So many awesome things happened the year I was thirty.
Four pairs of wonderful, dear friends got married. I got married. There was all that stuff that goes along with weddings: planning, showers, planning, bachelorette parties, planning, stressing, planning, pictures... and planning.
Five friends had seven babies between them.
I traveled home to Illinois three times. I had several family members and friends visit me. I went to Napa Valley and Palm Springs and San Diego and France.
I visited Monet's Gardens.
I gained a guest bedroom (so visiting friends and family members have a more comfortable place to stay!) and reorganized large portions of my house. I feel settled and happy and home.
I got a kitten.
Thirty was a really fantastic year. It'll be hard to top, but I'm expecting thirty-one to be pretty darn good, too!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Civic Duty and All: A Timeline
In 2000 or 2001, I was called for jury duty for the first time. I was in college, away at school and several hours away from my "local" courthouse. I sent in my school schedule and was excused.
In 2004, right after having moved to California, I was called again for jury duty. In Illinois. Sent in a copy of my shiny new California Driver's License and was excused.
2005, right before my mom and grandma were due to visit me in California to celebrate Grandma Peggy's 80th birthday, I got a jury summons. For that very week. I submitted my excuse and was let off the hook.
2005 again, a few months later, they came to collect on my deferral. I was able to call in each night for a week, and was never required to come in to the courthouse.
In 2008, right after moving out of Los Angeles County, I got a summons for LA County. I returned my slip saying I was no longer a resident.
In 2010, my "luck" ran out and I was called in to (finally) serve. I was actually a little excited. Sure, I heard stories of long, boring days cooped up with hundreds of potential jurors in big rooms on hard chairs, but the whole process sounded interesting. Mid-morning, I was called into a court room with about 70 other potential jurors and given a number. I sat through two and a half days of jury selection, which was fascinating.
It was a case about sexual abuse of a child, and the child's father was the accused. From what I gathered, the child had been about four years old at the time of the alleged abuse, and there was a nasty divorce and child custody case peripherally involved. A lot of the questions by the attorneys revolved around whether a four-year-old has the capacity to lie. I wanted to be chosen for the jury because I wanted to see the entire process from start to finish. I also wanted to know the answer--can a preschooler lie about something she (hopefully) has no previous experience with or knowledge of? Or might the mother, in the midst of this brutal divorce, have twisted facts and planted ideas, as the defense attorney was implying? I wanted not to be chosen because it promised to be an extremely difficult case to sit through. I didn't know if I could listen to the defendant's own daughter's scheduled testimony.
I wasn't surprised when I was dismissed by the defense attorney; I was already leaning toward thinking his defendant was guilty, just based on the few details they'd released. I never found out how that case turned out.
And now, in 2011, I received my seventh jury summons of the last decade or so. I'm on call this week. Depending on whether you think jury duty is a long, boring day in a crowded room, or an interesting, responsible experience, I lucked into or was jipped out of this week. The courts seem to be closed Wednesday-Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and my group was not called in yesterday or today.
I'll probably get another shot at it next year.
In 2004, right after having moved to California, I was called again for jury duty. In Illinois. Sent in a copy of my shiny new California Driver's License and was excused.
2005, right before my mom and grandma were due to visit me in California to celebrate Grandma Peggy's 80th birthday, I got a jury summons. For that very week. I submitted my excuse and was let off the hook.
2005 again, a few months later, they came to collect on my deferral. I was able to call in each night for a week, and was never required to come in to the courthouse.
In 2008, right after moving out of Los Angeles County, I got a summons for LA County. I returned my slip saying I was no longer a resident.
In 2010, my "luck" ran out and I was called in to (finally) serve. I was actually a little excited. Sure, I heard stories of long, boring days cooped up with hundreds of potential jurors in big rooms on hard chairs, but the whole process sounded interesting. Mid-morning, I was called into a court room with about 70 other potential jurors and given a number. I sat through two and a half days of jury selection, which was fascinating.
