Viva Mexico!

Recipe 11: Found this delightful recipe for home-made blender salsa on Pinterest, and I'll definitely use this recipe again. The assembly was easy--Toss all ingredients in blender and blend to desired consistency, and presto, you have a delicious mild with a little bite salsa that goes perfectly with your favorite chips. The recipe made about 2 small jars full of salsa, so I have plenty for later. I could eat chips and salsa every day, and now I have great recipe for my arsenal. 

Recipe 12: Michael brought home a recipe from Kroger for Chicken Tinga, which is basically a chicken taco. It was simple to make. It's just chicken, tomato soup, chipotle peppers, onions, queso fresco, and tortillas. I made my tortillas crispy by frying them in a bit of oil before assembling the tacos. For a garnish, just a bit of cilantro.

Recipe 13: For breakfast last weekend, I made a Chocolate Dutch Baby, which is basically a chocolate pancake. It was super easy, just dump all ingredients into a blender, then into a cast iron skillet with melted butter, and into the oven. Then, I topped mine with bananas and chocolate chips because that's what I had on hand. It was pretty yummy, even though it stuck to the pan too much.

Quitter

Book 14: Quitter: Closing the Gap between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job by Jon Acuff is about finding your true calling in life and going after it while working to pay the bills. Acuff uses his life story of being a "serial quitter" to encourage readers to take the steps necessary to start working toward your dream job while working your day job. His message is pretty simple, work hard at your day job and your dream job, and when the time is right, quit your day job and go full-force with your dream. See, simple. Just the way I like.

This book is a good read if you're currently in a job that you hate, and you'd like to figure out how to move beyond that. What resonates most to me from the book is the idea that your work life and your non-work life will never be entirely separate. While your work doesn't necessarily define you, it's difficult to separate the two. You can't spend 40 hours a week doing something and not have it affect you, so you can't afford to remain in a job you hate. Yes, bills need to be paid and people fed, but if you're not fulfilled in your job, you may need to work toward quitting, so that you can find something meaningful. If that's you, I recommend that you find a copy of this book and read it.

The Godfather

Film 11: It took me a long time to finally watch The Godfather. I've had it for months, I think. I've seen the beginning so many times, but then I get distracted. It's hard for me to justify sitting and watching a 3-hour film without doing something (folding clothes, grading, cleaning, etc), so my memory of the film is still fuzzy, but I sat through it, and I'm going to review it anyway.

Let me start by revealing that all that I knew about The Godfather was from cultural references to it in other films or television. The Hubs has been trying to get me to watch it for a while, but I kept telling him that I'd already seen, and I'd say stuff like "Leave the gun, take the cannoli" to prove to him that I had in fact seen it. In reality, I only know that line because Tom Hanks quotes the line to Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail, which I've seen so many times that I'm embarrassed. Boy was I surprised when I heard that line in The Godfather! (Spoiler alert: it's after someone gets shot).

Likes: The music, cinematography, performances are all top notch. Funny story--I had to look up who Al Pacino played because I didn't recognize him as Michael. Also, didn't recognize Diane Keaton as Kay. I've only seen them in more recent films, and they have both changed considerably. Give me a break, people. 

Dislikes: Well, I suppose there's not much that I dislike about the film. I mean, it's what I expected, lots of killing and crime. I don't really know the plot. Still don't understand why guys like it so much--it's kinda long and slow.

Bottom line: It's really not my type of film, but it's a well-made classic.

Honey Glazed Carrots

Recipe 10: I wanted to try a veggie recipe, and since it was close to the end of the month, I had to work with the ingredients that I had, so I made Honey Glazed Carrots.

This was not my favorite recipe. Carrots are already pretty sweet on their own, and adding the honey and cinnamon to these didn't suit me. Maybe, I'm used to carrots being seasoned savory instead of sweet. I don't know, but this is one recipe that I can put bed.

Side Note: Check out the white plates that I bought just for this blog. Taking the pictures on dark plates didn't make the food stand out. Hopefully, the pictures will start to look better now.

The Fault in Our Stars

Book 13: It's been a long time since I've read something that made me cry like John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, and now I'm not sure I even want to see the movie. The last book that made me not want to watch the movie was Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. I still haven't seen the movie, I was that mad at Picoult and the ending of My Sister's Keeper. I'm not mad at TFIOS. It makes me sad, makes me think, makes feel grateful for what I have. I'll probably see the movie at some point.

