Friday, April 30, 2010

F2: Chef Hats off to Mom

Welcome again to Friday's Feast1. Today I'll be talking about this month's theme.

This months theme is Moms and cooking. One of the things we all have in common is that we have a mom. Many of us even have fond memories of our mothers and even memories of her cooking or cooking with her. So what I'm looking for is anything that includes your mother and food.

If you don't want to disappoint your mother, be sure to leave a comment and include the URL so I can include you in an upcoming feast. Don't think that you have to come up with a post right away either. If you have already posted on this topic in the past— your links are always welcome.


1 If you don't know what Friday's Feast is all about, please read the Friday's Feast page for a more detailed explanation. If you want to join in on the feast— be sure to leave a comment and include the URL to your post so I and others can know of your contribution. Also, if you want to see a particular topic— feel free to suggest it as well (I'm always looking for new inspirations).

Monday, April 26, 2010

Spin Cycle: Character Development

This weeks Spin Cycle is about roles. I thought I would spin it up a bit and talk about a role I played in a musical and how that role was defined.


When I was a freshman in college I was involved in the spring musical "Showboat". Our director encouraged every one of us (no matter how small a part it was) to come up with a character history so that every character was more believable. In order for you to better appreciate my character, I think you need to know the parts I played so you can better appreciate the history (and future) of this role:

The only speaking role I had was Jeb the backwoodsman. Jeb was a sort of "Sidekick" to the other backwoodsman who intimidated a few of the main characters. All I was required to say was "I reckon"— but I had to say it about four different ways throughout the entire scene.

I later played a waiter at the Trocadero during the Chicago scenes. I also played a gambler who played poker with the lead character Gaylord Ravenal. With these three roles in mind, I chose to weave all of them together into one person. Here is what I came up with:

Well, you see Jud (he was originally named Jud) lived in Oklahoma as a hired hand until got into a fight with a curly haired jerk who swiftly pronounced him dead. So Jud changed his name to Jeb and moved east and hung around the Mississippi pestering Showboats up and down the river.

He then decided to go to Chicago for the worlds fair and landed a job as a waiter at the Trocadero. After work was where he took his earnings and gambled them and made his money grow.

Once he made enough money, he went to visit his cousins the Clampets. And then one day he was shootin' for some food when up from the ground came a bublin' crude… He then decided to change his last name from Fry to Clampet and move to California where he sold his story to some television writers and the rest is history.


small cycle

Friday, April 23, 2010

F2: April Showers

Welcome again to Friday's Feast1. Today I'll be talking about rainy day recipes.

Participants in this weeks Feast are as follows:


Rainy days— they seem to change the whole dynamic. As a child it means that you can't go outside to play. As a parent it means that you somehow have to keep the children indoors and well entertained. I think it also changes what you decide to serve.

I'm not sure if it is the darkened skies, or something else— but I tend to not feel like cooking whenever it rains. I usually try and pull out a simple recipe that does not require a lot of preparation time. I tend to lean more towards things like soup and sandwiches… Tomato soup and Grilled Cheese is probably tops on the list. I also lean towards an occasional roast since I just have to add spices and throw it in the oven.

What about you… Do you change what you serve whenever it rains? Are there certain go-to recipes that you turn to when there is a change in the weather? If you are so inspired to write a post, feel free to include a link to your post when you comment so I can share it with others as well.


There is just one more week in April. Since I am moving more towards a theme a month, here are some ways of interpreting this month's theme if you want to participate in the feast:

  • April is in my [Blank]. What foods remind you of this month.
  • Spring is in the air. What spring like foods do you partake in?
  • April showers bring….
  • This year April also has Easter, do you have any Easter dishes or traditions you want to share.

So… if you have anything that relates to this topic, be sure to leave a comment and include the URL so I can include you in next weeks feast. Even if you have already posted on this topic in the past— your links are always welcome.


1 If you don't know what Friday's Feast is all about, please read the Friday's Feast page for a more detailed explanation. If you want to join in on the feast— be sure to leave a comment and include the URL to your post so I and others can know of your contribution. Also, if you want to see a particular topic— feel free to suggest it as well (I'm always looking for new inspirations).

Monday, April 19, 2010

Spin Cycle: Let's Get Chalked

This weeks Spin Cycle is about catch phrases. This is a post that I made back in August of 2008, but felt that I should re-post this since it shows the actual birth of a catch phrase.



