Iron Chef Blogger Challenge Week 4 and 6

Well, I have certainly have slacked on the challenge! I don't really know where the past few weeks have gone by but it seems like today I woke up and found that Christams is around the corner!

We had a fun weekend in Las Vegas, where Brian, Jen, and Atlas ran the Rock and Roll Marathon and Half Marathon. They got to run up the strip in the early morning, and I saw them off and... went back to bed. Before and after involved lots of walking up and down the strip, but that seems to be what you always end up doing when you go to Vegas. We also saw the Circ de Soleil show KA and lost a couple dollars on the penny slots. Woo hoo! If you would like to see pictures, stay tuned to the very end.

I have two challenges to cover, so I'll get right to it. I missed Week 5 (really, I don't know where that week went), so you can imagine what wonderful mushroom dish I would have made.

Week 4

The background: You know it's going to be a challenge when you have to Google the secret ingredient. This week's challenge was bok choy, something that immediately stumped me. According to the all-wise Wikipedia, bok choy is Chinese cabbage, and is in the turnip family.


Hello, I am bok choy.

The prep: I was amazed by the size of bok choy - it's big. I took a chance that it would be at Safeway and came up lucky. I chose Asian Potato Salad, since it sounded interesting and I wanted an excuse to use some more of the very expensive sesame seed oil I had bought for a previous recipe.

The main event: Again, I had to turn to the internet - I had no idea how to prepare bok choy, or even what part of it to eat. It turns out that you can eat both the celery-like stalks or the leafy tops. After watching a couple of YouTube demonstrations (what a world we live in!) I took a whack at it - lame pun intended. The rest of the ingredients took a lot of preparation, slicing and dicing and cooking and measuring. But the easy part was that you dumped everything together, gave it a stir, and voilà - you have potato salad.

The wrap-up: The potato salad had a very unique, rich taste, and the ingredients worked together well. The bacon was a great touch. But go easy on that sesame oil! Whew, does that stuff overwhelm.

The final score: Cooking experience is a 5 out of 6, as I think I can prepare bok choy. I'd say 3 out of 6 on taste, it was strange and delicious for the first bowlful, and then got tiring fast.




This was a lot of potato salad.

The recipe: From AllRecipes.com

Asian Potato Salad

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled 6 new red potatoes 1 1/3 cups mayonnaise 1 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/8 teaspoon dry hot mustard 1/8 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup chopped bok choy 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced 1/2 cup chopped green onion 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1.	Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
2.	Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and chop into bite-size chunks.
3.	To make the dressing, mix together the mayonnaise, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, mustard powder, and salt.
4.	Combine the potatoes, bacon, bok choy, red pepper, green onion and cilantro in a large bowl. Pour over dressing and mix well. Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow flavors to blend, and serve.

Week 6

The background: This week's ingredient was chipolte. I constantly get chipoltes confused with cilantro. Which is silly, because one is an insanely spicy pepper, and one is a weirdly pungent herb. After this fantastic recipe, though, I will not be getting the two confused.

The prep: Most online searches for chipolte recipes bring up salsa or sauces (I know, I know, salsa is sauce in Spanish... but in Arizona, salsa is its own food group). I decided to go with a sauce-based dish as I am planning a future cooking project in which I finally figure out Mi Amigo's salsa recipe. I found this recipe quickly at the end of work one day. I started out at Trader Joe's, but their chili/Mexican food section was lacking (as in, "Chipoltes? Um... we have enchilada sauce."). Safeway came through (again) with their surprisingly extensive Mexican food section, in the "ethnic foods" aisle. (By the way, the ethnic food aisle in Argentina included American peanut butter and Nesquick. Way to represent.) Chipoltes in abodo sauce are chilis in a sort of tomato-based thin sauce, btw.

The main event: The recipe called for two whole chickens! I decided to go with chicken breasts and halved the recipe. It worked out just fine, though I may just make the full sauce recipe next time and save the leftovers. There weren't too many new skills this time, but it was fun to see how seemingly strange ingredients like cinnamon and Worcestershire sauce can combine perfectly into something incredible. I did realize that I accidentally bought whole chipoltes instead of diced, but I just went ahead and measured out the abodo con chipoltes, pushed around the whole chipoltes while cooking, and then fished them out before serving the chicken. Because no one should have the nasty surprise of biting into those spicy peppers!

