Postcard from Greenville, SC

Ah, summer travels.

We recently drove from DC to our friends' wedding in Greenville, SC. We had an amazing time AND ate some awesome food. Here are the highlights.

The peach turnover from Biscuitville was hot, gooey, and although dusted with cinnamon and sugar, it was surprisingly not "too sweet." Just sweet enough for me. Oh, and it may have been $1.39. Worth every penny! J's chicken on a biscuit was a great improvement over the occasional mock chicken 'n' biscuits that people bring in at work. The biscuit wasn't mini by any means, and the chicken was the same generous size. It was the real thing, probably because he ate it in North Carolina.



Mary's Restaurant: If you can hit up Mary's for breakfast or brunch, you should. I ate a turkey sandwich on a baguette (Hi, it had cranberry chutney AND sliced Granny Smiths on it), but if you like you could go for totally insane French toast or shrimp and grits. WHATEVER you do, start with the fried green tomatoes. They were unbelievable. Not greasy at all, the way fried food should feel. The tomato chutney on top was not a marinara-type cop-out sauce. It was sweet with a little kick, and on top of the crispy on the outside, still-firm but forgiving inside of those tomatoes...seriously, heaven. When are we going back?

Mmm our last morning brought us to High Cotton for brunch. I could have gotten the egg-white omelet, but that would be so typical. Instead I went for the huevos rancheros--two fried eggs over beans and enchilada sauce with chorizo, beef tenderloin, salsa, guacamole, and tortilla chips. I've been really into making a made-up version of Mexican Eggs Benedict since then (two eggs over easy on top of guacamole-laden whole wheat English muffin topped with salsa). J was checking out the menu, lingering over his obvious top candidates that involved steak. Then I saw the BBQ Duck Hash, and suggested it to him. Turns out he had totally skipped over it (it was first on the list), and it sounded awesome. It was DELICIOUS. The mustard BBQ sauce was really different and awesome, and the veggies (mushrooms and peppers) with the eggs and the sauce--oy, the whole combination was great. I don't think I need to mention the awesome breadbasket (why oh why are biscuits not the norm everywhere in the world???). What in the peach butter is going on...

Greyton

Had a very relaxing time in Greyton. My first visit to the town and I thoroughly enjoyed it, not knowing what to expect and despite the negative comments of some old time visitors who believe the upsurge in housing developments has spoilt the place. Needless to say, I took all my painting paraphernalia and did very little actual painting. Took lots of pictures though and thought I would post a few. Here they are -

Family Labor Day BBQ

Today Harry and I went to my Dad's family annual Labor Day BBQ. This is our third year going and this year more family and friends showed up. My dad's half brother Wally puts this together every year. We always have alot of fun. There is always lots of Hawaiian music and great food to eat. We played a little volleyball and little poker and did alot of visiting. It's funny to think only a few years ago we didn't even know dad had a half brother living a half hour away.. weird how life changes to quickly sometimes.

Jen's Birthday

Today is one of my favorite online friends Birthday.. though we never met in person we talk every week as we both co-host a podcast for the Treks in Sci Fi Podcast RPG game. I wish you all the best Jen.. have a very Happy Birthday.

The Guild DVD

Today I got the DVD of The Guild. This is an online web series about Online Gamers and it's extremely funny and well written. The DVD has all ten episodes of season one along with several gag reels, a Christmas sing along and several cool interviews. It's worth the $20. Check out the episodes online here... http://www.watchtheguild.com/

How To Buy A Cricket Bat From Internet

"Change is the law of life and Those Who look only to the past or present Are Certain to miss the future" John F.
Kennedy

Many we afraid of change.

There are moments that life-changing crossroads on the road and moments in which a situation perfectly planned change and thus almost imperceptibly we change.

We can always plan, expect, design and provide what is necessary to meet any eventuality calmly in the well planned way, many of us carry in advance maps for every occasion, plans "a", "b" and "c" for each situation and to gain some security against possible changes. This author still believes that "everything is written," thus still believes in the possibility of a change of plan so drastic that not all alternatives indicating how to proceed, there is always the possibility of meeting at a crossroads for which no map we serve. Causes many changes ourselves, our decisions are affecting the roads initially planned perfectly.

are the lucky few who can breathe deeply and adapt to state changes, situations, feelings and plans, there are few who know how to adapt to the new road to the new situation and the fear of change is one of our major obstacles and obstacle is precisely because we are afraid our changes.

The money we give to our plans depend on us, in us is to convert a drastic change of plan in the excuse to lament the past will not return, then breathing in this constant nostalgia flavored or take the money and change ourselves, or try something completely different Try again following a new route. It may even be very exciting to meet a series of plans apparently destroyed, the opportunity to rebuild, reorganize and rethink the way is invaluable! the thrill of facing something new, to test our limits, to change our plans and recognize our character can be infinitely motivating.

up to us convert the change in failure or an opportunity. As always, at the end ALL is in us is that the world is not changing, it's us who do.

America's Toughest Jobs

Tonight at 9pm the show I'm currently working on premeires on NBC.

America's Toughest Jobs.

From creator/executive producer Thom Beers ("Deadliest Catch," "Ice Road Truckers") and executive producers Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun, "America’s Toughest Jobs" is a new extreme competition series that will test 13 men and women who venture out of their safe and comfortable careers and are injected into some of the most challenging, dangerous and demanding jobs on earth.

From logging high in the Washington forest to oil drilling on the Texas range, and driving icy roads to extreme fishing – each job requires guts and stamina, and the competitors will have to live up to the same standards as the pros. At the end of each episode, their new boss and co-workers will determine success or failure, and those who don't make the grade will be sent home. Upping the ante, the annual salary of each job will be thrown into the pot until the finale – where one rookie will take home the well-earned cash.

