Well, let me tell you – March has been a busy month for us. With actual paying customers (this is another flaw of our business plan – everyone gets a deal!). It’s like we can’t be stopped!
Check out some of our stuff:
Thursday, March 17, 2011
March Madness
I think I have mentioned in the past how my sisters and I have a ‘business’ which is in quotations because we don’t really make a huge amount of money off of it, but are very enthusiastic about it nonetheless. We do baked goods, Greek desserts, and we’ve recently expanded our empire (ha!) to digital and print invitations as well.
Well, let me tell you – March has been a busy month for us. With actual paying customers (this is another flaw of our business plan – everyone gets a deal!). It’s like we can’t be stopped!
Check out some of our stuff:
Well, let me tell you – March has been a busy month for us. With actual paying customers (this is another flaw of our business plan – everyone gets a deal!). It’s like we can’t be stopped!
Check out some of our stuff:
Thursday, March 10, 2011
One of My Favorites - Deadwood
Look, I understand I’m not Oprah, I don’t have a cult like following (seriously, I haven’t even cracked 10 followers), and nobody asked my opinion, but there are some things that I feel duty bound to share with you because I find them so awesome. My favorites in life mostly consist of irrelevant things, like a TV show, a recipe or a book, but no matter how insignificant, I will be sharing it with you.
Deadwood. I know it has been off the air for five years, but can we all have a shot of whiskey in honor of this great show? Have you seen it? I watched the first season with my sisters in one weekend a few summers ago. Needless to say, our daily level of profanity usage increased tenfold by the season finale.
For those of you who haven’t seen it, it takes place in the Black Hills of a Dakota mining camp. It is 1876 and the camp is primarily made up of a bunch of undesirable people that you should be wary of, but somehow find yourself rooting for. Al Swearengen is the owner of the Gem Saloon and one of the main characters, a true antihero if there ever was one. Let me try and paint a picture. Think of any villainous father from a Disney cartoon and cover him with dirt and that’s physically what he looks like. Next give him the personality of Tony Soprano, with even less regard and value for the fairer sex, and for his final act, give him the strategic prowess of the Spartans during the Battle of Thermopylae (that the Spartans eventually lost, is sort of foreshadowing. Oops – spoiler alert) and that’s kind of who he is in a nutshell. He is also funny, clever and always looking for an angle. I love him. His folly is Seth Bullock.
Bullock came riding into town with his partner Sol Star to open a hardware business, and carry on one of the greatest bromances in the history of television. He is a good guy but can be hard to like. Also, he is played by (one of) my television boyfriends, Timothy Olyphant, so that’s all you really need to know about him. Seriously.
The point is, the show has a lot of interesting characters (some based on real people in history, others completely made up) that you find yourself invested in. It is a smart show, so you have to keep up and pay attention, and it is a pretty show to look at, minus all the dirt everyone seems to be constantly covered in. The dresses and even the way people talk has a nice ring to it (not counting the over forty times the F word was used in the pilot episode). Perhaps I’m making it seem more whimsical than it is – I’ve warned you about the profanity – but I just love the story they are telling, and the entire cast of supporting characters are just as important as the main characters.
Anyways, the show is dead and gone, but you should catch up on DVD, HBO, online, or wherever. You won’t be sorry. In the words of Al Swearengen, “Welcome to fuckin' Deadwood! Can be... combative!”
Deadwood. I know it has been off the air for five years, but can we all have a shot of whiskey in honor of this great show? Have you seen it? I watched the first season with my sisters in one weekend a few summers ago. Needless to say, our daily level of profanity usage increased tenfold by the season finale.
