January 2009 Archives

I usually go to spinning class on Thursday nights. I look forward to it, actually. I like the teacher - he plays good music and he keeps the routines interesting - and going to that class gets me home at a decent hour for Thursday evening TV watching.

The last two weeks I've skipped spinning. Last week it was because I was tired and really wanted to get home earlier than usual. This week it was because I needed to finish up a project that really should have been done yesterday. I got caught up in something else right at 5, which meant that I just couldn't finish my report edits in time to get to spinning. So I ditched again.

The first night I had to make my way past two accidents and a tanker truck broken down in the center of the road so I actually got home later than usual. Then tonight there was a very bad accident and they closed the highway. Everyone was diverted off and detoured on to the local roads. I got home at 9:20.

I'll make sure to go to spinning class next week, I think. Everyone on 270 will thank me, and the universe will know that I've gotten the message. Skipping spinning will get me nowhere fast.

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book won the Newberry Medal for children's literature today. Congratulations, Neil!

If you don't know, the Newberry Medal is awarded by the ALA and has gone to such fabulous books as Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan, Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and Holes by Louis Sachar in the past, as well as one of my all-time favorite Katherine Paterson books, Jacob Have I Loved, which tells the story of two sisters growing up on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

I thought The Graveyard Book was delightful and highly enjoyable and am thrilled that it will get even more attention and exposure now that it has won an award. It is exactly the sort of book that helped my imagination soar as a child. Also, seeing as how I gave it a positive review here, it is nice to see my opinions backed up by the experts.

Now, if you haven't read The Graveyard Book, go get yourself a copy. You'll be glad you did. Even librarians agree!

I made a new french toast recipe for breakfast this morning. The only word for it is scrumptious. It is so yummy I have to share!

Baked Apple Cinnamon French Toast

1/2 loaf of bread suitable for french toast, cut into one inch cubes. I used King's Hawaiian Bread, but I think challah would probably work just as well.

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar, divided

2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided

2 medium apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat over 350 degrees (I upped the temperature to 375 because I

wanted to be sure the bread wasn't soggy.)

Place bread cubes in greased 8x8 inch pan

Combine eggs, milk, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix

well. Pour half over the bread cubes.

Top with the apple slices.

Pour remaining egg mixture over the apples.

Mix 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and shake over the apples.

Dot the top with the butter. Bake 40-45 minutes until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve with syrup and prepare to be delighted!

Way to put the name of the chef who got eliminated in the headline in the entertainment section. Did it never occur to you that maybe people who are big fans of your show might not have gotten to see it yet? Yes, I was cheating on you with another network (edited to clarify: NBC Universal owns Bravo, the network on which Top Chef airs) so that I could watch the season premiere of Lost. That's neither here nor there. Have some common sense, headline writing monkeys. It is not that hard to write a headline without giving anything away.

You know how I know? I've been a headline monkey. While you do have to put some thought into them to optimize them for search and make them interesting so people will click, it really isn't that difficult. You know how you would have gotten more clicks? Try Find out who got eliminated on Top Chef! OR Restaurant Wars on Top Chef - who won?

See...Not that hard. Jerks.

Where did the last week go? One minute it was de-lurking day, and then the next I was really busy, and a whole week flew by. Thanks to everyone who commented. If I haven't made it by your blog to say hello, I will this week.

In the last week, I have:

• Been delighted that Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe for In Bruges. He totally deserved it. If you haven't seen the movie, go rent it. You will love it and thank me. Although be prepared, it is kind of a downer.

• Enjoyed the delicious Cupcake in a Jar that I won for being part of Jenn's Virtual Cookie Exchange. It came from the Bangerang Bake Shop, and it was extra awesome. I got the Berry Berry Dark one. Yummy.

• Made a triumphant return to kick boxing class. I missed two weeks because of the holidays and a third week because I'm not sure why, but I went back this week, and it was awesome. Even if they have switched the orientation of the room so that it is all backwards feeling now.

• Started watching the British version of Life on Mars. This show is really, really well done. The episodes I've seen so far have been well written, complex, and quite funny at times. I'll have to check out the American one to see if it even comes close. I also feel the urge to call everyone "guv" now.