The wrap-up: Wow, this was tasty! The sauce turned very dark due to the caramelization, but that's what made it excellent. It was sweet and tangy, better than BBQ sauce but in the same family. I think it would be great on pork and maybe even a roast. I dialed down the cooking time since I wasn't using whole chickens. A warning, though, the sauce burned onto the glass dish I was using, and there are still specks left after taking an SOS pad to the thing.

The final score: Cooking experience is a 4 out of 6, mostly because it made a bit of a mess and the can of chipoltes in abodo violently splattered when I opened it. There are still red spots all over the kitchen. A definite 6 out of 6 on taste, I'm still thinking about that tasty sauce!

The picture I took seems to have disappeared, so you can enjoy the professional one instead:



The recipe: From Epicurious.com, originally published in Gourmet magazine by Paul Grimes

Caramelized Chipotle Chicken

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)

2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 cups)

1 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo (from a 7-ounce can)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 whole chickens (about 3 1/2 pounds each), each cut into 8 pieces

Preparation:

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers.

Cook garlic, stirring constantly, until golden, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown, about 15 minutes.

Add garlic and remaining ingredients, except chicken, to skillet with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, about25 minutes. Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle. Coat chicken with half of sauce, then roast, skin side up, in a 17-by 11-inch heavy 4-sided sheet pan 25 minutes.

Now back to Vegas:


The starting line was at Mandalay Bay. Nearly 30,000 people ran the marathon or half marathon.


Mild-mannered Brian reveals his identity as Super Runner Dude.


Finishing in just over five hours.


Jen and Atlas ran the half marathon. Medals were had by all.

And then we rode home.


We didn't stay here, but I couldn't resist posting a lovely shot of the lovely Bellagio.

PS: I don't know why the font size and gray/black font colors are being so sporadic and strange. I am too tired to clean up blogger's html.

Iron Chef Blogger Challenge Week 3

Like everyone else, I am absolutely stuffed. Not only did we have an enormous Thanksgiving dinner, but I ended up at breakfast the next day at Craker's and Co, and then again lunch today at Texas Roadhouse. I love food, but whew. That's what my family and Brian's family do... we eat. I like that. Anyway, earlier in the week I took on the newest challenge for the Iron Chef Blogger Challenger (from here on out, in true TV show style, referred to as ICBC). Here's the report from this week's cooking adventure.

The background: Our ingredient was cranberries and the rule was that we couldn't make cranberry sauce. Fair enough. I love cranberries, and they do not get enough love this time of year, as there are only a few specialty cranberry things versus the sudden universe of specialty pumpkin things. When did pumpkin become so cool? I added the rule that I couldn't bake anything, since I'm trying to branch out. So, somehow I decided on attempting cranberry sorbet. Hey, it has been a warm November. Why not?

The prep: I pulled the recipe off of AllRecipes.com and was excited by how simple it seemed. I skimmed the recipe, noticed that it didn't need any weird/expensive ingredients and got giddy about trying my hand at sorbet. Cranberries were amazingly easy to find this time of year. I hit up Trader Joe's knowing that it would be a lot easier to find the specific frozen fruits and juices.

The main event: I was feeling cheap and didn't want to shell out for cherry juice, and I couldn't find lime juice, so I bought frozen cherries and fresh limes, thinking I could just squeeze the fruits to make their respective juices. Yes, I don't know why I thought I could squeeze juice out of cherries. It was Monday, ok? I ended up pulverizing the cherries in a blender and it worked. It took about three whole limes to make the 1/4 cup of lime juice, and I got a great workout for my wrist and hand muscles. I felt pretty proud of myself until I got to the line about putting everything into an ice cream maker and following the machine's directions. Oops, an ice cream maker is definitely not hiding anywhere in our kitchen. I had to Google "make sorbet without an ice cream maker" hoping there was a solution for those of us who do not make a loving batch of creamy homemade ice cream on a regular basis. The best option? Throw it all in a blender and freeze it.

The wrap-up: The sorbet turned out tangy and tasty, but it didn't have the smooth texture of those that come in a carton. It was more like a really froze Italian ice. But good! It also made me realize that sorbets are basically just frozen smoothies with a little extra smoothing out.