Photo source

I have found that a lot of terms that describe being inebriated are quite graphic:

Let's get plowed
—getting so drunk that you feel like you have been plowed under the ground.
Let's get pissed
—getting so drunk it is as if your blood has turned to urine (probably due to the large amount of alcohol you have consumed).
Let's get trashed
—getting so drunk it is as if your body has been thrown in a garbage can.
Let's get chalked

When I was attending Illinois State University I noticed what appeared to be an outline of a person on a wall. It struck my friend and I as particularly funny because it looked a lot like a police outline. This got us to thinking… what if this is "real"? Then it got us to wondering… what if you are so drunk that you pass out and everybody thinks your dead, will the police draw an outline around your body?

So…
Let's get chalked!!!


small cycle

Friday, April 16, 2010

F2: Jelly Bean Hunt

Welcome again to Friday's Feast1. Today I'll be talking about one of our Easter traditions.

Participants in this weeks Feast are as follows:

NOBODY

Perhaps I am being too demanding— or perhaps I'm not promoting myself enough. If you can't contribute, perhaps you can spread the word around.


Many of us hide Easter eggs for Easter— we hide Jelly Beans. Even though I may have commented about this on other people's blogs I felt that I should share this tradition since I find it quite unique.

We take different colored pairs of jelly beans and hide them in the living room. Now the main rule is that you need to hide it in plain sight— "It's In my belly!" doesn't count. One of the other rules is that you can't hide it with other jelly beans (damn).

Not to give away some of the better spots, but I believe one of the most clever ones was when my step-son decided to put a white jelly bean on the ceiling. He accomplished this with that 3M stretch stuff that is used on hooks (because it's white too). I don't know how many times someone has hid a jelly bean on someone who is not participating. I rather like those that are hid when the color of the jelly bean does not match what it is hidden with. At this past Easter, my brother-in-law hid a purple jelly bean on top of a yellow tulip. I think that this past Easter we found a jelly bean from last year (but I can't be sure)

What about you… do you have any unique Easter traditions?


This month is April. Since I am moving more towards a theme a month, here are some ways of interpreting this month's theme:

  • April is in my [Blank]. What foods remind you of this month.
  • Spring is in the air. What spring like foods do you partake in?
  • April showers bring…. Mixology anyone?
  • This year April also has Easter, do you have any Easter dishes or traditions you want to share.

So… if you have anything that relates to this topic, be sure to leave a comment and include the URL so I can include you in next weeks feast. Even if you have already posted on this topic in the past— your links are always welcome.


1 If you don't know what Friday's Feast is all about, please read the Friday's Feast page for a more detailed explanation. If you want to join in on the feast— be sure to leave a comment and include the URL to your post so I and others can know of your contribution. Also, if you want to see a particular topic— feel free to suggest it as well (I'm always looking for new inspirations).

Friday, April 9, 2010

F2: Easter

Welcome again to Friday's Feast1. Today I'll be talking about our Easter celebration.

Participants in this weeks Feast are as follows:


Even though Easter has past for some of us, there are still the Greek Orthodox who seem to celebrate a week later. I like many of us celebrated Easter this past Sunday. For this year's Easter we had a pretty looking spread:


The Easter Spread

I don't know how many of you have ever bought butter in the shape of a lamb, but it appears to have become a tradition at our household:


Lambie Butter!

Being in a mostly Jewish neighborhood, we tend to see things like lamb in the grocery store. This year we saw that Leg of Lamb was on sale, so we got some. We also made a fresh green salad with red onions, dried cranberries, and walnuts:


Close up of the Leg of Lamb and the Salad

My wife works at a bakery so she was able to obtain a loaf of rainbow bread. This is bread that uses different colored dough that is braided together and baked. We also made green beans and parsley potatoes. We typically melt butter in with parsley to use to put on top of the red potatoes:


Rainbow Bread, Green Beans, and Parsley Potatoes

Since two of our guests don't eat meat but do eat fish (I know there's a term for it but can't think of what it is officially called)— we made some salmon fillets that were cooked with lemon pepper and topped with fresh dill:


Close up of the Salmon

For desert we exchanged chocolate eggs from Fannie May (no not the bank) as well as other Easter candies. My wife saw some orange flavored chocolate slices which she affectionately called "Chocolate Chips" at the store and bought those along with some shortbread to put in with sherbet:


The Aftermath (AKA: Desert)

I guess I didn't get pictures of everything— but all in all it was a festive meal enjoyed by everybody who attended.