One Last Time

Today we went to Star Trek The Experience. This was our main reason for coming to Las Vegas this weekend. If you don't know what it is here is a brief description.

Star Trek The Experience is an interactive adventure based on the voyage of the most exciting futuristic television series of all time, Star Trek. Visitors are immersed in the futuristic world where they see, feel, touch and live the 24th century. Included in the Experience are two multi-million dollar interactive adventures, Borg Invasion 4D and The Klingon Encounter. They also have a History of Future Museum featuring more then 200 items; it is the largest permanent collection of Star Trek props and costumes in the world. The museum like exhibit featuring authentic Star Trek costumes, weaponry, make-up, special effects and props used in the five Star Trek television series and the ten motion pictures. If you get hungry you can go to Deep Space Nine and eat at Quark’s Bar and Restaurant. After eating you can then shop at Deep Space Nine’s Promenade with the largest retail stores for Star Trek merchandise.

This was Harry's sixth or seventh time and my eight or ninth time visiting the Experience but this visit would always be special because it would be our last. After ten years of service to the Star Trek community The Experience is closing down. Their contract is up at the end of the year at the Hilton and it was not renewed. Since it will take several months for them to remove everything and be out by the end of the year Star Trek The Experience will be closing September 1st. When we heard it was for sure closing we made plans to go one last time.

We brought along our video and digital still camera to capture as much footage and pictures as we could. We have already taken a ton of pictures and video but this was going to be our last chance to get anything we missed.

We got up around 9am and went down to breakfast around 10am with Dad. He planned to hang out in the space casino and play slots while Harry and I spent the entire day hanging out at the Experience. We got to the Experience around 11am as they opened at 11:30 and sure enough there was a line to get in. We waited a half hour in line and chatted with a few folks standing around us. They opened the doors and we went to buy our tickets. I checked online for some of there package deals and we went with the The Latinum Package. This package includes a dual mission ticket, admission to "Star Trek: The Experience: Secrets Unveiled" and two free photos (in the Captain's Chair and the BORG Regeneration Chamber).

We entered the Experience and decided that we would skip the museum and all they goodies and go directly to one of the rides. Both had lines but the Borg Invasion 4D was shorter so we choose to go on that first. After the ride you exit downstairs in the shopping/restaurant area. It was so sad to see that all the stores except one were closed. They had moved all the merchandise into this one store. We walked through to see if we could find any super great deals but didn’t find anything that we must have. As we headed back up to the entrance of the Experience we noticed two people doing charactures, but these weren’t your typical charactures. They would take your face and morph it into a Star Trek theme character. We knew we wanted to do this but they were busy so we headed over to the waiting area to get our pictures taken on the TNG bridge and Borg alcove. A girl picked up a group of us and took us to the TNG Bridge of the Enterprise where we got to sit in the Captain’s chair while they take a picture. After that we went to a small room that was set up like a Borg Ship. There were two life-size Borg’s standing in an Alcove and we got to stand in the middle while they took a picture. Once that was over we went back to the casino to find dad and see how he was doing.

We found him at a slot machine and he was up a few hundred dollars. We decided to grab a snack as we had tickets for the 4:30pm behind the scene tour and figure we would eat afterwards. We got something to drink and a snack and sat at a table and relaxed. At this time my friend Michael and his wife Kathy who also were coming to Vegas for the Experience texted me to let me know he had arrived. They met us over at the café and we headed back to the Experience together. Since Harry and I did the Borg 4D ride already we all went on the second ride The Klingon Encounter.

Between the two rides I still enjoy The Klingon Encounter a bit more then the Borg invasion 4D. They are both a ton of fun and will immerse you into the Star Trek World; I just think The Klingon Encounter is a bit cooler.

After we got off the ride we were once again in the shopping and restaurant area. Harry and I picked up our Captain’s chair and Borg Alcove pictures, they turned out great. We looked over at the guys doing the Charactures and they were finishing up so Harry and I decided that we would do ours now. A few minutes later Kathy and Mike joined us, as they wanted to do one as well.

So Harry and I sat for one and Michael and Kathy sat for the other. I asked for the guy to make me an Andorian (blue skinned alien) and Harry wanted to be a Klingon. Michael went with a Kirk like character and Kathy was an Orion Slave Girl (a very green sexy alien). We sat there for about half hour as this guy and girl worked their magic. While you are sitting there you can’t see what they are doing and a crowd of people gather around and watch as you get this done. It’s strange sitting there in a spot light and having folks stare at you and then look at the picture and point and smile.

Our guy finished first and when he showed it to us I laughed out loud. He nailed us… I looked perfect as an Andorian and Harry was awesome looking as a Klingon with his ridges. Mike and Kathy were going to be a little longer so we headed up to the casino to show Dad the picture. A few minutes later we headed back down to check out Mike and Kathy’s picture and it turned out just as cool as ours.. we were all very happy that we spent the money and did this.

After the charactures, Mike and Kathy went to grab a snack while Harry and I decided to go to the museum and take as much video and pictures as we could before our 4:30pm BTS tour. We spent about an hour taking pictures and video of everything. Once it was 4:15pm we headed to the waiting area for the BTS tour. I found out that it was going to take an hour and a half to finish the tour, which we did not plan as we were all hungry. So I called Mike, Kathy and my Dad to let them know.

They had been doing this BTS tour for several years but we never took it. Since this was going to be the last time we figured… why not. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about Star Trek and The Experience. She was hired a year before the Experience even opened and portrayed a Vulcan and Andorian character. They had about 10 actors who dressed up and walked around the Experience in character, taking pictures and interacting with the guests.