The final score: I'm still working my way through the giant Tupperware of sorbet-ish stuff. Cooking experience is a 3 out of 6 due to disappointment and lessons learned (read CLOSELY even when you're in a hurry to go to the store and need a recipe fast). I'd say 5 out of 6 on taste, this is definitely weaning me off the Laffy Taffy left over from Halloween.


From all this (minus the vitamins)...


...to this (draining the juice from the mush)...



... to this (lumpy, but tasty)!

Recipe:


Triple Berry Sorbet
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 (12 ounce) package frozen unsweetened raspberries
1 1/2 cups cherry juice
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

1. Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. When the sugar is dissolved, stir in the cranberries, and cook and stir for 5 minutes. Add the raspberries, and simmer for 5 more minutes, until the raspberries have softened and the cranberries have popped.

2. Strain the mixture through a sieve or strainer, discard the pulp, and refrigerate the mixture for 2 hours. Mix in the cherry juice, lime juice, and orange juice concentrate, and pour the mixture into an ice cream maker. Freeze according to directions.(Or, put it all in a blender and blend until smooth. Put in a freezer-friendly container, stirring the mixture violently every hour or so, to try to cut down on ice crystals. After you get sick of this, freeze over night.)


From www.allrecipes.com

Iron Chef Blogger Challenge Week 2

So I'm participating in this awesome Iron Chef Blogger Challenge, led by the fearless cooking duo Carrie and Sarah Michelle. Here's Carrie's description, since she puts it better than I can:

"So the other day I was thinking about how much I love to cook new things and how much I love to talk to my friends. Suddenly the clouds parted and it became clear what I had to do.

Introduce the world (of my friends) to my Iron Chef Blogger Challenge.

(...)Essentially, the program goes as follows. One participant will choose a secret ingredient and cooking rule for the week and email it out by Saturday at 9pm PST. Contestants then have till the following Saturday at 7pm PST (so about 7 days) to cooking with the ingredient and rule, and create a blog entry about the experience/recipe."

If you want to check out the blog that started it all, along with other Challenge entries, peek at www.twofriendscook.blogspot.com.

The background: So, the first ingredient was coconut milk. There was no rule for this time around, which I appreciated as I am still very much a chef in training. It was a challenge enough to make something with more than four ingredients. Amazingly, my very white bread Better Homes and Gardens cookbook had an entry for coconut milk in the index: Basil Chicken in Coconut-Curry Sauce.

The prep: I didn't have much trouble finding the coconut milk at Safeway, though I struck out on the baking aisle, and yes, the mixers aisle (what... I thought since they had imitation coconut stuff for pina coladas, why not coconut milk). I wonder if eventually we'll be able to bring up the inventory of a store on our phones and by selecting an object, be told where it is. That would be cool.

The main event: The recipe called for two of my least favorite cooking things - cutting onions and cutting jalapenos. I've learned from painful experience that you shouldn't seed a jalapeno by popping the center out with your bare thumbs. I used less onion and jalapeno than the recipe called for because it seemed like a lot (and I misread the sign at Safeway as jalapenos being $2.50 a piece, not a pound) but actually the full amounts would have been fine. I skipped the ginger since I'm kind of allergic.



Always use protection when dealing with hot stuff.

The wrap-up: Cooking the meal taught me to look ahead on recipes (or have a couple hours to spare while the chicken marinates) and that it's ok to make a mess every once in a while. the dish used every pot and pan imagineable, but it turned out really tasty. It was great to be able to use the chili powder and curry powder that had been languishing on the spice rack after using them once and only once before for another ambitious cooking adventure. I was proud of myself, I went beyond dumping a box of Trader Joe's frozen delight and made a real meal. I may be able to get the hang of this cooking thing someday.

The final score: Should I have a rating system? Sure, everything needs a rating system. Um... I don't know what cutesy something-out-of something object to use (suggestions?) but for now, 4 out of 6 on cooking experience, and 5 out of 6 on taste (1 being sushi and six being chocolate fondue). Brian says, "The chicken is crisp and it was flavored well. But I didn't want to use too much sauce. It also takes a long time to make. 4.5 out of 6 (1 being black licorice and 6 being Mi Amigo's salsa)." Woo hoo.