For those of you who haven’t seen it, it takes place in the Black Hills of a Dakota mining camp. It is 1876 and the camp is primarily made up of a bunch of undesirable people that you should be wary of, but somehow find yourself rooting for. Al Swearengen is the owner of the Gem Saloon and one of the main characters, a true antihero if there ever was one. Let me try and paint a picture. Think of any villainous father from a Disney cartoon and cover him with dirt and that’s physically what he looks like. Next give him the personality of Tony Soprano, with even less regard and value for the fairer sex, and for his final act, give him the strategic prowess of the Spartans during the Battle of Thermopylae (that the Spartans eventually lost, is sort of foreshadowing. Oops – spoiler alert) and that’s kind of who he is in a nutshell. He is also funny, clever and always looking for an angle. I love him. His folly is Seth Bullock.
Bullock came riding into town with his partner Sol Star to open a hardware business, and carry on one of the greatest bromances in the history of television. He is a good guy but can be hard to like. Also, he is played by (one of) my television boyfriends, Timothy Olyphant, so that’s all you really need to know about him. Seriously.
The point is, the show has a lot of interesting characters (some based on real people in history, others completely made up) that you find yourself invested in. It is a smart show, so you have to keep up and pay attention, and it is a pretty show to look at, minus all the dirt everyone seems to be constantly covered in. The dresses and even the way people talk has a nice ring to it (not counting the over forty times the F word was used in the pilot episode). Perhaps I’m making it seem more whimsical than it is – I’ve warned you about the profanity – but I just love the story they are telling, and the entire cast of supporting characters are just as important as the main characters.
Anyways, the show is dead and gone, but you should catch up on DVD, HBO, online, or wherever. You won’t be sorry. In the words of Al Swearengen, “Welcome to fuckin' Deadwood! Can be... combative!”
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Namaste
So I decided that I would postpone my new year's resolution until February
- when everyone else was giving up on their resolutions, I'd just be
gearing up for mine – and it would seem like I’m ultra committed. It seemed to work. I found a hot yoga studio near my house that had just opened, and decided to give it a shot. My initial plan was to hit the 6:30 am class for my first time - I didn't want to be surrounded by a bunch of young college girls who were smoking hot, and actually knew what the heck they were doing and instead preferred to go at the crack of dawn where the chance of being seen in my outdated yoga wear by some judge-y twenty year old was significantly smaller. Unfortunately that didn't work out as a friend strong armed me into going with her to the 8 p.m. class - the exact class I was trying to avoid. Either way, we went, and it was pretty awesome. Beyond the fact that I had no clue what I was doing, and there were close to 50 people in the room, it was actually pretty good.
Have you tried it before? Personally, I like how quiet it is in the room, and how I actually feel like I’m working out – after 75 minutes I am drenched, I can’t imagine doing yoga in a room that isn’t 40 degree – it seems like it would be pointless. And the instructors. Oh the glorious instructors. They are so hippy and dippy and not my style at all, but the one instructor has this hypnotic voice, that puts me in a trance every class. She speaks really quickly and low, and then all of a sudden super loud. For example, if we are in tree pose, she will say “Step one is to stay here with your hands at heart center. Thatisabsolutelyfine.Listentoyourbody. If you’ve found your balance, move your hands above your head. If you’ve found balance, extend your gaze to the ceiling. Lift your hands higher. Reach, your hands higher for one, lift your gaze to the ceiling for two and higher for three.” She’s so wild.
That being said, there are some things I can’t behind and/or don’t understand.
When the instructor says to “bring awareness to your breathing”, what the hell does she mean? It’s like, okay, I am breathing, I know I’m breathing because I’m still alive, so what more beyond that do you need? Or the other one is “breathe into your back/hips/core/etc.” HOW ON EARTH DO YOU DO THAT? I’m sorry for yelling, but when I breathe, I think I’m breathing into my lungs, no? Also, what is with men not wearing shirts in the class?
Why do they feel that is appropriate? There is one guy that is always shirtless and it annoys me even more because he wears bicycle shorts on top of everything else. Think about that. Bicycle, spandex-y shorts with no shirt. I don't need to see that lethal combination. No one does. Do us all a favor and throw on a t-shirt. Everyone is hot. You are the only one with no shirt.