TFIOS is the story of Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters, who meet at a support group for teens living with cancer. Their friendship and love grows through the complications of their illnesses. It was a smart, witty, and perfectly paced book, and unlike other YA (Young Adult) books that I've read, the characters and plot are realistic and relatable. I was truly surprised by the turn in the middle of the book. I'm not into giving away spoilers like some people (aka my husband), so I'm not going to say much about this book other than that I enjoyed it--all the humor and the poignant moments.

17 more books to read. I am half-way through a few, but I would have to finish a new book every 3 days to complete my challenge. I can totally do it!

Book Reviews: Already Gone/Paper Towns/Get in the Game!

I have a bit of catching up to do. It's been a crazy week and a half for me. After a fun weekend in Hilton Head, we came home to a huge disaster in our home, when we found a pipe had broken while we were out, so now I really feel like a grown-up having to file insurance and get management to fix the repairs. It's been a mess, but it's getting better. Here's some quick reviews of my summer reading thus far.

Photo: Amazon.com

Book 10: Already Gone by John Rector is not a book that I would've picked for myself. It was chosen at one of my now disbanded book club meetings. It took me forever to read, which should indicate how much I liked it. I started it at the beginning of the year, and I just finished it. So, yeah,  I didn't really care for it. It was a crime drama that was too dramatic and convoluted for me.

Photo: Amazon.com

Book 11: Paper Towns by John Green was a pretty good read. I started reading it at the beach, and I enjoyed it. The ending was a bit of a let down, but other than that, it was a fun read. One of my students recommended it to me. After reading it, I bought The Fault in Our Stars, so that I can read it before I watch the film.

Photo: Amazon.com

Book 12: Get in the Game! The Girls Guide to Money & Investing by Vanessa Summers is the kind of book that I wish I had read in college or even my senior year of high school. Much of the information in the book is stuff that I know about money now, but that had I known at a younger age, I would have avoided a ton of mistakes.

So, next up for me is The Fault in Our Stars. Only 18 books left to read.

Kimberly

Roasted Chicken Drumsticks

Recipe 9: It's been a few weeks since I've cooked these, but I wanted to report on them. I grabbed this recipe here, and it was simple enough to make.

I had to make a few adjustments because we didn't have all the ingredients. So, I did store bought lime juice and I added some honey into the mix because I like a little sweetness.

The flavor was a little underwhelming though. It needed some more seasoning or to marinate I suppose, but it was a tasty meal with macaroni and cheese and garlic toast.

I need to eat more vegetables though, so my next recipe may have to be a veggie recipe. 

An Unquiet Mind

Photo: Amazon.com

Book 9: An Unquiet Mind by Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison is a memoir about her journey from diagnosis to treatment of manic-depressive illness or bipolar disorder. When the book was published Jamison was a professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and she writes about how she came to the decision to go public with her disease and about how some people reacted with kindness and understanding and others not so much. Of course, there are concerns about her ability to treat patients while she herself suffers from mental illness, which is a lot like the premise of the television show Black Box, except that on Black Box, Dr. Black is not public about her illness except for those closest to her. 

Reading the book and watching the show has made me think a lot about mental illness and the stigma that it carries. People can be less understanding and sympathetic of mental illness because it's often invisible. Many of the wounds are hidden, and often something tragic happens before the illness is even detected. Something that Jamison does well is being honest about both sides of her illness. On the one hand, it can help drive her creativity and passions when she's experiencing a mania, but it can also cause violent moods and depressions so dark that she's attempted suicide. 

What I like most about this book is it's transparency, and the way that Jamison shows all sides of living with this difficult, but treatable illness. She ends the memoir on positive note, reflecting on the support and love that helped her get through. She confesses on the last few pages that though the book started out being about mood disorders, it's also about love: "Love as a sustainer, as renewer, and as protector. After each seeming death within my mind or heat, love has returned to re-create hope and to restore life." Jamison was quite lucky that she had so much support, but others are not as fortunate. This book reminds me that everyone deserves kindness and understanding and that I should say and do all things with love because everyone is battling something whether or not the scars are visible.

View from the Top

Last Friday, I crossed another item off my list when Michael and I rode the SkyView Ferris Wheel in Atlanta. It's located across from Centennial Olympic Park, but the view is still quite lovely. We had a nice ride, but it rocked a little bit more than I prefer.

I got a pretty good deal on tickets through ScoutMob. I was able to get tickets for two plus dinner at Park Bar for just $49!

It's a pretty sweet view from the top. Check out these pictures for proof.