Recipe:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper (I used the basic table stuff)
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 red onion, chopped (1 cup)
5 cloves garlic, minced (I use the pre-chopped kind, it's great... no more stinky hands)
2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 13 to 14 oz can coconut milk (the book says you can use light coconut milk to save fat, but I couldn't find it)
1 tbsp. cornstarch (I'm sure flour works fine too)
3 tbsp. snipped fresh basil
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger (skipped this)
3 cups hot cooked rice (Make sure to consider how long rice takes when you get cooking. I started it right before I heated up the skillet and still had to let the stuff simmer as I waited for the rice)

1. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place chicken in medium bowl. In a small bowl, stir together the curry powder, salt, black pepper, and chili powder. Sprinkle spice mixture over chicken, tossing to coast evenly. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours.
2. In a large nonstick wok or skillet cook and stir onion, garlic, and jalapeno peppers in hot oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Remove onion mixture from wok. Add half of the chicken to skillet. Cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (I found that it was better to turn the heat down to about medium and cook longer, as otherwise it browned the chicken too fast without cooking the center). Remove chicken from skillet. Cook remaining chicken as above (add more oil if needed) and remove from skillet.
3. Combine coconut milk and cornstarch (you may not need all the milk if you are using less chicken). Carefully add to skillet. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Return chicken and onion mixture to skillet. Stir in basil and ginger. Cook and stir about 2 minutes until heated through. Serve over rice.

Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book 2002


I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, so you get the leftovers-for-lunch version.

Goody two, goody two, goody goody two shoes

So I'm currently looking for the perfect blue wedding shoes. I'm also praying that my poor right foot returns to normal so that I can actually wear heels (Oh plantar fasciitis, you suck. But boy does it instantly become a bonding point with strangers.). Any who, I was strolling around the addicting ShopStyle.com and while sorting by price (um, low, please) I noticed there is a $2,000 plus option. "What shoes could be that much money?" I asked. And, just for you dear readers, I am presenting the 28 hundred dollar Christian Louboutins:



Wooeee, now those are shoes. While I am properly disgusted by the price tag, my gosh, I would love to try those on. And perhaps run away with them.

But wait! Those aren't even the most expensive shoes on the site. What if I told you there was a pair of shoes that topped $4,000? Picture in your head what these shoes may look like. Studded with diamonds? Belly-button high boots? Made of pure gold?

Ok, have something pictured?

...ehem...



Ok, here they are:



Wow, that's a disappointment. They must be made of real crocodile. But is that something we even really want? Someone must have lost an arm getting the skin for those shoes. Ew.

(I swear, swear, swear "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John just came on my iTunes!! It's just on shuffle...that is so awesome.)

Bling bling

Blogging, like many things, becomes more difficult to start up again the longer you put it off.

It doesn't help that I have been, uh, busy.

Let's see, after counting down on my paper chain for months, I finally boarded the double-decker British Airways flight to London. What an amazing city, there isn't much to say about it that hasn't been eloquently said already (such as in the brick of a book London the Biography that I'm treading through) but I would live there in a second. Well, as I need to overthink and plan everything, maybe not in a second, but at least after some preparation and the sudden appearance of a million bucks or so. I put a few pics on Photobucket, http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v230/picsforfriends/Across%20the%20Pond , and some on Facebook (which the newsfeed probably told you about). Oh yeah, seeing Brian after nine months was pretty awesome too.

I must say that the last day there was pretty spectacular, as Brian proposed in Regents Park (I really struggle with how to word this sort of thing... "proposed" seems a bit formal, "popped-the-question" seems a bit too casual and "asked for my hand" seems a bit both romance-novel-y and creepy) after I unknowingly blabbered on about ducks and monkeys for a bit. Woo hoo! It's wonderful and surreal at the same time, in the sense that I can't quite believe that this whole "getting married" thing is finally here. Of course, now I have a stack of books and a spreadsheet and the rallying cry of most girls that I will not, cannot, become a Bridezilla. So we'll see.