I’ve accepted that I’m probably doing half of the poses incorrectly, will never figure out the proper way to breathe, my clothes are highly outdated, and there is a good chance I’ve probably developed some sort of athletes foot from walking around the studio barefoot all the time. Even still, I think I will continue to stick with it – I can do a headstand again! And I’m thisclose to doing a full wheel (sorry for the somewhat graphic nature of that link). If you haven’t tried it, you should – it really is a lot of fun (minus the shirtless men).
- when everyone else was giving up on their resolutions, I'd just be
gearing up for mine – and it would seem like I’m ultra committed. It seemed to work. I found a hot yoga studio near my house that had just opened, and decided to give it a shot. My initial plan was to hit the 6:30 am class for my first time - I didn't want to be surrounded by a bunch of young college girls who were smoking hot, and actually knew what the heck they were doing and instead preferred to go at the crack of dawn where the chance of being seen in my outdated yoga wear by some judge-y twenty year old was significantly smaller. Unfortunately that didn't work out as a friend strong armed me into going with her to the 8 p.m. class - the exact class I was trying to avoid. Either way, we went, and it was pretty awesome. Beyond the fact that I had no clue what I was doing, and there were close to 50 people in the room, it was actually pretty good.
Have you tried it before? Personally, I like how quiet it is in the room, and how I actually feel like I’m working out – after 75 minutes I am drenched, I can’t imagine doing yoga in a room that isn’t 40 degree – it seems like it would be pointless. And the instructors. Oh the glorious instructors. They are so hippy and dippy and not my style at all, but the one instructor has this hypnotic voice, that puts me in a trance every class. She speaks really quickly and low, and then all of a sudden super loud. For example, if we are in tree pose, she will say “Step one is to stay here with your hands at heart center. Thatisabsolutelyfine.Listentoyourbody. If you’ve found your balance, move your hands above your head. If you’ve found balance, extend your gaze to the ceiling. Lift your hands higher. Reach, your hands higher for one, lift your gaze to the ceiling for two and higher for three.” She’s so wild.
That being said, there are some things I can’t behind and/or don’t understand.
When the instructor says to “bring awareness to your breathing”, what the hell does she mean? It’s like, okay, I am breathing, I know I’m breathing because I’m still alive, so what more beyond that do you need? Or the other one is “breathe into your back/hips/core/etc.” HOW ON EARTH DO YOU DO THAT? I’m sorry for yelling, but when I breathe, I think I’m breathing into my lungs, no? Also, what is with men not wearing shirts in the class?
Why do they feel that is appropriate? There is one guy that is always shirtless and it annoys me even more because he wears bicycle shorts on top of everything else. Think about that. Bicycle, spandex-y shorts with no shirt. I don't need to see that lethal combination. No one does. Do us all a favor and throw on a t-shirt. Everyone is hot. You are the only one with no shirt.
I’ve accepted that I’m probably doing half of the poses incorrectly, will never figure out the proper way to breathe, my clothes are highly outdated, and there is a good chance I’ve probably developed some sort of athletes foot from walking around the studio barefoot all the time. Even still, I think I will continue to stick with it – I can do a headstand again! And I’m thisclose to doing a full wheel (sorry for the somewhat graphic nature of that link). If you haven’t tried it, you should – it really is a lot of fun (minus the shirtless men).
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
I'm Back. For Real This Time.
I feel like I’m this really unreliable boyfriend who pops into your life every once in a while, shows you a great time and showers you with attention and love. Then he disappears as quickly as he came (that’s what she said), and you’re left to wonder, was it something I said? Am I not pretty enough? When the truth of the matter is – he was never good enough for you in the first place. I’m pretty sure I’ve dragged this analogy on long enough, but the point is, I’ve changed. I do love you. Please take me back.
Even though I haven’t been updating my blog, I have been thinking about it. Remember my to do list? Well I actually half achieved something on the list.