It was a case about sexual abuse of a child, and the child's father was the accused. From what I gathered, the child had been about four years old at the time of the alleged abuse, and there was a nasty divorce and child custody case peripherally involved. A lot of the questions by the attorneys revolved around whether a four-year-old has the capacity to lie. I wanted to be chosen for the jury because I wanted to see the entire process from start to finish. I also wanted to know the answer--can a preschooler lie about something she (hopefully) has no previous experience with or knowledge of? Or might the mother, in the midst of this brutal divorce, have twisted facts and planted ideas, as the defense attorney was implying? I wanted not to be chosen because it promised to be an extremely difficult case to sit through. I didn't know if I could listen to the defendant's own daughter's scheduled testimony.
I wasn't surprised when I was dismissed by the defense attorney; I was already leaning toward thinking his defendant was guilty, just based on the few details they'd released. I never found out how that case turned out.
And now, in 2011, I received my seventh jury summons of the last decade or so. I'm on call this week. Depending on whether you think jury duty is a long, boring day in a crowded room, or an interesting, responsible experience, I lucked into or was jipped out of this week. The courts seem to be closed Wednesday-Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and my group was not called in yesterday or today.
I'll probably get another shot at it next year.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Fashonistas in My House
While I would rarely never call myself a fashonista, I wish I could be more fashionable. I read my college roommate's fashion blog and am impressed by her style bravery, and how often she really looks good. (Not that she didn't look good before, but her uniform during college, like mine, was a lot of jeans and sweaters and layers because it's cold walking a mile to class in February in central Illinois.)
After losing weight, I'm trying to expand my wardrobe. Bit by bit, I look for things I'll wear a lot on as good a deal as I can get them. I almost exclusively shop the discount stores or sale racks these days, which are often picked over and out of anything in my now apparently-most-common size. But every once in a while I'll find a gem. Like Friday's purchase of originally-$69.50 pants for work at Ann Taylor Loft, marked down to $14.99. First of all, Ann Taylor pants last forever. If I still fit into my old clothes, I have pants from seven or eight years ago that, despite regular (leaning towards often) wear, still look brand new.
When I went to check out, the pants rang up as $4.88. FIVE DOLLARS for work pants! I was beside myself. And then, because they were marked Final Sale, they were half off. !!! I bought a pair of pants for two dollars and forty-four cents. I was so excited I donated $5 to their charity-of-the-season. (Also, they were a size 6. I know Ann Taylor is famous for vanity sizing, but this was the first size 6 I have ever bought, ever. Even from Ann Taylor.)
But enough about me. There's another fashionista in this house: Chloe.
She's less excited about it.
Over Christmas, Chloe will be outside all day at the kennel she likes. She'll have a dog house, but she will most likely spend a lot of the day running and playing in her private little yard. The woman at the kennel, who is so, so nice to Chloe and always wants to make sure Chloe is as comfortable and happy as she can be, recommended a jacket in case it gets cold those four days.
I'm not one to dress my dog up usually, so she suggested we get the jacket early and have Chloe wear it often, so she's used to it. (There was a super-cute Martha Stewart dog jacket at PetSmart, but it was almost three times as much as something similar-but-less-cute from Target.)
And to make matters worse... Remember her injured foot? We had her at the vet for her check-up, and mentioned that she can't let her foot heal. Well, apparently she managed to infect the area by over-licking. We have an antibiotic cream to apply twice a day, and she has to wear a cone. Yes, a Cone of Shame.
So:
After losing weight, I'm trying to expand my wardrobe. Bit by bit, I look for things I'll wear a lot on as good a deal as I can get them. I almost exclusively shop the discount stores or sale racks these days, which are often picked over and out of anything in my now apparently-most-common size. But every once in a while I'll find a gem. Like Friday's purchase of originally-$69.50 pants for work at Ann Taylor Loft, marked down to $14.99. First of all, Ann Taylor pants last forever. If I still fit into my old clothes, I have pants from seven or eight years ago that, despite regular (leaning towards often) wear, still look brand new.