This month is April. Since I am moving more towards a theme a month, here are some ways of interpreting this month's theme:

  • April is in my [Blank]. What foods remind you of this month.
  • Spring is in the air. What spring like foods do you partake in?
  • April showers bring…. Mixology anyone?
  • This year April also has Easter, do you have any Easter dishes or traditions you want to share.

So… if you have anything that relates to this topic, be sure to leave a comment and include the URL so I can include you in next weeks feast. Even if you have already posted on this topic in the past— your links are always welcome.


1 If you don't know what Friday's Feast is all about, please read the Friday's Feast page for a more detailed explanation. If you want to join in on the feast— be sure to leave a comment and include the URL to your post so I and others can know of your contribution. Also, if you want to see a particular topic— feel free to suggest it as well (I'm always looking for new inspirations).

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Spin Cycle: True Beauty

This weeks Spin Cycle is on appearances. Since I tend to see the way people are rather than how they appear, I thought I would share a poem which sums up the difference between what is on the outside and what is on the inside:


Beauty they say is only skin deep
but why then do we want to keep

The skin we see has learned to hide
the beautiful soul that is trapped inside

Only with the heart can we truly see
to break the skin and set it free

So learn to see with your heart today
and find a way to free souls from sleep

cj86'

small cycle

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Jay & Kai

If you read my post In and up around the letter K— I confessed that I actually dated someone to whom I nick-named "K". Here's the story behind Kai (AKA: K):

At one point in high school I thought it would be pretty cool to date someone with the same name as I. I knew a Kristen all through grade school— but she was one of the popular girls and I never even considered asking her out on a date. By the time I was a senior I was fortunate enough to have my wish come true.

In the second half of my senior year I decided to attend a second youth group at a different church. I was feeling quite typecast at my own church since I grew up there and felt that this would be a great way to see if I could meet people without any history. I did know some people from high school choir who attended the church, so I didn't go in totally cold. I even attended their winter retreat which included several churches at the same time which became a real confidence booster.

One day my friend from choir told me that he had a note from Kristen and handed it to me. I forget what the note was about, but I found it cute that someone wrote me a note. Kristen attended the other school in our town, so this was a complete surprise to me. I spoke to her at the next youth group meeting and soon after that we were a couple.

Because we both had similar sounding names, we both turned whenever anybody said "Chris" or "Kris". This was particularly confusing around friends and/or family who would always use the short version of our names. Fortunately, I had a solution that solved this problem.

My dad was an avid Jazz listener who used to play trombone in school. Because of this, he had many albums by Jay & Kai who are well known Jazz tombonists.

Since her first name begins with the letter K, she was Kai— and since my last name begins with the letter J, I was Jay. Therefore, I called myself Jay after J. J. Johnson— and she was called Kai after Kai Winding. I'm not sure if she got the references, so many times I wound up calling her "K".

But alas… all good things must come to an end. After a few months of being the cute couple, she said that she didn't want to go out any more. I suspected it was because I was going off to college— or perhaps it was the fact that she kept telling me that her mom hated me… until I met her mom and she actually liked me. All the same— Hi Kai, it's Jay… hope you're doing well.

Has anybody else ever dated someone with the same name? Do tell.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

In and up and around the letter K

Sometime in my senior year of high school I came to the realization that all the girls I knew had their first names start with the letter K— or were only one letter off. I guess you become obsessed with statistics and patterns at a given age— and I was not immune to it.

I knew all kinds of J names:

  • Jamie
  • Jan
  • Janine
  • Jean
  • Jeannie
  • Jenifer
  • Jenni
  • Jill
  • Jody
  • Joni

And I think I knew probably every combination of Laura:

  • Lara
  • Larna
  • Laura
  • Lauren
  • Laurie
  • Lora
  • Lori

Not only did I know a lot of K names, but many of them I knew in multiples:

  • Kara
  • Karen
  • Kathleen
  • Kathryn
  • Kathy
  • Kelly
  • Kim
  • Kimberly
  • Kirsten
  • Kristin

In fact… I even dated someone to whom I nick-named "K" (but I'll save that for another post).

Do you notice any patterns to the people you know?

Monday, April 5, 2010

Find

Friend

Yes friend…

Find me.

How can I find you— you're right here…

That's not what I'm asking you to find.

Then what is there to find…
I see you standing before me
I can hear the words from your mouth
I can smell your presence and anticpate touching my lips to yours and tasting your sweet kiss.
Beyond that there is only two things left to look for— your heart and your soul.