The Sound of Rain Man

Film 9: It's true--I just saw The Sound of Music (1965) for the first time ever. What's funny is that I know a lot of the music from the film, just never watched it. Mike and I watched it on sing-a-long mode because that's just how we roll. It was everything I expected from a musical--cheery, sweet, funny, and just a little drama for balance. I was not expecting the Nazis though. Apparently, I based my whole idea on what this film was about on the cover alone. The trailer was no help either. All this time, I just thought that it was about singing in the mountains. Boy, was I wrong. Anyway, I found it to be fun and delightful film, and it makes me want to watch Mary Poppins, which I have also never seen.

Film 10: I love character-driven films, and Rain Man (1988) did not disappoint. I also love road trip films because all of life is really a journey. The most impressive thing about Rain Man is Dustin Hoffman's performance, which was outstanding. I found this film to be a moving, honest, powerful drama about the twists and turns of life and family.

Beautiful Chaos

I didn't cook anything this weekend--mostly ate leftovers/out, or this week, so I have no new Tasty Thursday recipes to share. Instead, here's an update on my home organization progress.



Photo: Morguefile.com

Lately, I've been pinning a lot on my organization board on Pinterest, and I found a pin on getting organized in four weeks. It sounded pretty good until I realized that it was for a stay at home mom because she was describing the whole morning routine that she has, which was something like: wake up, read Bible, run (run?! really??), shower, get dressed, clean bathrooms, unload dishwasher, start laundry, and on and on and on. If she's a working mom, then she must get up at like 3 AM. I'm lucky if I can get up in time to pack a lunch for myself on most mornings! There's nothing wrong with SAHM's, but I'm not a mom, and I work, so these exhausting routines will not work for me. Even when I wasn't working, I could get this organization thing down, so I'm just going to (everybody sing it with me) let it go!

I'm never going to be as organized as I would like. The label-maker will never be my best friend. I have and always will be a piler not filer, but that doesn't mean I'm sloppy. I just live in a beautiful chaos. I know where everything is, and I've made it difficult for anyone to rob me. Good luck finding anything worthwhile, crooks! I'm also never going to keep up with a routine or cleaning schedule. I'd like to--I'd love to be able to, but that's not who I am either. I won't let these to do and lists and routines dictate my days. I get done what needs to be done on my own schedule.

I'm just behind schedule right now, but I've started a donate box or two, and I just need to get it out of the house. I'm hoping to finish a little bit each day.

The Year of Magical Thinking

Book 8: Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking is a memoir about her grieving the death of her husband, who died suddenly from heart failure.

My favorite quotation from this book is: "Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know if ends." And I agree, life odes change fast. In an instant.

This book really resonated with me because part of what she does is relive the moments before, during, and after her husband's death to get closure. And partly, I think she's seeking an answer to the question: Could this have been avoided? or could I have done something differently? 

This resonates with me, because those are the same questions that I ask myself about  my mom. I try to remember things like when did we first notice something wasn't right after the surgery. I wonder if we should have pushed harder to get them to do an MRI sooner. What if she never had the surgery? She'd probably be blind, but she would still be herself.

I try not to go down that path too often though, because it doesn't change anything. I have to tell myself that we did the best we could. We did what we thought needed to be done. Life as we knew it ended, but life is still going on. We do the best we can. And we live on.

My Girly Girl Take on Rocky

Photo Credit: Morguefile.com

Film 6: Terms of Endearment (1983) is the kind of film that I wish I had watched with my mom. I enjoyed watching the ups and downs of their relationships, marriages, and family. I thought it was a very realistic look at love and life and relationships. It's truly a timeless piece of cinema that will translate well for future generations. The world may change, but the way that people relate to each other pretty much stays the same.

**Spoiler Alert** Don't read ahead if you haven't seen Rocky and would like to see it in the future.

Film 7: Rocky (1976) surprised me. Seriously. I always thought that Rocky won at the end. I don't know why, I just assumed he did. I was actually a little shocked--I mean, all that running in Converse's and punching raw meat and that pretty graphic fight at the end and he loses. Boo!!!

The second thing that surprised me was how much "heart" was in this film. Let me first say that, I'm not a big fan of sports or sports movies or jocks, so when I first starting watching Rocky all I could see was this dumb jock just going through his life. Working out, drinking beer, beating people up, etc.

I started getting into the film as Rocky's feelings for Adrienne were revealed, especially how he was ready to punch the guy that told her he should take her to the zoo because "retards like the zoo." So, girly girl that I am, I really loved watching their relationship evolve and how her brought her out of her shell. Oh, how I wish that I wore glasses and that just taking them off would suddenly make me beautiful. And of course, I love how he explains to Paulie that his relationship with Andrienne works because they fill each others "gaps" or shortcomings to become whole. That's not something I was expecting to hear in a jock movie. His character is actually pretty endearing, like how he comes up with a excuse to buy different turtle food just to talk to Adrienne and how he tells her that what the people on TV were saying about him really bothered him even though he said they didn't. That vulnerabilty is not something I was expecting to see.