When I went to check out, the pants rang up as $4.88. FIVE DOLLARS for work pants! I was beside myself. And then, because they were marked Final Sale, they were half off. !!! I bought a pair of pants for two dollars and forty-four cents. I was so excited I donated $5 to their charity-of-the-season. (Also, they were a size 6. I know Ann Taylor is famous for vanity sizing, but this was the first size 6 I have ever bought, ever. Even from Ann Taylor.)
But enough about me. There's another fashionista in this house: Chloe.
She's less excited about it.
Over Christmas, Chloe will be outside all day at the kennel she likes. She'll have a dog house, but she will most likely spend a lot of the day running and playing in her private little yard. The woman at the kennel, who is so, so nice to Chloe and always wants to make sure Chloe is as comfortable and happy as she can be, recommended a jacket in case it gets cold those four days.
I'm not one to dress my dog up usually, so she suggested we get the jacket early and have Chloe wear it often, so she's used to it. (There was a super-cute Martha Stewart dog jacket at PetSmart, but it was almost three times as much as something similar-but-less-cute from Target.)
And to make matters worse... Remember her injured foot? We had her at the vet for her check-up, and mentioned that she can't let her foot heal. Well, apparently she managed to infect the area by over-licking. We have an antibiotic cream to apply twice a day, and she has to wear a cone. Yes, a Cone of Shame.
So:
 |
| Doggy Vest (and rain in SoCal) |
+
 |
| Cone of Shaaaaame |
=
 |
| One Funny-Looking Pup |
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Like Burning
My friend Aarti is an excellent cook. (She comes by it honestly--in college, her mom used to send us her food, and I'd always try to finagle my way into sharing it.) She's been making her signature dishes long enough, though, that there's really no recipe. So when I ask her for one, it's full of measurements like a few and to taste and some.
Is a few two? Or three?
Last night, I made a recipe of Aarti's (for the first time) that called for "a few green chillies". I wasn't sure if "green chillies" were jalapenos or serranos (the two options my local Von's had--I should have hit up Valley Produce instead), but I went with serranos, and I went with three.
Was I supposed to remove the seeds? I removed some of them. I'd cut my finger earlier, so in favor of not getting spice in the cut, I wasn't thorough.
Now, I like spicy food. But I think I like medium-spicy food. I guess I should know that; I always order things "medium-spicy" in restaurants. This? Was spicy-spicy. It was delicious, but my nose was dripping by the end of the meal.
And then! Even after three hand-washings, I still had spice under my nails. And after a fourth hand-washing this morning, when I put my contacts in my eyes, they BURNED from the spice still on my fingers. Oy. I had to take my contacts out and shower blind, while scrubbing under my nails at every opportunity.
Lesson learned.
The recipe, in case you're interested:
Aarti's Keenan
1 medium Onion diced/chopped
2-3 cloves of Garlic, crushed/finnely chopped
Ginger to taste, finely chopped (I sometimes skip it)
2-3 medium Tomatoes diced/chopped
1 Bell pepper chopped (optional, tastes good with yellow or red)
1/2 a bunch of Cilantro (to taste)
Green chillies finely chopped (to taste, I tend to put a few)
1lb Ground turkey/chicken
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
Spices:
Cumin seeds
Garam masala
Turmeric powder (I'm not sure if this is 100% necessary...I just always add it to most foods)
Salt
In a large skillet, heat some oil. When its hot, add cumin seeds. Once they start to crackle, add chillies, garlic, and ginger and cook over medium heat. Let brown. Add onions and cook until they are lightly browned. Once its all browned, add tomatoes and bell peppers. Let them cook until they soften. Push mix of browned ingredients to the side. if you are not using a non-stick pan, you'll want to pour a little oil on the side of the skillet without veggies and heat it. Throw in the ground meat and let cook on one side. Once its cooked for a few minutes, flip it all over and let it cook for a few more. After that, use your spatula to start breaking the cooking meat into smaller chunks. Eventually the meat should be small little pieces, similar to Taco/spaghetti sauce meat. After that, start mixing your browned/cooked veggies back in. As you stir, add in your spices to taste. Finally, add the yogurt and stir so its all mixed together. And then add the chopped up Cilantro. Llet cook until you are sure the meat is cooked and the cilantro has wilted a bit.