I made croissants. They were a disaster, but I did make them.
I made the dough, which was rock solid for some reason. I was trying to roll it out with about 10,000lbs of pressure and I was barely able to open it up to the 10 x 10 square that was outlined in the recipe. Beyond that, my yeast didn’t seem to ‘activate’ at all, and instead my dough was speckled with weird brown yeasty flakes which left a lot to be desired. I made the butter packet correctly (I think), but when I was rolling it in to the dough and making turns with it, something obviously went wrong again, because when I pulled the croissants out of the oven, they were swimming in pool of butter, didn’t rise, and didn’t seem to bake all the way through. On the positive side – they looked like croissants and they had the right shape. Hopefully the second time is the charm, because I feel like I was so close, yet so far away.
{check out the brown flecks - this is right before I baked them}
So even though I was out of sight, I certainly wasn’t out of mind, but I am going to make more of an effort to update this more frequently. Until next time! (Hopefully it won’t be 3 months later).
Even though I haven’t been updating my blog, I have been thinking about it. Remember my to do list? Well I actually half achieved something on the list.
I made croissants. They were a disaster, but I did make them.
I made the dough, which was rock solid for some reason. I was trying to roll it out with about 10,000lbs of pressure and I was barely able to open it up to the 10 x 10 square that was outlined in the recipe. Beyond that, my yeast didn’t seem to ‘activate’ at all, and instead my dough was speckled with weird brown yeasty flakes which left a lot to be desired. I made the butter packet correctly (I think), but when I was rolling it in to the dough and making turns with it, something obviously went wrong again, because when I pulled the croissants out of the oven, they were swimming in pool of butter, didn’t rise, and didn’t seem to bake all the way through. On the positive side – they looked like croissants and they had the right shape. Hopefully the second time is the charm, because I feel like I was so close, yet so far away.
{check out the brown flecks - this is right before I baked them}
So even though I was out of sight, I certainly wasn’t out of mind, but I am going to make more of an effort to update this more frequently. Until next time! (Hopefully it won’t be 3 months later).
Sunday, November 21, 2010
A Fraction of the Whole
I'm not sure if I've discussed my cookbook problem with you before, but I have a sickness. I love to buy cookbooks. I may never make a single recipe from it, but I just love the idea of cookbooks. I can't control myself either. Amazon makes it so easy to purchase books on their website, I just lose track, and before I know it, my shopping cart is full, I qualify for Super Saver Shipping and I can't even remember what it was I ordered in the first place. Here are some of my favorites from my bookshelves below.
Nigella was one of my first loves - I thought her Domestic Goddess cookbook had such a clever title, and it was one of the first cookbooks I ever bought. I'll always buy her cookbooks, even though her on air personality kind of drives me bananas - all her gushing over food and licking spoons and nonsense. I don't think I'm a prude, but what the hell Nigella, do up the top button of your blouse!
I bought the Professional Baking cookbook when I first realized that I loved baking, but didn't want to enrol in the baking program at the technical school in my city. I figured it was like a text book for school which helped me justify the $100+ price tag for it. I just thought about all the money I would be saving by not enrolling in the courses, and instead, just teach myself how to become a professional baker (like it was hard or something). In case you're wondering, I didn't.
Contrary to the below cookbooks, I'm not actually from the south, nor do I regularly cook fried chicken. However, I do love butter and bacon, so that explains the Paula Deen and Pioneer Woman books. Also, the one that is titled Fat (cancelling out any goodwill from the Diabetes Desserts cookbook above it) is also self explanatory. I'm always looking for ways to incorporate bacon fat into my diet, and I suggest you do the same.
This demonstrates a small fraction of my cookbook collection - the rest are scattered throughout my house, on coffee tables, night stands and kitchen drawers. I always tell myself I will stop buying more, but like an addict who wants just one last hit, I can't, I just love having them around. Please tell me I'm not the only one with a random weakness - confess your addictions in the comments below!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
About That List...