She began the tour walking through the museum and giving us tidbits about the props and costumes. She then explained how they created the giant Enterprise, Voyager and Klingon modeled ships. The sad thing was, she told us that it would cost 2 million to remove the ships safely so it looks as though they will just be torn down when the Experience is taking down. She then took us through a side door and we got to see some blueprints of the Experience. She then took us on to various parts of each ride. The TNG corridors, the Borg station area, the TNG Bridge and so many other cool areas. As we went to each area our tour guide had very interesting information about how it was created, she was a wealth of knowledge. One of the highlights of the tour was seeing how they actually Transport you from the ride to the Transporter room of the Enterprise D… now that was a very cool effect. Another cool part was seeing the Shuttle ride from beneath it, watching how all the hydraulics work. We also go to see the make up area and costume area and the business part of the ride. At the end she took us up to the “party room” above Quarks and handed out some really cool certificate that stated that we finished the behind the scene tour. All in all it was a very cool tour, we were very happy that we finally took it.

After the tour we headed back to the casino where dad was waiting for us. We called Kathy and Michael and they were in line for the Borg 4D ride. We decided to go down to Quarks and get some dinner. Kathy and Mike said they would be done in about 10 minutes. So Dad, Harry and I got a table and ordered some Holy Rings of Betazoid and sodas. Kathy and Mike showed up a little later and we all ordered food and enjoyed the Star Trek atmosphere.

After dinner Mike and Kathy headed back to there hotel while Dad went back up to gamble a little bit more. As Harry and I really wanted to do both rides one last time. When we got up there only one ride was open, The Klingon Encounter so we got in line and waited and waited and waited. We wanted to leave Vegas around 8pm and it was already 8:30. They finally let us on the ride and we enjoyed it for the final time. When we got off the ride the worker said.. if anyone wants to do the Borg 4D ride follow him and he would show us a short cut to the line. We got back to the line and the Klingon Encounter was closed and there was a line for Borg Invasion 4D so we got to ride that one last time and it was a fantastic way to finish our final adventure at Star Trek The Experience.

It was a little past 9pm and we headed back home. I was exhausted and I don’t know how I was able to drive but I managed to drop dad off at home around 1am and Harry and I got home around 2:30am and went straight to bed.

Star Trek The Experience is an AWESOME place and it’s so sad to see it get torn down. But at least Harry and I go to geek out in that Star Trek World one last time.

Thank you for all the great memories and fun times.. you will be missed.

Las Vegas

Today Harry and I got up at 6:30am and started to get ready for our trip to Vegas. We planned to go to Vegas because of Star Trek The Experience at the Hilton. It was closing at the end of the month and Harry and I both being avid Star Trek fans had to go one last time before it's gone forever. We decided to bring my Dad along for a present for his recent birthday and since he hadn't been there in over 8 years it was a great opportunity to take him along. So this became our Honeymoon/Dad's Birthday trip.

We planned to pick up my Dad at 8am and then head to Vegas... of course we were a bit behind and picked up dad around 8:30am. We headed out around 9am and began our drive. I had rented a car for the weekend for this trip so we were enjoying the AC as it was getting very hot. We have a quick stop at a rest stop to stretch our legs then again when we hit the town of Baker as we were hungry and grabbed some breakfast.

We hit Primm Nevada about 1pm and decided to stop at Buffalo Bills and gamble a bit. Dad won money, Harry and I lost money but it was a lot of fun. We left around 2pm and headed to Vegas. We got there about 40 minutes later and I missed an exit that I had planned to take, as I wanted to show dad the new strip since he had not been there in over 8 years.. a lot has changed. Instead I wound up on the back end of the strip and buildings so when we finally found a street to cut across we had missed most of the strip so we went south on the strip to show dad all the new casinos then turned around and headed back north on the strip to the Hilton which is on the northern end of the strip just off to the side.

Got to the hotel and checked in, checked out our rooms then went back down to grab some lunch. We planned to go to Quarks but there was a huge line and we were hungry so we opted for a cafe in the Hilton. After lunch we went to the Space Quest Casino section. This is the slot machines area right outside Star Trek The Experience and we played a few slots.. again Dad winning, Harry winning and I was losing. After that we decided to rest for a few hours. Dad watched Ironman while Harry and I relaxed. A few hours passed and we went down to grab some dinner and we gambled a little bit but it was close to 11pm and we were tired and called it a night.

Renting a Car

Today was my fourth car rental in the past two months. This time I was renting a car because Harry and I were driving to Vegas and it was cheaper to rent a car then pay for the gas of my Jeep. I got 2009 Chevy Aveo.. never heard of the car.. it was an economy car and you could tell.. no perks other then AC. The cool thing was it was brand spanking new. Only had 30 miles on it and they just recieved it the night before. Still had that new car smell.

Super Fan Letter

Hello, my name is Rebecca, and I absolutely love your books! I read the Model Spy, Down to the Wire, and The Winning Element in 2 days. They were really fantastic. I know that authors can be really busy, and not respond... or have an auto reply or an assistant who responds to the emails... but I really hope that you get this.

You are one of my favorite authors... and I couldn't wait to read your latest book, Native Tongue... but it wasn't at the library yet. I was going to buy it form the store, but they were also out. So I hope that they restock, and that the Library buys more copies... or I'll be go crazy waiting for the book. *laugh*

Okay, moving on to why I actually sent this message... I want you to know that you're doing a great job of writing such creative and novel books. Each and every one of the pages just catches my attention over and over again. It made me want more and more... and since I couldn't go to the library everyday... I read the first 3 books of The Specialists series 3 times each. They're totally exhilarating!

So if you ever have any down times... where you can't think of anything to write about... know that you've always got a fan... me! *smile* Keep up the good work, because, I'm hoping that the Specialists will keep having adventures together.