Now that you know the direction— you can find the way.

cj-10'

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Spring Has Sprung

This post is brought to you by Gretchen @ Second Blooming. Thank you for the weather report:


Here in Hollywood, you can always spot a tourist by their clothing. Not only are they wearing baggy athletic shorts, sneakers and souvenir t-shirts from Laughlin, Nevada, which no self-respecting Angeleno would be caught dead in, they are wearing baggy athletic shorts, sneakers and souvenir t-shirts from Laughlin, Nevada in 48 degree weather. Because for some reason everybody thinks that it's always hot here, which is absolutely not true. It is, to clarify, always PLEASANT here. In the winter it's cool, but pleasant, and in the summer it's warm, but pleasant.

I have now lived in Los Angeles for 21 years (Eek! How did that happen?), and I still can't get used to the weather. One must always prepare for the fact that the temperature drops 20 degrees at night, every night. So one must always bring a sweater. I have many sweaters. And it's kind of impossible to do the old switching-out-the-seasonal-wardrobe-in-the-closet thing. I mean, you're likely to need a tank top in December, and a heavy coat in June. Because, while we do have seasons, they are rather peculiar and nontraditional.

May can be iffy. Jude's birthday is May 6th, and when I look back on pictures from past birthdays, some years we're all wearing short sleeves and sundresses, and some years it's corduroys and wool coats.

In June, when the rest of the USA is enjoying the beginning of summer, we in Los Angeles are suffering from a phenomenon known locally as "June Gloom". An entire month of cold and overcast skies. Last summer, my little village of moms who do "Beach Fridays" every week, stubbornly took our children to the beach all through June and we all sat in our beach chairs shivering. The children's lips were turning blue, but we went anyway, because damnit, it was supposed to be SUMMER! But alas…

July, August and some of September actually are Summer. Usually in the 80's and, of course, pleasant. We will occasionally have a heatwave, when the temperatures go into the upper 90's or low 100's, but it's never for more than a few days. Friends who live in other parts of the country are shocked to hear that we don't have air conditioning in our house.  But the truth is that there are usually only about two weeks each year when you really wish you had it, and they're never two weeks in a row.

September, October and early November are what I think of as the Blissful Season. When the weather is SO pleasant, that it almost makes up for the freakazoid traffic and occasionally bad air. Warm sun, cool breezes. Ah! This is why people moved her in the first place. It's also the closest thing we have to Autumn. Leaves do, in fact, turn, though it's usually a long and confusing process.

November and December are the most peculiar and least pleasant time of the year, as it's when the mysterious Santa Ana Winds begin to blow. These are hot winds that blow off the desert like a furnace, whipping trees apart and sapping every drop of humidity out of the air. Your skin gets all dry and itchy. The Chumash Indians actually called these winds "Devil Winds", and I share their sentiment. Everybody gets in a terrible mood. According the LAPD statistics, the crime rate for domestic violence goes up substantially when the Santa Ana's are blowing. And they heat everything up so much that the idea of Autumn flies out the window. Or rather is blown out the window. It's very typical for them to kick up on Thanksgiving Day, which is, of course, the only day when one's required to keep the freaking oven on ALL day. Arrgh. This is also, because of the winds…Fire Season. When wild fires wipe out subdivisions and the odd National Forest, and your car is covered with a fine coating of ash.

January and February are Winter, I guess. It's usually in the 40's at night. It's also Rainy Season, and everyone excitedly pulls out their rain boots, because it's basically the only time of the year that it does rain, and golly, rain boats are so cute. And since the fires just burned up all the undergrowth in certain areas, it's also Mudslide Season.

But March and April?  Spring. Really. Real genuine Spring. Just like other people get. Bulbs come up and gardens erupt in daffodils. Trees leaf. Everyone runs outside and parks fill with picnickers. Easter Sunday is always the perfect day for Easter dresses and Easter bonnets and hunting for eggs.

And my very favorite thing about Spring in Hollywood? In our backyard, right outside Jude's bedroom window, is an orange tree, which every year, bursts into bloom. Orange blossoms everywhere. And the heady smell of Neroli fills the air and wafts into his room. When we bought our house, it was a secret selling point for me. I loved the idea of having that intense sensorial childhood memory of having an orange tree outside your bedroom window. It sounds like something from a book, doesn't it? 

So Spring has officially sprung here in Hollywood. Maybe I'll go outside and sit in the hammock and read. Smell the orange blossoms. Feel the sun on my face. Quickly, before the temperature drops and I need a blanket. Hmmm. Pleasant. Very pleasant.