So I think it will be a surprise to no one when I mention that I haven’t made huge in roads on my list yet. Shocking, I know. I think I have a semi-reasonable excuse. I have been busy! I was taking a night class once a week, which THANK GOD it is over – although the instructor was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the subject matter, the subject matter was information systems for human resources and I realized sitting there for 5 weeks that I don’t really care that much about where to store employee information. New hires could write their contact info and social insurance number on the back of a napkin for all I care, I would still accept it. I’m a big fan of not overcomplicating things and an information system seems complicated.
So I had the class on Wednesday nights, plus I was working my bartending gig on Monday nights, which was only supposed to be temporary, but 3 months later I was still doing it (I’m done now), so that kept me busy, and obviously I had to watch my shows on Sunday nights (Mad Men/The Walking Dead – Boardwalk Empire/Dexter), so there was that too. As you can see, I’ve got a lot of stuff going on!
Either way, I’m back now, and even with my unbelievably busy schedule (snerk), I think I can cross something off my list. I have developed some basic Adobe Illustrator skills. Woot woot! Yes friends, I know how to use the program I bought so long ago. I met with one of my co-workers who is quite tech savvy and skilled in all things Adobe, and quite frankly has the patience of a saint (how many times can you tell one person “hold the Shift button and drag” with a smile on your face every time I would hit Control and drag? I was ready to knock my own ass out on her behalf), and for the price of one Tim Horton’s coffee, she showed me the ropes. Obviously I’m not going to be some crazy web designer or something all of a sudden, but I can do a bunch of stuff – invitations, announcements, cupcake toppers. I’m telling you – I have been loving the power I wield with this skill. I can make my own stuff – my Etsy spending has decreased significantly now that I know what I’m (sort of) doing, and all I want to do is plan parties so I have an excuse to use my new skills. So, I would say, success – it took me a while, but slow and steady wins the race.
What do you think I should tackle next? I’ve added even more books to the cook book collection, so perhaps croissants are in order? Let me know!
So I had the class on Wednesday nights, plus I was working my bartending gig on Monday nights, which was only supposed to be temporary, but 3 months later I was still doing it (I’m done now), so that kept me busy, and obviously I had to watch my shows on Sunday nights (Mad Men/The Walking Dead – Boardwalk Empire/Dexter), so there was that too. As you can see, I’ve got a lot of stuff going on!
Either way, I’m back now, and even with my unbelievably busy schedule (snerk), I think I can cross something off my list. I have developed some basic Adobe Illustrator skills. Woot woot! Yes friends, I know how to use the program I bought so long ago. I met with one of my co-workers who is quite tech savvy and skilled in all things Adobe, and quite frankly has the patience of a saint (how many times can you tell one person “hold the Shift button and drag” with a smile on your face every time I would hit Control and drag? I was ready to knock my own ass out on her behalf), and for the price of one Tim Horton’s coffee, she showed me the ropes. Obviously I’m not going to be some crazy web designer or something all of a sudden, but I can do a bunch of stuff – invitations, announcements, cupcake toppers. I’m telling you – I have been loving the power I wield with this skill. I can make my own stuff – my Etsy spending has decreased significantly now that I know what I’m (sort of) doing, and all I want to do is plan parties so I have an excuse to use my new skills. So, I would say, success – it took me a while, but slow and steady wins the race.
What do you think I should tackle next? I’ve added even more books to the cook book collection, so perhaps croissants are in order? Let me know!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
How Was Your Service Tonight?
So I went for dinner with my mother and sister to The Keg. Now if you've been a long time reader of this blog (which, HA! - you could have started reading this today and finished the whole thing in 20 minutes), but you would assume that I eat there all the time. The reality is, I've only eaten there maybe four times in my whole life, this specific dinner being one of those times.