I think one thing that I've gained from all this planning stuff is that it's best to keep criticism of other people's nuptials to a minimum. Of course I love to provide running commentary for a good bridal reality show every now and then, and there's something to be said about what you're putting yourself up for if you invite cameras into your life, but I guess it's best to keep the snarkiness on low. I realize now that many decisions are made with lots of effort and a fair amount of compromise. Some may be borne out of a long-held desire to have something, others due to budgetary reasons, and others for the sake of picking battles. Just enjoy the fact that you get to party (or watch a party) without any of the preplanning.

Oh yeah, I work too. I've stepped in to a number of projects that were in-progress before I started, and I'm having to deal with authors who don't quite trust me or are a bit taken back when I edit their stuff. I guess it's understandable, because they weren't with me from the beginning. But when you have to tell them to rewrite large portions of their chapters, they are understandably less-than-thrilled to be responding to me. I also had to do two rejections of manuscripts that we had taken to the peer-review stage (not far enough that we had a contract, but far enough that I had made a connection with the authors) and that wasn't fun. A busy fall and spring of travel ahead, and maybe I'll fit a wedding in there too. Yes, we'll see.

Summer days... drifting away

I’m here! I just… stepped outside for ice cream. Yes, that’s it.

Why is this blogging stuff so hard? Whhhy?



Ehem.

Oh I’d (almost) pay for cable just to have Friday night Soup.

Ok what have I been up to?

Long story short, work, some travel, the occasional bought of shopping and looking guiltily at my huge stack of books that I need to read.

Seriously, I have 11 that I need to finish by some (usually self-imposed) deadline, or that I started on some trip and need to finish because I just...can't...not...finish a book when I start it. Unless it’s truly horrible, then life’s too short for bad books. Just like you shouldn’t waste your calories on bad dessert. I’ve been trying to read Anna Karenina since September, I’m getting there. A variety of London and Paris guides or histories, a book for my book club, a book for the B L and No Tomato Book Club, and a number from plane rides or driving (the audio version of A Walk in the Woods, as I certainly don't condone - or haven't yet mastered - reading and driving).

(I will now shamelessly advertise GoodReads, because you should join and be my friend, since I love seeing what other people are reading: www.goodreads.com.)

I spent a few days in Vegas for a broadcast educators conference, hawking our wares and staring down other big publishers like Routledge (the Harvard of mass comm publishing), Focal Press (whenever I think of a potential journalism book, they already have it) and Pearson and Cengage (just big, period). Seeing Pearson is always weird since I interviewed with them and was offered a second interview. So sometimes I see parallel universe me standing at the booth.

It was strange to be in Vegas for work, I would ride the monorail back from the convention center in my business clothes while everyone else was dressed up to go out for the night. I walked around the strip by myself one afternoon, got to check out all the shopping that we usually by-pass and parked at the Belagio for a while. I even did the buffet by myself, which is hard when no one can watch your bag.
Thankfully, only heard “VEGAS BABY!!!@!@!#$Q@#$^T^Y” once, as I waiting in the airport to fly home.


Working it at the booth


Being artsy at the Venetian


Monorail! Monorail! MONORAIL!

I wanted to see Jen’s awesome digs in Seattle, so I took a three-day weekend to visit her and Atlas. I loved the city, it was funky and uptown, lots to see, lots to do. It was bit like San Fran meets the east coast. I suppose. I like any place where you can be entertained simply by walking around. And the food… THE FOOD! http://www.piroshkybakery.com/ . Yes it rained. Yes it wasn’t too bad. It was worth it because everything was in explosive bloom.


Fun...


...food...


...flowers...


...and friends!



Now I’m back to reality. I think I’ve really settled in at work, so much so that I need to make sure I don’t get too comfortable. It’s easy to spend a little more time chatting and such. We also have an intern who is working in the role of editorial assistant (Publishing is like academic titles. You have no idea about the level of titles until you’re in it: Editorial Assistant, Assistant Editor, Associate Editor, Managing Editor, Editor; Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, Big Donor Name Here Professor of Something). It’s a bit weird to have him asking many of the same questions and learning many of the same things that I was doing 8 months ago. He’s so enthusiastic, so it spurs me to be even more productive, to keep up.