-- Rebecca

P.S. ... if you could reply, that'd be great. But I understand if you don't.

Postcard from New Jersey

I really can't say enough good things about the Garden State. If you have insults for the birthplace of college football, baseball, and Frank Sinatra, then you'll just have to bring them somewhere else.

On a recent trip I finally visited a place seen on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, a show with the Food Network's sometimes annoying but always orange Guy Fieri. Two lovely ladies joined me at Brownstone Diner & Pancake Factory. The deal with Brownstone is that they have breakfast all day (obviously awesome), and are known for their huge variety of pancake options. And beyond pancakes they have pancake WRAPS, like a breakfast burrito but instead of boring burrito shell it's a pancake! With a pancake under it for good measure, of course.

Us healthy-eating ladies decided to start with an appetizer, naturally. Our appetizer was an order of chocolate and peanut butter chip pancakes, topped with whipped cream of course. You can also put syrup on it if you want to. And we did. Our server was friendly (and the host went beyond taking our picture by letting us review it and demand a second shot), the crowd was everything from families to teens to old-timers (I sensed this was part of their routine), and the food was ENORMOUS for very reasonable prices.

Besides basically demolishing our appetizer, among us we picked at an egg sandwich, a pancake wrap filled with meat, eggs, and potatoes, and a Greek salad the size of a small country (maybe Luxembourg?).



Brownstone Diner also has regular food for the boring folks, or even for the anti-breakfasters (whoever you are...you strange, sick people). But I don't want to talk about it. The next time you're in Jersey (whether visiting or just passing through), stop at Brownstone Diner. It's not 24-hour, so a little planning is required. It's also close to a Path station, so it's a great place to meet a friend from the city without schlepping into the city (if you're low on time).

Brownstone Diner & Pancake Factory
426 Jersey Avenue
Jersey City, NJ
Take Exit 14 A-B-C from the Turnpike, but don't go in the Holland Tunnel!

Hellboy II

Today Harry and I finally went to the movies.. with the wedding and visiting family we fell behind in watching movies. We opted for Hellboy II tonight.

It was everything I want in a fun, action, sci fi'ish movie. Great effects, cool creatures, decent story, cool fight scenes and the list goes on and on. One of my favorite new creatures was The Angel of Death.. that was 100% Del Toro.. The first Hellboy was good but was done on a budget.. this one you could tell had more money and it showed.. A great sequel to a cool series.. let's hope for Hellboy III.

Wedding Photos

Today I picked up our professional wedding photos. Alex took over 500 pictures, he retouched about 20 of them and printed two for us. He did a wonderful job and captured some very beautiful moments. Alex was a lifesaver as my original photographer bailed on me the last minute. Thank you Alex for the wonderful job you did.

The Aquarium 18"x24"

My grandson has become a model for me. When the family was here in Cape Town in December, they went all over the place, and the reference for this painting was taken in the aquarium at the Waterfront.

Vermilion

I was pretty excited today when I read on Metrocurean that the folks from Neighborhood Restaurant Group are opening something up in D.C. Even though I'm not the biggest Rustico fan and I'm hot and cold with Tallula (also I can never remember how many L's there are and where they go, but that's not enough reason to hate, right?), I absolutely LOVE Evening Star and Vermilion, which is where we recently revisited.

Again, we had a great time. No problem getting seated right away with our reservation on a busy night (not always the case, even with a reservation), and we were surprised and delighted by a pretty, crunchy, AND juicy (is pretty most important?) amuse bouche of veggies, goat cheese, and pine nuts on a thick square cracker-y type apparatus.

Our starters were both really awesome in different ways. The chilled roasted red pepper soup was smooth as silk and had a smoky undertone, I wanted to lick the bowl it was so good. The heirloom tomato salad with goat cheese was colorful with both yellow and red sweet tomatoes. The table next to us got a complimentary one because the kitchen was busy, extending their wait time for their entrees. They liked it so much that they ordered another (to be put on their tab, of course).

For dinner I had the Scottish Salmon with peas, mushrooms, lemon zest, and pea-tendril pesto. Again, I love green, lemon, and anything to do with pesto, so this was a no-brainer. The salmon was fluffy and creamy, just the way I like it. Jeff's lamb kebab with artichokes two ways was surprising, there was traditional=seeming ground lamb shaped onto the kebab, and also lamb sausage. The Greek-inspired dish, while delicious, may not have been the best choice for J because he isn't super into artichokes. I was careful to eat most of them for him (I do what I can).

We (gasp!) didn't have dessert because we were meeting a friend for ice cream in town. Vermilion is a consistently beautiful, delicious, classy place to dine. I'll continue to go back, and you should too.

Vermilion
1120 King Street
Metro: Blue or Yellow Line to King Street

What's up with that!!!

Today after hanging around the house and continuing our "do nothing" day we decided that we were going to go to the movies, since we had family here we haven't seen several of the big blockbusters. So we took a shower and got ready. We walked outside and low and behold my Jeep looked kind of awkward and sure enough as I get closer I noticed that I have another flat tire.. yep another flat tire as I had one just nine days prior and another one four-month prior. It's been a different tire each time but it's the same problem. The tire stems are causing the leaks. I was told with my second flat that the stems can dry out and crack, which would cause the flat. So it seemed they four new tires I bought a year ago all have bad stems and three of the four have gone flat.. so anyways we had to fix that and by the time I changed it and went to pep boys to fix it we weren't in the mood for a movie and instead stayed in and watched TV.

Day to Relax

Today we did nothing.. this was the first weekend in a long time that we had no family and nothing to plan or buy. It was a very nice and relaxing day.

Harry's family made it home safe and sound.