Serve on top of a salad, inside taco shells or burritos, steamed inside wonton wrappers...etc. very versatile dish. Also, leave the ginger out if you want a flavor closer to mexican food.
I wonder how it would be with chickpeas instead of ground meat. Would it approximate channa masala? Maybe without the yogurt. Channa masala isn't creamy, is it? Or maybe it is. I had a recipe for it, once upon a time, but it went missing sometime in the midst of two moves. I suppose the internet could help me...
Is a few two? Or three?
Last night, I made a recipe of Aarti's (for the first time) that called for "a few green chillies". I wasn't sure if "green chillies" were jalapenos or serranos (the two options my local Von's had--I should have hit up Valley Produce instead), but I went with serranos, and I went with three.
Was I supposed to remove the seeds? I removed some of them. I'd cut my finger earlier, so in favor of not getting spice in the cut, I wasn't thorough.
Now, I like spicy food. But I think I like medium-spicy food. I guess I should know that; I always order things "medium-spicy" in restaurants. This? Was spicy-spicy. It was delicious, but my nose was dripping by the end of the meal.
And then! Even after three hand-washings, I still had spice under my nails. And after a fourth hand-washing this morning, when I put my contacts in my eyes, they BURNED from the spice still on my fingers. Oy. I had to take my contacts out and shower blind, while scrubbing under my nails at every opportunity.
Lesson learned.
The recipe, in case you're interested:
Aarti's Keenan
1 medium Onion diced/chopped
2-3 cloves of Garlic, crushed/finnely chopped
Ginger to taste, finely chopped (I sometimes skip it)
2-3 medium Tomatoes diced/chopped
1 Bell pepper chopped (optional, tastes good with yellow or red)
1/2 a bunch of Cilantro (to taste)
Green chillies finely chopped (to taste, I tend to put a few)
1lb Ground turkey/chicken
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
Spices:
Cumin seeds
Garam masala
Turmeric powder (I'm not sure if this is 100% necessary...I just always add it to most foods)
Salt
In a large skillet, heat some oil. When its hot, add cumin seeds. Once they start to crackle, add chillies, garlic, and ginger and cook over medium heat. Let brown. Add onions and cook until they are lightly browned. Once its all browned, add tomatoes and bell peppers. Let them cook until they soften. Push mix of browned ingredients to the side. if you are not using a non-stick pan, you'll want to pour a little oil on the side of the skillet without veggies and heat it. Throw in the ground meat and let cook on one side. Once its cooked for a few minutes, flip it all over and let it cook for a few more. After that, use your spatula to start breaking the cooking meat into smaller chunks. Eventually the meat should be small little pieces, similar to Taco/spaghetti sauce meat. After that, start mixing your browned/cooked veggies back in. As you stir, add in your spices to taste. Finally, add the yogurt and stir so its all mixed together. And then add the chopped up Cilantro. Llet cook until you are sure the meat is cooked and the cilantro has wilted a bit.
Serve on top of a salad, inside taco shells or burritos, steamed inside wonton wrappers...etc. very versatile dish. Also, leave the ginger out if you want a flavor closer to mexican food.
I wonder how it would be with chickpeas instead of ground meat. Would it approximate channa masala? Maybe without the yogurt. Channa masala isn't creamy, is it? Or maybe it is. I had a recipe for it, once upon a time, but it went missing sometime in the midst of two moves. I suppose the internet could help me...
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Backwards
My normal morning routine is this:
I wake up at 5:25, take a shower, and walk the dog. I drink a glass of water and kiss my husband goodbye. I head upstairs around 6:15 with my cup of coffee and turn on both the TV news and the computer. I dry, straighten, and curl (yes, all three) my hair while catching up on what the Internet has to say, and pause the hair dryer if I catch an interesting-looking news story out of the corner of my eye. I eat my breakfast (Greek yogurt) about 7:00, and am out the door sometime between 7:30 and 8:00, depending on which office I'm at that day.