Either way, we went because it was kid friendly and casual, but we certainly regretted it after. None of us ate well and it seemed like everything annoyed us. Now I don't know if it's because we have a restaurant and have certain expectations of how things should be, but we are never satisfied. It's true. It's a wonder why we ever leave the house. What I'm wondering though, is how long does it take you to realize you like/loathe your server? My sister and I got seated and the server asked what we'd like to drink and as soon as she left, we both blurted out: "I hate this bitch".
Now normally a server does something listed below to irritate me:
1. Too much enthusiasm: I appreciate enthusiasm, but don't act like you were waiting all night for me to show up. I know you weren't. Also, I don't genuinely believe that you are that excited about your daily features, so calm down. Let's both take a step back and you can talk to me like a reasonable person, instead of talking to me through a creepy smile. Also, don't even think about being so engaged with me that you bend down/crouch to a squat and lean on my table. I will be mildly annoyed. My husband will probably kill you.
2. Not enthusiastic enough: Of course it's a fine balance, and I've stated above, I don't need you to be doing cartwheels at my table, but please, act like you have a pulse, and I'm not a huge burden on you. I get it, no one loves their job every day, but everyone has to do their job every day, so grin and bear it.
3. They tell you their name: I'm not trying to sound like a snob, because I don't mean to say, "like your name even matters, peon", but rather, We don't know eachother - I'm not actually going to call you by your name - ever!
In this instance though, she didn't really do any of the above (except #3), and yet we were done with her before she even brought us our drinks. Which leads me to believe that in fact, we may be the problem. Having grown up in a restaurant has ruined us. Our expectations too high, and our tolerance for poor service too low. Because I understand the world is fair, I am certain, that servers have a 10 point list about which customers they like/can't stand similar to my list above. So when they see me walk in and I pretend to listen to them as they go through their script of daily specials, always order a glass of water plus my standard Diet Coke, and ask for no lettuce or tomato on a clubhouse, I am certain when they walk back to the server station they mutter to their coworkers, I hate this bitch.
Either way, we went because it was kid friendly and casual, but we certainly regretted it after. None of us ate well and it seemed like everything annoyed us. Now I don't know if it's because we have a restaurant and have certain expectations of how things should be, but we are never satisfied. It's true. It's a wonder why we ever leave the house. What I'm wondering though, is how long does it take you to realize you like/loathe your server? My sister and I got seated and the server asked what we'd like to drink and as soon as she left, we both blurted out: "I hate this bitch".
Now normally a server does something listed below to irritate me:
1. Too much enthusiasm: I appreciate enthusiasm, but don't act like you were waiting all night for me to show up. I know you weren't. Also, I don't genuinely believe that you are that excited about your daily features, so calm down. Let's both take a step back and you can talk to me like a reasonable person, instead of talking to me through a creepy smile. Also, don't even think about being so engaged with me that you bend down/crouch to a squat and lean on my table. I will be mildly annoyed. My husband will probably kill you.
2. Not enthusiastic enough: Of course it's a fine balance, and I've stated above, I don't need you to be doing cartwheels at my table, but please, act like you have a pulse, and I'm not a huge burden on you. I get it, no one loves their job every day, but everyone has to do their job every day, so grin and bear it.
3. They tell you their name: I'm not trying to sound like a snob, because I don't mean to say, "like your name even matters, peon", but rather, We don't know eachother - I'm not actually going to call you by your name - ever!
In this instance though, she didn't really do any of the above (except #3), and yet we were done with her before she even brought us our drinks. Which leads me to believe that in fact, we may be the problem. Having grown up in a restaurant has ruined us. Our expectations too high, and our tolerance for poor service too low. Because I understand the world is fair, I am certain, that servers have a 10 point list about which customers they like/can't stand similar to my list above. So when they see me walk in and I pretend to listen to them as they go through their script of daily specials, always order a glass of water plus my standard Diet Coke, and ask for no lettuce or tomato on a clubhouse, I am certain when they walk back to the server station they mutter to their coworkers, I hate this bitch.
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