Just less than two weeks until I take the double-decker plane across the pond! I’m so excited and have already started my huge to-do list. Now if only this toothache will go away…

Entertainment reward for getting through this post...
If you haven’t discovered Fail Blog yet, well, you fail:
www.failblog.org
and if you’d like, the G-rated filter:
http://failblog.org/tag/g-rated/

Two fails and a win:

Please don't call it a vacation

Ok, so another trip, this time to Tampa, Florida… plus El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, and Albuquerque, if you count all the stops on the Southwest party plane. I was there to man (woman?) a booth at the AAHPERD conference – American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. We have a lot of exercise science, physical education and sports management books, and this is a big conference for that area. The meeting attracts both dance/PE teachers and our market, the teachers of those teachers (Kinesiology and Physical Education professors).

It was pretty fun to be in that exhibit hall, as there was a lot of sports equipment and all kinds of trendy treats for teachers to use in their classes, like a treadmill-style rock climbing wall, crazy balance boards, rollerblade rentals
(with helmets, elbow pads, knee pads AND shin guards, to ward off any sue-happy parents), an off-brand DDR game, and pads that track your heart rate throughout an aerobics routine. A long way from those little boards with wheels that we’d roll down the playground on (but those were awesome).

It’s funny because most of the people there were dressed in workout clothes, or the PE teacher uniform of choice, tight shorts and a white T-shirt. It made the professors stand out, thankfully, and made the grad students doing presentations stand out, since they were the only ones dressed up.

We were right next to the demo area, so I got in some workout moves when no one was looking. And one, and two…

Tampa was beautiful, palm trees, waterfronts, and sea birds. There was supposedly manatees in the area, but sadly I didn’t get to see any. Unfortunately, they overbooked the hotel I was supposed to stay in, so I spent my nights at the airport Marriott, watching the planes come in. They compped my room, though. It was strange because the hotel opened right into the airport, so at night I would stroll around and look at the souvenir shops and eat at the airport restaurants before heading up to bed.

Anyway, it was busy and exhausting, I felt like I was in "jazz hands" mode the whole time (our big goal is to get professors interested in adopting our books, because then students have to buy our books and that's where the money comes from) but I generally enjoyed it. Pats on the back for all!

Lately, when I go somewhere, I ask myself, “Could I live here?” Or when I talk to someone who has been living elsewhere, I’ll ask about whether they like it there, what’s there to do, the weather (very important), etc. Who knows where work and life will take me, so I’ve been trying to figure out my boundaries on places to live. Of course, we all have dream places (may I drool for a moment over northern California, well, actually anything from San Francisco up to Seattle? And while I’m at it, Denver?) and places that we’d very much like to avoid (sorry, but the Dakotas do not appeal for so many reasons) but it’s a big country with lots of possibility. Anyway, I did like the time I spent in Tampa, and could say “sure.” Of course, this is before experiencing its humidity in conjunction with summer heat. It’s like someone deciding to live in AZ without bearing through a toasty July. But it certainly was beautiful, and the people were generally nice (Southern hospitality? You know, I don’t consider Florida the south, even though it’s about as south as it can get.)

Of course, one of the best parts of traveling is… SkyMall! For those of you who haven’t flipped through one lately, I will present some of the best treats from the “Late Spring 2009” edition.

Kristi, I still owe you the hot dog cooker.


I realize that this is probably very comfortable, but can you imagine whipping this out and setting it up on a plane?


This guy also is rocking an awesome plane sleeping ensemble. He looks like the Don Juan of Seat 19C.


Just when you thought texting while driving is bad, how about conducting your entire office business? This still doesn’t beat the guy I saw practicing drums with two drum sticks while driving.


Once you get in an accident from working-while-driving, you can use this contraption. This makes me think of an old timely remedy. Or like cartoons when they have a tooth ache and wrap their head.


Does anyone else immediately picture this all falling on the car?


This just looks enormously tasty.


This does not look as tasty, but for all you wannabe cowboys, or those who are just really possessive about your steak.


This just wins for most gratuitous bandwagon use of the “i” style. It’s called the iWallet. Why? Because, “Beauty is in the ‘i’ of the wallet.” Groan. It also gets a gold star for claiming it will make yourself a conversation piece. I don’t know why. “Gee Tim Edward Turner, what a cheap looking wallet.”


Another instance of bad copy writing: “Match your pet’s personality with the perfect dog bed.” Is your dog a tire?


Grass?


A pile of rocks?