Sometimes, the Internet takes up more of my time, sometimes the news does. Sometimes I try on and discard a dozen outfits before I settle on what to wear. Sometimes, I use extra time in the morning to do productive things, like pay bills or clean the bathroom or file away the pile of papers hanging out on the edge of the desk.
Last night, I apparently forgot to set the alarm. I woke up around 3:30 because I couldn't breathe (I'm not getting sick, I'm not!), and then dozed with the kitten curled up against me until, well, 5:37. Only twelve minutes late, but I hate being late.
So when I came upstairs (surprisingly, only a minute or two later than usual), I put my make-up on and then dried my hair. I think this is the first time I've ever dried my hair while wearing make-up. It was... weirder than you would think, catching sight of myself in the mirror, all made-up but with crazy hair.
The other strange thing I did today was put vanilla soy milk and a little Splenda in my coffee. Aside from the very-occasional Starbucks latte treat, I take my coffee black and bitter. But this hit the spot this morning.
This weird, throw-the-routine-out-the-window morning.
(Maybe it's because today is Thursday, but I don't have to go to work tomorrow. The day had no choice but to feel odd.)
I wake up at 5:25, take a shower, and walk the dog. I drink a glass of water and kiss my husband goodbye. I head upstairs around 6:15 with my cup of coffee and turn on both the TV news and the computer. I dry, straighten, and curl (yes, all three) my hair while catching up on what the Internet has to say, and pause the hair dryer if I catch an interesting-looking news story out of the corner of my eye. I eat my breakfast (Greek yogurt) about 7:00, and am out the door sometime between 7:30 and 8:00, depending on which office I'm at that day.
Sometimes, the Internet takes up more of my time, sometimes the news does. Sometimes I try on and discard a dozen outfits before I settle on what to wear. Sometimes, I use extra time in the morning to do productive things, like pay bills or clean the bathroom or file away the pile of papers hanging out on the edge of the desk.
Last night, I apparently forgot to set the alarm. I woke up around 3:30 because I couldn't breathe (I'm not getting sick, I'm not!), and then dozed with the kitten curled up against me until, well, 5:37. Only twelve minutes late, but I hate being late.
So when I came upstairs (surprisingly, only a minute or two later than usual), I put my make-up on and then dried my hair. I think this is the first time I've ever dried my hair while wearing make-up. It was... weirder than you would think, catching sight of myself in the mirror, all made-up but with crazy hair.
The other strange thing I did today was put vanilla soy milk and a little Splenda in my coffee. Aside from the very-occasional Starbucks latte treat, I take my coffee black and bitter. But this hit the spot this morning.
This weird, throw-the-routine-out-the-window morning.
(Maybe it's because today is Thursday, but I don't have to go to work tomorrow. The day had no choice but to feel odd.)
Monday, November 7, 2011
When the sun is shining, but it's Monday...
Good weekend. In bullet form:
You might be wondering what's up with Chloe's foot. She sliced it up on something while playing with her Great Dane playmate, Vito. It's been healing, but she can't leave it alone. She licks and licks until it's raw and bleeding again, so I bandaged it up. To keep her from chewing the bandage off, I wrapped it in an ace bandage. Which she then chewed off over night. Hmm.
Monet has sequestered herself under the bed in the computer room, and was not interested in having her portrait made.
And one more, a video. (An experiment, my first video!)
Renny is teething, I think. It is positively the cutest thing ever, as long as you keep your fingers out of his way. Tiny teeth hurt!
And, since I'm obviously in a rambling mood... Speaking of Renny, this happened:
I came home from work one day last week with an absolutely splitting headache, probably thanks to the aforementioned rain preparing to douse us. I climbed onto the bed, took my glasses off, and closed my eyes.