The Dauz's Are Going Home

Today we got up at 5:30am and picked up the family around 6am and headed to LAX. It was a mad house and there were lines everywhere. Their flight was at 8:40am and after standing in line for an hour they finally got checked in and it was time to say goodbye. Everyone hugged their goodbyes but we knew it wasn't going to be forever. We might not be able to travel to Austria yet but everyone had such a great time that they'll be back.. even Harry's mom and she might be able to drag his dad along for the ride.

The hardest part of the goodbyes was when Harry's mom held his face and looked at him one last time, taking in every inch of it like she was committing it to memory. She cried, I cried it was very sad. Harry's sister Gerda gave Harry one of the longest hugs. We stood there and watched them line up for security and waved back and forth until we couldn’t' see them anymore.

We then headed back home, as I had to return their rental car and then go into work.

Harry's Family Returns

Today while I was at work Harry's sister Gerda, her fiancés Bernd and her son Leonhard returned from their northern travels. They took a few thousands photos and sounded like they had a great time. When I got home from work we took them all out for their final dinner, we went to Sizzler. From the sounds of it they had a great time up north and we talked about what we did with Zita during her stay down here with us. It was a nice dinner, sad that it was coming to an end but happy because they all seemed to really enjoy themselves on this trip. Tomorrow they head back to Austria.

August Contest

Congratulations goes out to Carla Jackson for winning the August contest run off my site. She won an autographed copy of my latest release, The Specialists: Native Tongue. Woo-hoo!!

And a double, triple woo-hoo to my mom. It's her birthday on Saturday and she'll be (cough-cough) years old.

Zita's First Burger

Today Harry's Mom Zita came with Harry and picked me up from work. We went to Denny's for dinner and Zita got her very first Burger. In all her 70 years she has never had a Burger. Since she doesn't eat meat we got her a Boca (veggie) burger and she loved it. She started asking Harry where she could get Hamburger Buns in Austria. It was really cool seeing how much she enjoyed it. It is always great watching her try new and different things. Her biggest compliment/complaint was that there was to many choices when going out to eat.

Can't speak...

...can barely talk. Michael Phelps is the only Olympian to have 10 medals under his belt. Uh...yeah...just quiet now and watching...in awe. ;) peace

Can't speak...

...can barely talk. Michael Phelps is the only Olympian to have 10 medals under his belt. Uh...yeah...just quiet now and watching...in awe. ;) peace

Can't speak...

...can barely talk. Michael Phelps is the only Olympian to have 10 medals under his belt. Uh...yeah...just quiet now and watching...in awe. ;) peace

1st Annual Fu*k off Day

Well it's only my second day back at work.. but today is Original Productions 1st Annual Fu*k off day. The owner of the company I'm working for is taking everyone out to Paradise Cove for some fun in the sun. This was a mandatory work day, but who's going to complain about getting paid to hang out in Malibu on a private beach and get free food and drinks... not me.

My Favorite Cookbook(s)

I can't go out every night, but I also can't really cook. I do cook, but it's not second nature to me. An omelet, that's second nature. But food that is serve-able to a spouse, parents, other guests? That presents a challenge.

Enter: My Favorite Places to Get Recipes

I definitely can't take credit for discovering any of these. They all came on recommendations from friends, links from other sites, or books from--um--my mom. Or they were in the newspaper.

Which brings me to...the NEWSPAPER! Once in a while stuff in the Times or Post will intrigue me and I'll try it. Like this no-bake coconut-mascarpone-blueberry concoction, constructed with the assistance of a store-bought (gasp!) pound cake. Leave the oven off, save some energy. A few days ago the Times reeled me in with this, and after listening to a speech about The Greatness of Swiss Chard, I may have to try it.

Cara's Cravings: Health-conscious but not always super-healthy, Cara explains her recipes well, mentions substitutions she made or different methods she tried, and always includes a picture, even if it comes out funny-looking. She also does what I do (and most people, probably), which is find something I like and then just do different versions of it. Mini turkey-cilantro burgers in pita! Big turkey-cilantro burgers in big pita! Roasted-red-pepper-cilantro-ground-turkey tacos!

Kalyn's Kitchen: I am not and never have been on the South Beach Diet, but healthy food is healthy food. Kalyn's instructions are REALLY CLEAR, she often posts pictures along the way, so you can see what the food should look like at various stages of preparation. This is key for people like me who get paranoid, "Oh no! Should it look like this? I think I did something wrong. It's RUINED!!!!" Also, she'll suggest other recipes to go with a certain dish, and has everything divided up into a zilliondy categories. (For example, Homepage > Salads > Salads With Beans Grains Pasta and Rice > Salads With Pasta > Pasta Salad with Slow Roasted Tomatoes, Grilled Zucchini, and Basil. And for SB followers, she'll tell you for what phase the recipe is appropriate, and whether it's a "once a while treat" or a staple.

DESSERT, also known as Inkpad Chocolate. Yep, I know that little bundle of messy-faced cuteness, but she's not so tiny anymore. Now she's big--big into making delicious baked goods!!!


Food Network The Food Network has a zillion recipes on the web site, and they are rated by difficulty. I like to stick to "Easy" dishes, thank you very much. I find myself virtually flipping through Paula Deen if I want a cream-filled decadent dessert for some friends who aren't calorie-counting, Sandra Lee for quick ("cheating") methods, and Giada De Laurentiis for lots of stuff. Rachel Ray obviously is known for her quick yet tasty meals, and if you are like B and find RR a bit grating, then perhaps her silent online recipes will serve you well! I also have Giada's "Everyday Italian" cookbook, and a lot of my "staple" stuff from the past year comes from that book. Lemon spaghetti, white bean dip with pita chips, pesto recipes, tortellini in broth, etc etc.