You can buy grandma this “beautiful” pendant. So that she can be constantly reminded that she may fall and not be able to get up.


This is just... wrong. Something is very creepy about this. Why not just buy two umbrellas?


I do enjoy that you can now purchase a spy pen, with a tiny camera in it. The best part is that they tacked on the last line, “Oh and it writes too.”


This deluxe margarita maker costs $350. Can someone please point out what makes it different than a $30 blender, except that it comes with a carrying case?


Can someone also please tell me what the country on the right is? This makes me realize that some countries/continents are not as attractively shaped as others. It also kind of looks like they are in need of that “Africa is not a country” lesson.


I seriously want this and will be obsessed with completing this giant crossword puzzle.


And finally, for Brian, your very own Bigfoot yard statue.

Now if only someone would lay out a delicious breakfast for me every day...

Oh yes, I forgot to post this glorious picture (a repeat for you Facebookers, but you know you love it):

Tey-has Parto Dos

Ok, so I may have left you all hanging - "Did she make it back? Is she pulled over on the side of the crazy Houston freeway clutching the GPS and rocking back and forth?"

Yep, it's over and done with, thankfully. Texas A&M was a beautiful campus, but very big - especially when you realize that your first appointment is in a building across campus from the one you thought it was in. I definitely had a few of those umbrella-inside-out moments too, as the weather proved that it's still winter in some parts of the country. The tornado watches on the morning news were a bit unsettling.

By the third campus, Texas State, my nice-to-meet-you demeanor was getting harder and harder to keep up, but I kept hiking up and down the campus. It was definitely strange to be eating lunch in a busy student union in a college other than U of A.

On the way home I stopped at the Alamo which is amazingly tucked right in the middle of downtown San Antonio. Sadly I didn't see the King of Hill episode about the Alamo until today, so I had to learn what I could from catching the ends of the tours. I actually liked the gardens the best. Lots of comments on the flip flops in the rain. I thought rain or shine sandals was a total southwest thing!

Now it's back to regular work - I had my first performance review today, that was quite interesting. All went well, it felt kind of like going through an interview all over again, except the secret was out, I had the job.

Now if you excuse me, it's time for guilty pleasure Wendesday... ehem... America's Next Top Model. I hear they're doing the next cycle with girls under 5'7". Hmmm maybe I should go for it? I've figured out that you can't be the mean one, because you'll get kept around just for drama, and you can't have a sob story, because you'll only make a few episodes before Tyra has milked it for all its worth. You can't do too well too quickly and you must learn and over come some random modeling problem they attach to you. So, I know the strategy... I'm ready!

The stars at night are big and bright

So here I am, on a business trip. I'm adventuring across Texas on a work trip, driving a Prius in the land of trucks. Things aren't necessarily bigger in Texas, but there are certainly are more country stations.

I'm visiting universities in southern Texas to talk to some of our authors and make connections. It's terribly intimidating, especially when I have to drop in on professors who never answered my polite e-mail asking to set up a meeting time. Mostly I smile and nod a lot and then hold out our flier. I do get to hand out business cards. Woo hoo.

My buddy is the GPS that my work bought for such trips. The computerized lady calmly tells me to stay right while I'm tensely dealing with Houston traffic. It does get annoyed when you ignore its instructions and dejectedly says "recalculating" until it finally declares "make a U-turn when you get the chance" and stops talking. Perhaps they can add a polite conversation function?

Houston looked like many big cities, but the countryside on the way to College Station (home of Texas A & M) was beautiful. White picket fences, cows, fields with dots of flowers.

Staying in a hotel alone is strange. I remember when we'd travel, all we'd want to do is sit and watch the cable, so to have it all to myself is kind of like "wow, here I am!" Continental breakfast is still my favorite part, though.

So, let me say it because I can - "I have an early meeting tomorrow." Hopefully I'll have some (good) stories to tell later!

Lauren is doing good well

Inspired by the new year and the new president, I have embarked on a quest to better myself, or at the very least make myself a few degrees more awesome. I don’t do resolutions because, really, I don’t need the guilt, but I suppose I’ve set, oh what do the lady mags call them… goals?
I guess they’re not so much goals as nebulous ideas of what to accomplish, so I will call them goalishes. (Not to be confused with goulashes, the adorable but ridiculously-impractical-in-Arizona rubber boats.)