Also, beacuse I was a big fan of Arrested Development, I recognized Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed, and all I could think about during every scene was how in Arrested Development Carl swindles Tobias into paying for acting lessons, and how Carl wanted to save bones from dinner to get a stew going. 

So, if I were to summarize this film, I would say that it's a love story between Rocky and Adrienne while Rocky trains for some fight at the end. That's my girly girl take on Rocky. 

My First Frittata & Honey Balsamic Chicken

Recipe 7: Mike's dad gave us a cast iron skillet one weekend, and I've been wanting to try out a frittata for the longest time. I just never had an oven-proof skillet for that last step of cooking the frittata in the oven. For my first attempt at this, I tried making a kale, potato, and onion frittata. The recipe is simple enough and the ingredients aren't hard to come by. I nearly dropped the skillet trying to get it into the oven. Note to self: Use two hands to transfer the skillet from stove to oven. Anyway, the picture I took doesn't really do it justice, and I added the cheese as an after thought because I love cheese.

 

 

Recipe 8: Yesterday, I woke up at 4 AM, for no apparent reason and couldn't go back to sleep, so I made a marinade for Honey Balsamic Chicken. I was going to make it on Tuesday night, but I didn't realize that I had to let the chicken marinade for 2 hours or overnight, so Mike and I went out to dinner, and I was supposed to prepare the marinade when we got back, but that just didn't happen. Anyway, I like this recipe because it doesn't call for a lot of crazy ingredients, just what you see below minus the not pictured ingredients.

 

Not Pictured: Chicken and Corn Starch

So, I put the marinade together and let it sit in the fridge all day while I was a work. When I got home, I popped the chicken in the oven. While it was cooking, I worked out to Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD, which is no joke, and I'm still feeling the effects of it today. By the time the workout was done, the chicken was ready, and all that was left was making the glaze. I served it with some rice vermicelli noodles, and it was very good, so this is a recipe, I'll likely use again.

 

Recipes 8/30 complete. I'm hoping to do some baking this weekend. I'd like to make bread, but we'll see. What should I cook up next? 

Wordy Wednesdays: The Spectacular Now

Book 7: I chose The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp because I saw a trailer for the film version, and it was being described as a modern day Say Anything, which is one of my favorite movies. The Spectacular Now is the story of Sutter Keely, a directionless, high school hedonist, whose only real goal is to have fun until he meets quiet, unassuming  Aimee Finicky while she delivers newspapers in the early morning hours. Sutter and Aimee are total opposites, but Sutter finds something intriguing about Aimee, and he feels that it's now his job to rescue her from her life.

Yes, this was young adult fiction, but I enjoyed it. Sutter Keely and Lloyd Dobler (from Say Anything) are kindred spirits. I could definitely see how the film version of The Spectacular Now is a lot like an updated and edgier Say Anything. I feel like I'm being a little vague here, but that's because I read the book back in November, so it's been a while. I'd recommend it unless you're totally turned off by YA books.

Valentine's Train Ride

This is way way way late, but better late than never.

For our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, we went on  Valentine's Train Ride on the SAM Shortline railway out of Cordele, GA. This excursion included a train ride over Lake Blackshear and a dinner, then a dance at the Blackshear County Club.

As you can see from the pictures below, we had a pretty good time. We were among the youngest train riders. The best part of the trip was the couple that we met on the train. They had children who are my age, and it was nice to talk to an older than us couple. We hope to still be out and about like the couple that we met. They seemed to really know how to make a marriage work.

The conductor.

Happy Couple

Dining Car

Place Setting

Lake Blackshear at Sunset

Making Each Day Count

This morning, I felt like Batman after Bane beats him up and breaks his back in The Dark Night Rises. I was planning to hit the gym early in the morning, but that did not happen. What's so sad about this is that it's not like I worked out really hard this past week. I think I made it to the gym once. I just had a crazy busy weekend is all.

I've realized though that I only have 106 days to complete my 30 Before 30 List, and so I really can't waste any more time. I've got to make each day count. My goal is to be working on one or more of my goals every day.

Today, I just want to focus on how I'm trying to reach my fitness goals. I've lost two pounds since I began, so I have 28 pounds to lose in the next 15 weeks, which is doable. It's only 2 pounds a week, but it also means that I can't just eat whatever I want or exercise only once a week. I need to be more intentional in my plan.