And lastly, a BOOK! My mom gave me a copy of WeightWatchers Ultimate Flex & Core Cookbook. While I don't exactly know the ins and outs of what "flex" and "core" mean in the WW world, I do know that the recipes are light, healthy, and easy to prepare. Also a lot of the recipes use similar or repetitive ingredients, for example, salsa. Stock up on salsa and open the book, maybe you've got something to make!

Finally!

Ok, so much to talk about about and blog about but the main thing is that I'm back online and the Olympics are on!! Phelps is awesome! I need to reconfigure this machine and do some dowloading and etc etc...more tomorrow.
Oh I had an interview with a very well known company (changes are you are using their operating system)today, fingers crossed. ;)
peace

Finally!

Ok, so much to talk about about and blog about but the main thing is that I'm back online and the Olympics are on!! Phelps is awesome! I need to reconfigure this machine and do some dowloading and etc etc...more tomorrow.
Oh I had an interview with a very well known company (changes are you are using their operating system)today, fingers crossed. ;)
peace

Finally!

Ok, so much to talk about about and blog about but the main thing is that I'm back online and the Olympics are on!! Phelps is awesome! I need to reconfigure this machine and do some dowloading and etc etc...more tomorrow.
Oh I had an interview with a very well known company (changes are you are using their operating system)today, fingers crossed. ;)
peace

First Day Back

Today I went back to work after being off for a little over two weeks. We are right in the middle of delivering our first two episodes and I have been getting reports on how crazy everything had been so when I got in today I expected chaos.. but it was actually a pretty calm day. Met some new AE's that were no working for me and tried to catch up on what happened the past two weeks... it kind of worries me on how calm it was today.. I know the sh*t will hit the fan soon.

Happy Birthday Pops

Today is my Dad's birthday... hope you have a great one.. love you

Cake Mix

At the end of June, armed with a small 10"x12" canvas, I took myself off to class and asked my teacher, Margie Johnson, to please guide me through a still life. My mind always went blank when the words 'still life' were mentioned - I never saw the point of painting a couple of old pots, cups and a bunch of flowers! But I thought I had to try and the little brown one, which has never been named, is the result.

Since then I have done another one of which I am quite proud. This one does have a name - Cake Mix - and was done on a slightly bigger canvas 12"x16". Every item was white, but mine didn't quite turn out that way.

Returning Home

Today we got up had breakfast and started to pack. Harry and Zita did one more walk around the lake as I packed up the Jeep. The drive home was uneventful. The trip started off a little rocky but turned into a nice relaxing time and Harry got to spend a lot of quality time with his mother. Once we got home, we unpacked, had lunch and hung out. Zita went back to the hotel to rest and came back later in the day, were we had dinner and hung out some more.

Two more days and I go back to work :(

My birthday vacation

As my last post mentioned, this was my birthday week. I had grand plans of traveling the Florida Gulf coast, hiking, biking, kayaking, enjoying nature, blah, blah, blah. Allow me to recap:

MONDAY
Excitedly drive RV to campground x.
Forgot key to bike lock--paid maintenance man to cut it off the back of my RV.

TUESDAY
Discover there are no hiking or biking trails (internet said there was)
Bacteria in water--can't go swimming
All restaurants closed--eat hot dogs for my birthday

WEDNESDAY
Travel to new state park
No overnight RV's allowed
Biking trails covered in cobwebs
Back into RV--travel to another state park--no RV's allowed
Spend the night in a parking lot

THURSDAY
Determined, determined, to have fun, try yet another state park
Get lost going there
Finally arrive--RV's allowed--yay!
No dogs permitted on premises

Sigh.

Give up and go home.

Moral of story? Don't trust the internet for research. Pick up the phone and call to double check stuff.

On the up side I spent little to no money :)

Cabin Day Two

Today we woke up around 8am and I was preparing to drive down to my mom's to pick up a spare key (this would be about a four-hour round trip). I wasn't looking forward to it but I knew I had to do it. We heard someone pull up next to the cabin and I looked out the window and saw Chuck. He drove up here to give us a key. I was very pleased to see him as it meant I didn't have to drive down.. so day two started off a little better then day one. After Chuck gave us a key and left we took Zita on a walk around the lake.

I wanted to drive into Big Bear and get the key duplicated and have my tired fixed, as I didn't like the idea of not having a spare tire when we drove home. So we drove into Big Bear, about a half hour drive and once we found a place we got the keys made... at least until they change the locks again (this is the third time). We dropped off the tire at an automotive repair shop. The person who did tires was out to lunch and it looked like it would be a few hours before they could fix it. So we had some lunch at Denny's then went to this very beautiful small park next to Big Bear Lake called Boulder City Park or something like that. We sat there for about twenty minutes then I got a call saying the tire was ready and we went and picked it up and drove back to the cabin. Once back we had some dinner at one of the restaurant in Green Valley (there are only two) and called it a night.

So the second day up at the cabin was much better then the first.

Corduroy

A recent trip to Corduroy was proof that whether it's surrounded by a boring hotel in an awkward part of downtown or in a charming townhouse near the Convention Center, Tom Power's food will dramatize your life. Now I'm being dramatic, but it's true. When we eat at Corduroy I feel grown-up but not stuffy, soothingly well-wined but not drunk. Conversation is comfortable in the quiet dining room and occurs over a well-paced meal, neither too slow nor too fast. In fact, I think our first meal at Corduroy was, at that time, the longest meal we'd ever had. It spanned 2 hours and, on my 22nd birthday, that unique (to us) experience, combined with flawless food, sparked our intense respect for the restaurant. I've come to associate Corduroy with warmth and romance.