I know there are probably thousands of these kinds of blog posts floating around this time of year (though by now many are probably long gone and broken), but I suppose putting them out here for my two-person audience makes me more accountable? Ok, there, I justified writing about this.

In that theme of completely uncreative I present the “work out more” goalish.

Progress so far: I’ve actually done pretty decently. I’m doing yoga at the YMCA, where I prove to myself on a weekly basis how inflexible I am. However, I am up there with the little crazy dancer girls in the class when it comes to balance stuff. Wee! Look at me on one leg! I also have made it to two (count ‘em TWO) classes in a row for BodyPump, an uber peppy weightlifting class full of Scottsdale moms. Doesn’t anyone wear soft, larger T-shirts from a past event/school anymore? No one will know that I was in Irving’s orchestra or that I went to Las Vegas if I am wearing a matching tank top outfit! Oh well, I just huff and puff in the back and slip out when they are talking about their kids.

On a side note, Saturday mornings must be when YMCA kids’ basketball games go on, because the place is a tiny sea of purple and orange (go Suns!) jerseys when I’m leaving. And I must say, it’s pretty cool to see how many girls are there attacking the treat table after their game. When I played for an awkward year in the YMCA league, I think there were maybe two other girls who played. So hurray!


(I realize that posting an LOLCats pic is also uncreative, but I like to keep things consistent!)

All I want is a room somewhere

Much of my childhood was spent fantasizing about having my own place. I made elaborate diagrams of what my dream house would look like. Forget Barbie pink, I wanted hammocks, floating TVs with both Super Nintendo AND Sega, and a large indoor pool. My ultimate wish? Having my very own bathroom. Really, it was all a girl could ask for.

So it’s a bit strange to be there, or here rather, in my own apartment, lacking the hammocks and floating TV, but having (joint) ownership of a Wii and, yes, my very own bathroom. I have grown up furniture like a couch and a kitchen table, and I have grown up responsibilities like remembering to drop the rent check in the slot every month. I mean, I’ve been living away from home for six-ish years now, but it takes on a new feeling when it is just you (and yes, roomies, I do miss having you around!).

This is especially novel because I don’t have homework anymore (sorry, grad school buds, but it is wonderful!), and my evenings and weekends are pretty much up to me. Suddenly, having this free time has created a tendency to waste it – “Should I read? Play World of Goo? Knit something other than a scarf? Practice piano? (yes, I am a proud owner of a Yamaha electric keyboard, complete with 100+ musical sounds, including an ability to play Moonlight Sonata entirely with helicopters and gunshot noises. Moonlight Shoot-out?)” and I end watching YouTube videos montages of old 90s cartoons all night (rockin!). Lately I’ve been making lists to guide my thinking on the weekends, which say things like “You must do laundry this time!!!!” But I still get sucked into the internet when I’m not looking.

Of course what was missing from those fantasies was the fact that if you are the sole occupant of a place, you are also solely responsible for cleaning it and restocking such vital items as food. By the way, grocery shopping has officially lost its allure – the excitement of being able to buy ice cream and candy whenever I’d like was quickly shot down by scales, dentist visits and the constant realization, “I have to go shopping again??? But I went last week!”

I guess what I mean to say is that this week I had this feeling of slipping into adulthood, of crossing, unceremoniously, from being a kid to a grownup, however you want to define that. Sure, you could argue that you’re no longer a kid when you become a teen and have your first “my life sucks, everyone sucks” teenage thought, or that you’re no longer a kid when you are allowed to drive down the street to your friend’s house (but not, I guess, to winter formal, even if you actually write a 3-5 essay explaining why you are perfectly capable of driving three miles to the high school using only the back roads). Most people would even point to when you can legally drink, even though turning 21 tends to make you regress in age for a few months. But I guess now that I have a commute, a steady flow of bills and a porch all my own, here I am. An adult. Woot?

Now if you excuse me, I’m going to go watch some old Tiny Toon episodes.

(I thought about adding a ceremonious, “Look! I’m back and blogging,” but it seems that every time I start with that, I drop off by the next week and have that embarrassing proclamation repeatedly greeting/mocking the two people who check in. So I’ll hide it down here.)