A few minutes later, Steve came in. He pointed out Renny, curled up at my feet and looking particularly cute, apparently. I squinted towards the end of the bed, but I'm mostly blind, and Renny is a light orange cat on a cream-colored comforter. All I could see was a vaguely cat-shaped blob.
Steve took off his glasses and handed them to me to try. Now, Steve's eyes are not bad. He can function without glasses or contacts. All his glasses did for me was make an ever-so-slightly more defined cat-shaped blob.
The next day, via text:
Steve: Would you be willing to forgo Christmas and birthday gifts next year if I paid for Lasik for you?
Me: Ahahaha! Where did that come from?
Steve: Why is that funny?
Me: Are you asking because I couldn't see Renny last night?
Steve: Maybe...
So now I'm thinking about it. I know people who have done it, and only one of them isn't sure it was worth it. But do I prioritize my eyes over, say, a vacation with friends next year? Or saving for a real house, with a back yard and everything? On the other hand, if I put it off a few years, will I be able to prioritize my eyes over things my possibly-eventual (I don't like to jinx things) children might need? So, if I'm going to do it, maybe I should do it now. Or never? I don't know.
- It rained on and off, but I seem to have developed a superpower when it comes to rain: it always stops when I need to go outside. I have at least five data points to prove this.
- I went to see Bring it On: The Musical with friends on Saturday. I'm actually a little embarrassed to admit that, but it was a ridiculously fun show. Plus, cool cheerleading stunts.
- I caught up on some of the TV piling up on the DVR while scrapbooking a bunch more pre-wedding stuff. I'm actually up to the morning of the wedding, so the end is in sight. (I mean, I'm planning to go up through the honeymoon, but I'm getting there...)
- Speaking of wedding pictures, Steve and I finalized our wedding album design, so it is off to be printed. Hopefully this means we'll get the digital proofs so I can start on thank-you notes. It's killing me that I haven't sent them yet!
- Gratuitous Animal Bullet Point!
 |
| Sleepy Kitty |
 |
| Injured Puppy |
You might be wondering what's up with Chloe's foot. She sliced it up on something while playing with her Great Dane playmate, Vito. It's been healing, but she can't leave it alone. She licks and licks until it's raw and bleeding again, so I bandaged it up. To keep her from chewing the bandage off, I wrapped it in an ace bandage. Which she then chewed off over night. Hmm.
Monet has sequestered herself under the bed in the computer room, and was not interested in having her portrait made.
And one more, a video. (An experiment, my first video!)
Renny is teething, I think. It is positively the cutest thing ever, as long as you keep your fingers out of his way. Tiny teeth hurt!
And, since I'm obviously in a rambling mood... Speaking of Renny, this happened:
I came home from work one day last week with an absolutely splitting headache, probably thanks to the aforementioned rain preparing to douse us. I climbed onto the bed, took my glasses off, and closed my eyes.
A few minutes later, Steve came in. He pointed out Renny, curled up at my feet and looking particularly cute, apparently. I squinted towards the end of the bed, but I'm mostly blind, and Renny is a light orange cat on a cream-colored comforter. All I could see was a vaguely cat-shaped blob.
Steve took off his glasses and handed them to me to try. Now, Steve's eyes are not bad. He can function without glasses or contacts. All his glasses did for me was make an ever-so-slightly more defined cat-shaped blob.
The next day, via text:
Steve: Would you be willing to forgo Christmas and birthday gifts next year if I paid for Lasik for you?
Me: Ahahaha! Where did that come from?
Steve: Why is that funny?
Me: Are you asking because I couldn't see Renny last night?
Steve: Maybe...
So now I'm thinking about it. I know people who have done it, and only one of them isn't sure it was worth it. But do I prioritize my eyes over, say, a vacation with friends next year? Or saving for a real house, with a back yard and everything? On the other hand, if I put it off a few years, will I be able to prioritize my eyes over things my possibly-eventual (I don't like to jinx things) children might need? So, if I'm going to do it, maybe I should do it now. Or never? I don't know.
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