It almost doesn't matter what you eat. Everything is good. It's no secret that I love fish, and lemon is sort of my hobby. Most recently I enjoyed the crispy fluke with lemon sauce and potatoes, but before I got to that I had divine chilled pea soup. I tried to make pea soup a few weeks ago, and it turned out lumpy and weird, while this was smoky and smooth. J had bison with a potato-pancake-y side that he thankfully let me taste. Mmm latke. Nothing like Chanukah in the springtime, it's better than Christmas in July! Molten chocolate sabayon (as good as it sounds) and creme brulee rounded out the meal. We shared a delicious half-bottle of red that we can't remember, but it's not as if we picked it ourselves. We asked our lovely server what would pair well with the fluke but stand up to the buffalo--let's face it, a whole bottle would have made me too drunk for a weekday. The half was a great option.

Corduroy is a really nice place where people can talk. It's a place where you should take people, a place you should recommend to friends of any age looking for a fine dining experience. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, the new brownstone space is charming, and I'd order anything off the menu (including wine and dessert) with confidence in its quality and deliciousness. I'm just smitten. I'm not the only one. I'm not trying to come up with some crazy place that's amazing that you've never heard of. In this case, I'm confirming what you've heard from the higher ups and magazines--yes, it's true, Corduroy has great food and an excellent atmosphere, and now, with its new location, old-town charm.

Corduroy
1122 9th St NW
Metro: Green/Yellow Lines to Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center

Up to the Cabin

Today Harry, Zita, Daisy and I packed up the jeep and headed up to Green Valley Lake, where my step dad Chuck has a small cabin. Harry and I wanted to take Zita up there as she love nature and we figured it would be nice to get away from all the craziness for a while.

Well things didn't go as planned. After a two hour drive we get to the base of the mountain and I get a phone call message from my Mom, she says "I heard you are going up to the cabin, well I just wanted to let you know that the locks have been changed." I immediately called her back but my phone reception is horrible up there. After several attempts they tell me they changed all the locks but there was a hidden key but hard to find. I decided we would take our chances and go up there since we were already 2/3'ds of the way up there.

We get to the cabin and search and search for this hidden key... it wasn't there. Harry and I were on our back in cobwebs and dirt trying to find it. Harry then noticed that my back tire was flat. So not only are we locked out of the cabin but we have a flat tire... could this day get any worse... yep it can.

I decide that will have to go through a window or something but guess what.. ever window in that place was shut tight and some had screws preventing them from being opened. I could not believe this was happening. We finally found a screwdriver in my car and went to the back kitchen window. It's one of those double windows that slide up and down. Anyway I was able to unscrew the security screws then pull the window down. I thought success I was able to get my arm in there to unlock the door.. but noooooo these new bolt locks had no knob on the inside.. they required a key so we couldn't get in. I was not going to be defeated. I climbed on to a trashcan with Harry's assistance I managed to pull, push, squeeze myself into the upper part of this window without breaking anything.

Once inside I went to the front door and low and behold the bolt lock was the same and had no knob to turn.. you needed a key. So I was locked inside the cabin and Harry and his mom were locked outside. I went to the front window and with my trusty screwdriver I unscrewed the safety screw and opened the front window, which was level with a bench in front of the house. So Zita, Daisy and Harry climbed through the window to get in. Once inside I wasn't feeling so hot, I was sweaty and sick to my stomach. I hadn't eaten all day and I think I over exerted myself trying to break into the cabin. I tried to eat some lunch hoping that would help.. but it didn't work. An hour after I started to feel bad Harry started to feel the same way. But after a few hours we were both feeling alot better.

I called my Mom and told her that I couldn't find the spare key, that we were using the front window as a door and that I would have to drive down tomorrow morning to pick up a key as I didn't like the idea of Zita climbing through a window to get in and out. So later in the day when I was feeling better Harry and I changed my tire with the spare, this was the first time using this spare and we hoped it would work... it did. So it's wasn't the most relaxing day ever.. but hopefully things would work out.

I'm still here!

Laptop is down so I'm using my phone. Not happy with the job or the corporate culture, so I have some things possibly in the works with some Silicon Valley companies. Will keep u posted!
;-) peace

I'm still here!

Laptop is down so I'm using my phone. Not happy with the job or the corporate culture, so I have some things possibly in the works with some Silicon Valley companies. Will keep u posted!
;-) peace

I'm still here!

Laptop is down so I'm using my phone. Not happy with the job or the corporate culture, so I have some things possibly in the works with some Silicon Valley companies. Will keep u posted!
;-) peace

Twitching In Sleep And Iron Deficiency

The pursuit of peace and progress not can end in a FEW years in victory or defeat Either. The pursuit of peace and progress, with trials and Its errors STI, STI STI Successes and setbacks, can never Be relaxed and never abandoned. Dag Hammarskjold

If I change ... change the world.

Most adults carry with us enough emotional baggage to survive without real feelings for each full year, we could probably live only with memories that come to life and return to stir the chest for better or for worse. Many carry suitcases full of memories that no longer serve in unnecessary emotional burdens of guilt and powerlessness, cases in which both words had weighed anchor us to a place, it weighs so much that we sink into a muddy pool of water in hardly find peace, a pond that will not leave even if not we free ourselves from these resentments that eventually rise far from disappearing, broken promises, of demons and ghosts, blame for mistakes de un pasado que existe como tal; PASADO. Es ese mismo equipaje el que nos hace encadenarnos a tiempos pasados; a un mundo en constante anacronía que dista mucho del HOY que cada uno de nosotros percibe.