Sometimes, staying motivated is hard, but I'm using a tool called AchieveMint. AchieveMint communicates with other programs like FourSquare, MyFitnessPal, and C25K. Then, when you do certain things like check into the gym, track your caloric intake, or go for a run, you can earn points. When you earn 25000 points, you will receive a $25 Visa Gift Card. It's not a lot of money, but earning points does help me to stay motivated. I'm 14% closer to getting my gift card. Just this simple points systems helps me to stay on track.

What motivates you?

Pancakes and Puerto Rican Specialities

My mom was a really great cook when she was able to cook. I always assumed that I'd have plenty of time to learn how to cook from her, but that's what happens when you assume things. I'm not even fortunate enough to have a recipe box of things that she would cook. She didn't use recipes for the most part and would often improvise in the kitchen. I don't think I ever really saw her measure much, which is probably why I don't measure if I can avoid. A certain kitchen Nazi (Michael) won't let me just guess on the measurements. I just hate to dirty a measuring spoon unnecessarily.

Since my mom's unable to cook anymore, I try to cook for my dad and brother when I'm in town. I'm best at making breakfast, and since my mom doesn't cook anymore, there wasn't any Bisquick around for pancakes one morning, so I tried this pancake recipe for my 4th recipe. I remember them coming out pretty good, and it was a fairly simple with ingredients you most likely have laying around.

For Christmas last year, we (Mike and I) cooked a Puerto Rican inspired meal. I made arroz con gandules or rice with pigeon peas for all you gringos out there. Anyway, I had been wanting to try making it for myself for a while, and thought that Christmas might be a nice time to try it out. My first attempt at this dish was okay, but could be better. I found myself having to add more seasoning than the recipe called for.

For my sixth recipe, I made corned beef and plantains because my dad asked me if I could do something with this can of corned beef that had been in their pantry forever. Not forever, but a long time, so I gave this a shot. I remember that my mom would make this sometimes and that I liked it when she made it. It turned out okay, but I forgot to get onions, so that weakened the flavor a good bit. I just did the best with what I had on hand.

That makes 6 out of 30 recipes so far. What should I cook up next?

Still Alice

Book 6: Still Alice by Lisa Genova tells the story of Harvard professor Alice Howland's descent into dementia as the result of early on-set Alzheimer's disease. This was quite an emotional read for me because of my family history--my great grandmother and grandma both succumbed to this disease, and my mother also has neurological problems.

Genova has PhD in neuroscience, and she makes the choice to tell the story from Alice's point-of-view, which beautifully and realistically captures the frustration and fear of someone with memory loss. There were times that it got so real for me that I had to put it down, but I still wanted to see how things progressed. Genova does a great job of showing the progression of the illness. In one scene at the beginning of the book, Alice is reflecting on how she carefully eats an ice cream cone to avoid getting ice cream on her hands. Then, in a later scene, Alice is with her husband eating ice cream together. He asks her if she's ready to leave. She tells him no. Then, showing him her ice cream cone with streams of melted ice cream dripping onto her hands, she tells him that she's not finished finished with her ice cream yet. That kind of framing makes the story so real. 

Bottom line: It's an excellent read if you know someone suffering from Alzheimer's or if it's in your family history. Even if you don't know someone, it's still eye-opening and really hits close to home.

Film Reviews: Playing Catch-Up

My rules for watching 30 Academy Award Best Picture films was that I had to watch one from each decade, and the film has to be one that I have not seen. I'm really into film so I've seen a lot of Best Picture Winners, but there are some I have missed. There's only about 16 weeks before I turn 30, so I'm going to have to play catch-up.

Here are the films I've seen so far:

Annie Hall (1977): I enjoyed this film. It had some fun moments. Some things are lost on me because of my youth, but overall, it was fun to watch.

Schindler's List (1993): So, I had no concept of what this film was about before I watched it. I knew it was about the Holocaust, but I didn't know that the story was true or that Schindler was a good character. I thought the acting was great. Spielberg's stylistic choices in use of color was nice. It was truly an incredible film and an incredible story.

Forrest Gump (1994): Don't judge me, but this year was my first time watching Forest Gump in its entirety. I have seen bits and pieces here and there, but I was never really interested in watching it. Now that I've seen it all the way through, I understand why people like it so much. I like it myself, but I just couldn't get into it until now.

Argo (2012): This film was filled so much suspense and tense moments. I love it. The pacing and action were just right for me.

With these 4 and with my first review of The Artist, I have viewed 5 out of 30 films. 25 to go!!

Kimberly