• Discovered a new to me mystery writer. Charles Todd has apparently been writing for years, but I just never came across one of his books before. His Inspector Ian Rutledge character is a man trying to put his life back together and return to civilian life after the end of the First World War. He's a fascinating character, suffering from shell shock, but determined not to let anyone know. The portrait that Todd paints of life after the War is so realistic and detailed that you get completely sucked in to the story, or at least I do. I read the first book in the series, A Test of Wills, this weekend and liked it so much I went and ordered a couple more of his books on Amazon today.

• Seen Bride Wars with a couple of my friends (Hi guys!). It had its funny moments, and I like both Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. Definitely a chick flick. I'm not sure there were even any guys in the theater where we saw it.

• Dealt with ONE degree weather. One. Degree. I know, I know, it was like minus 47 degrees in Maine and Minnesota. I feel badly for those people. There are many reasons I don't live in Maine or Minnesota, but now topping the list is the fact that is even possible for it to get to be minus 47 degrees. I live in Maryland, and in Maryland, it is not supposed to get as cold as it was on Friday and Saturday. There were people in my office sitting at their desks wearing hats, coats and scarves. That is too darn cold.

How was your week?

Yes, as Chris reminded me on Friday, it’s that time again. The day where we pause to say hi to the people behind the blogs we read instead of zipping through our blogrolls or feed readers as fast as we can has arrived.

I for one tend to get more comments from Russian spambots that actual people, so I welcome De-Lurking Day. Please, pop out from behind the curtain and tell me that you’re there. This is your chance to say “I hate your stupid recipes” or “Hey, we have similar taste in books. Please tell me more about what you read” or just “hi.”

If you need a specific assignment, you could tell me how your Monday is going. Here's mine: I woke up at 3 am feeling sick to my stomach, but nothing ever happened and I eventually fell back asleep. Now I have a raging sinus headache and a queasy tummy, but don’t feel sick enough to justify skipping work. So I’m about to go upstairs to stare glumly into my closet and pick something to wear to the office. My life is so glamorous.

Now get out there and comment. I promise I’ll be doing the same.

I've been on vacation for the last eleven days, and I'm not going to lie to you - it was fabulous. I need to invent something and make my fortune or win the lottery right quick, because I think I could come to like a life of leisure.

I packed a lot into those 11 days too. I celebrated Christmas and New Year's with my friends and family. I helped cater a holiday party and while I had fun, I also discovered that it takes a ridiculous amount of work to cater a party. There's one more career I can safely cross off my list. I got up the morning of the party, went to the grocery store to get fresh baguettes, and cooked all day until it was time to shower and head to the party. Then I stood for five more hours, heating food in a cluttered and unfamiliar kitchen, weaving my way through the crowds of people to make sure the table stayed stocked, all the while making pleasant chit chat. I'm glad I did it, but never again.

I saw movies. Slumdog Millionaire was wonderful. Sad and funny and perfectly paced, and I think you should go see it. It deserves to win all sorts of awards.

Deathrace was exactly what I expected it to be. Lots of fast driving, ass kicking and blowing shit up. If that's what you're looking for in a movie, Deathrace will deliver. If you want a believable plot, sensitive characters and aren't willing to suspend disbelief, go watch some other movie, because you will not find any of that nonsense in Deathrace.

And then there was Wall-E. Everyone I knew who saw it this summer raved about it, so I expected to like it, and I did. What a sweet movie! Yes, I cried at a robot love story. That Wall-E is very endearing. You got a problem with that?

I received a lot of cheese as gifts, and when I say a lot, what I mean is an amount so massive I could run a cheese cart at the mall. I'm pretty sure people think I'm exaggerating when I tell them about the cheese, so I'm posting photographic evidence here. Behold the power of cheese:

Not one ounce purchased by me.

I spent countless hours of quality time with John and Seamus, the two most important people in my life. I probably did not spend enough time at the gym, but whatever. I'll get back there tomorrow. I saw more of my mom and my dad than I usually do, and even managed to catch up with some of my friends. I read books and daydreamed and took naps.

It was wonderful, and much needed after what was a very rough time for me over the last few months. For once I completely checked out. No reading email, no worrying about voicemails, no thinking about work stuff at all. There were days where I had no idea whether the stock market was up or down. While I won't say I'm delighted to be heading back to work in the morning - I think I could do with one more week of lounging around before I'd start getting nutty - I am going back refreshed and with a much better attitude. Maybe 2009 won't be a complete disaster after all.

How was your holiday?