Podemos negar a todos que tenemos dicho equipaje, podemos negar el ancla y podemos proclamarnos en "competencia constante"; sólo basta algo de astucia para lograr que el universo completo lo crea, para que todas las voces repitan lo bien que estamos... pero hay una voz que no se calla fácilmente, hay una voz que podemos silenciar a conveniencia pero que en algún momento se escuchará tan fuerte que dejaremos de escucharnos nosotros mismos; esa voz, ese espejo al que en algún momento tenemos que enfrentarnos es uno de los mayores fears of most adults.

The look in front and see who we really are, beyond what the world thinks, listen to that inner voice that tells us exactly what went wrong, what is missing, which is mandatory and what is left is part of a of the hardest processes that we face, the self-knowledge.

That knowledge leads us to accept that our lives over obstacles and find shortcuts, paths and crossroads in circles real enemies chosen for ourselves and allies to join without an invitation and offer your hand and support. There will be constant and rival powers very strong agile rivals and weak rivals who will also have opportunity to learn ... but as we heard, the final competition is with ourselves.

How to win a competition carrying unnecessary baggage? How to move forward if we ourselves, in an apparent effort to self-punishment or fear of ourselves, we take care to anchor to a point that is difficult we move?

To release the heavy chains that bind us to a past, to release the room, face the demons and ghosts disappear just need to look in front, looking into the eyes of our reflection and recognize after so many coats that we create over the years and experiences, we need to accept our human condition, our undeniable right to make mistakes and learn from them ... accept that the path will always be people that hurt even unintentionally, will disappoint those, who take pride and those saved-will to those causing intense pain and who caused infinite happiness and all that is part of the trip.

I understand that the real challenge should be known and accepted the past as such, leave it in the place to be and let go of those burdens so much weight that we were dragging, the tranquility is to accept the present, to open his eyes today, enjoy the colors we see today, enjoy the present and live with no strings, no demons or ghosts of the past. Peace appears necessary to go to bed sure to be better individuals than the previous day.

TODAY returns the protagonist finally ready to compete again with herself.

Another Relaxing Day

Today we finished cleaning up the house... whoo hooo. Harry's mom came over around 11:30am and we just hung out. We did a little grocery shopping as we are heading up to my Mom's cabin tomorrow for a few days. Other than that it was a nice relaxing day.

Renoir at the Corcoran

The Corcoran Gallery has a beautiful painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir titled "View From Cap Martin Of Monte Carlo" painted in 1884 which artist Jay Rolfe saw on a recent visit. It wasn't part of the "American Evolution" exhibit for obvious reasons. Renoir is one of Rolfe's favorite artists.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's signature style, his innovative Pop Art 3-D paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Postcard from Washington, VA

NOTE: I haven't posted in a while. It's sort of because of the recession (responsible inner voice is telling me to cook more and save money for retirement/house/emergency fund) and sort of because I've been applying to jobs instead of blogging. If you're sad about the decrease in posts, give me a full-time job so I can go back to writing about eating instead of writing about how useful I'll be to your chambers/firm/organization.

Back to Washington, VA, also known as Little Washington. Send a gift certificate my way if you want my take on this place. It's easy to find, what with the town that's approximately 100 square feet and OH! The uniformed doorman guys. Most of the time they must be bored out of their minds.

No rush to make the big bucks, it turns out it's possible to enjoy a weekend of hiking and enjoying the country in "our" Shenandoah National Park without starving AND without going broke. I strongly recommend a weekend at our own nearby park as advanced staycationism. It's not far, and while there we were completely unplugged (phone, internet, television), and the whole world seemed quieter, calmer, and more beautiful. And that was on a cloudy, drizzly weekend.

At Griffin Tavern on our first night in the country, J and I shared the special appetizer of the day--chips and a dip made out of blended veggies, including turnips! It tasted sort of like lighter mashed potatoes, and J was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it. My blackened tilapia salad was filling and light, and J enjoyed fish and chips the way they SHOULD be--crispy but not greasy. We got dessert to go, a slice of this and a slice of that (I think cheesecake and pie?). All good. It poured while we were sitting outside, but as long as we were shielded by the umbrella, we found this quite hilarious and fun. Hahaha it's raining while we're on an outdoor adventure vacation, this is so wonderful! Alternate universe out there, I swear.

Thornton River Grille is the next big stop after the Inn, it seems. It definitely gave us happy flashbacks to another River Grill. Our B&B hostess was very concerned that we hadn't made our reservation in advance, but wethinks the holiday weekend kept the loco-tourists in the city and away from TRG. Jeff enjoyed beef tenderloin with roasted fingerling potatoes, and even shared a little bit--thanks! I had the burger, and it was OK. I just wasn't feeling their other options--I wanted fish, but not tuna, and not shellfish. But the burger did have a challah roll, which was surprising and delightful. I'm not sure how many people are making challah in Rappahannock County these days.

Stonewall Abbey coffeehouse: At this stop in downtown Sperryville (a hopping place, for sure) we relaxed with tea, coffee, and a tasty apple tart. You could also have lunch at this converted church, which has quite the setup for live music toward the back. However, it's not open so late at night--we stopped by a different night thinking we could find some dessert, and it was closed. Who knows, maybe Sp'ville isn't as hoppin' as we thought.

Bed and Breakfast - We enjoyed our stay at the Heritage House in Washington, where we ate not once, but twice (the redundancy was by choice, we could have had omelets) a fabulous Eggs Florentine dish that was decadently creamy and completely satisfying on the cool, dreary mornings of July 4th weekend.

Other things to do:

Weather permitting, go to the park.

AND, whether it's for a tasting, buying a few bottles, or setting up on a pretty porch for a glass of wine and block of cheese, you can't really go wrong in Virginia wine country :)
Gray Ghost Vineyards
Sharp Rock Vineyards
Gadino Cellars