I was up to.

( Very image intensive! )

Mood accomplished Music Wake Up - Arcade Fire Tags: cooking diaries, food, pictures

My mother is a huge Star Trek fan, and since she has put up with all the geeky movies I've dragged her to over the years, I thought it was only fair to accompany her to the Star Trek movie on Mother's Day. I was pretty worried going into it, since I'm not a big sci-fi person (my tastes definitely lean more towards fantasy) and the only things I know about Star Trek come from the fragmented info I have gleamed about it from Futurama. But you know what? I actually the movie was pretty cool, in the same slick, popcorn movie type way Ironman charmed a lot of people last year. I was able to follow along fairly well, despite the fact that time travel always makes my head hurt. I could also tell that the actors were doing a great job fitting into their iconic roles, while still being fresh and entertaining. And, to sound really lame, I thought the score was fabulous. It's pretty rare for a movie nowadays to have a big, resounding brass score, and this one fit the "looking back to the past but geared towards the present" vibe this movie had going for it perfectly.

Today I'm doing lots of little things. I'm starting to work on a TBA creative project that is probably going to make me tear my hair out in about two weeks, but I'm feeling a creative drive that I haven't felt in a long time, so right now I'm in writer heaven. I'm also preparing the menu I'm going to attempt on Wednesday. Since I'm such a shitty cook, I'm going to do an "easy Italian" meal with lasagna, salad with homemade garlic dressing, and brownie sundaes. Yum!

It's only 1:30 and I'm already tired out, so I think a nap might be necessary soon. I haven't had a lot of downtime since being home, so I'm glad to have today to re-charge my batteries. For the next few days, things are going to be mighty busy.

Mood lazy Music Star Trek soundtrack - Michael Giacchino Tags: food, life at home, movies, writing

Well, after another year of academic toil, here I am, sitting in my favorite armchair, reflecting on my first day at home. To cut to the chase, I'm really frickin' stuffed. Yesterday, to celebrate having moved me out of my room successfully, my parents and I stopped at Easton to eat at Mitchell's Ocean Club, which is one of my favorite restaurants. It's a steakhouse with all the traditional trimmings (wedge salads, separate sides, bearnaise sauce, etc.) and an old-school vibe that I think is really cool. The decor has your typical wood paneling and white table cloths, but there are some retro-futuristic (think Jetsons) touches all over the place that give it an extra zing. I love everything about the place, from the bar-mixed lemonade they serve with fresh OJ to the corn dotted with jalapeno. Of course I had to indulge - it was the end of the semester! Except...

...I forgot we were going to Fleming's, an upscale steakhouse chain tonight to celebrate Mother's Day with my mother and grandmother. Uh oh! My motto in life is that you only live once, so I repeated last night's orgy of meat and blue cheese, only this time chocolate lava cake joined the party. I don't think I've ever been this full before. My center of gravity shifted because I ate so much, so I kept teetering back and forth while walking to the car.

I know this extreme face-stuffing isn't exactly something to be proud of, so I'm happy to say I did start making overtures on the job front today. I stopped in at Sephora and got an application, while sending my dad to Books & Co. to scout out the job situation. I also went to Ulta this morning to talk to someone about the application I filled out a few days ago, but from the looks of the store, they're circling the drain, so I decided to move on. Last year, I was dragging my feet about finding work, but this year, I really am going to try my best to get a job. Quite simply, I want money. I'm crossing my fingers, hoping something will crop up.

Mood full Tags: food, life at home, restaurants, work?