Friday, April 2, 2010

The Cookie Never Lies

Today I have the pleasure of having Jen @ Steenky Bee. Normally I would have Friday's Feast, but this takes the cake (Or cookie as the case may be) and makes a great substitute:


This past weekend our family ordered Chinese take-out from one of our favorite restaurants. I was thrilled because I hadn't eaten Chinese food in well over a year. This wasn't because I had been avoiding it in any way, it's just one of those things that sort of slips your mind, like sending your guest post in a timely manner to a gracious host named Ca-Joh (Ahem.).

Back to the Chinese food… Have no worries, once I sunk my teeth into the #12 Beef with Broccoli, I completely rearranged my priorities and have decided I will be partaking in the tasty Asian cuisine more often. It's all about setting goals, people.

But this guest post isn't about the beef with broccoli, or even the to-die-for hot and sour soup that came with it. No, this here post is all about what my husband and I found in our fortune cookies after the meal. Let's have a look, shall we?

Honestly folks, I couldn't have made this up, even if I tried.

Also? The images you're about to see mark the only time in the history of my blogging career that my husband Jeremy, shouted, "Oh! You definitely have to blog about THIS."

Let's have a look shall we? Witness the first fortune pulled from my husband's cookie:

Sorry about the blurriness. In case you can't clearly read the fortune, it says, "The evening promises romantic interests."

Cue the devious smile from Jeremy followed by raised eyebrows followed by, "Eh? EH! Look at what we have here!"

Then it was my turn. Feast your eyes on this:

It clearly says, "Forget all that wishful thinking and be practical."

Cue knee slapping and vicious finger pointing from me to Jeremy while shouting, "Not so fast Romeo!"

Aaaaannnnnnd SCENE.


Jen
http://www.steenkybee.blogspot.com/
That's my name. Don't wear it out.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

A Gift and a Grail

I would like to thank Crash @ Crash Test Dummy Diaries for her words of wisdom:


AloooooohHA everyone!

(That’s how we say it Hawaii).

I’m the Crash Test Dummy and I used to be coming at you from an island far, far away, before my husband kidnapped me and my four kids and forced us at gunpoint to move to Utah. I’m actually using a paper clip to scratch this message out on the wall in my basement because I’m still tied up and waiting for someone to come up with the ransom money.

I hope the economy turns around soon.

Despite the difficult circumstances I’ve been excited to speak to you today from CaJoh’s corner— nervous too though because he’s just like a life size Yoda. Am I right? Or am I right? I realize that you all probably come here to soothe your souls and to glean wisdom and understanding. That’s a lot of pressure for a dummy like me so I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of something entertaining, yet inspiring to talk about. Being that it’s April Fools I thought of telling practical joke stories, but my dad was buried on April Fools Day exactly 28 years ago—which at the time seemed like the ultimate practical joke from the ultimate practical joker—but it just wasn’t that funny. Or inspiring.

You get me?

To shake off my nerves maybe I’ll just close my eyes and pretend I’m at the pulpit in church and that you’re all sitting in the audience naked.

Or maybe I’ll just pretend I’m giving a motivational speech from my van down by the river.

Or maybe I’ll just pretend this message was brought to you by the Universe and I’m just the messenger.

Allow me to begin this message by borrowing a phrase from the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince:

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life…

Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows I believe that everyone is sent to this life with two things—a gift and a grail—and that our only task is to share our gift and find our grail.

Sometimes using your gift will help you find your grail and sometimes your grail will help you share your gift.

Your grail is something only YOU can do—unless you decide you don’t want to do it, in which case the next available gifted person will step up and fulfill your destiny.

Your gift is something YOU can do better than anybody else. It takes time and effort to figure out what you’re better at than anybody else, but it’s such a rush when you finally have your epiphany.

I’ll never forget the moment I realized that I am the best dyslexic map reader in the history of the world. I was in Washington D.C. at the time—alone and unaware of where I was wandering. But I learned something about myself that day. I learned that if my gut tells me to go left, I should go right. It works every time.

Sometimes the best way to figure out where something is located is by figuring out where it’s not located. If you ever need someone to tell you where something is not located in Washington D.C. I’m your dummy.

The Phillips Collection is not located in Dupont circle, (but there’s a great little falafel joint where you can sit outside in the rain and cry and pretend you’re in Paris all by yourself.) And anyway, the Phillips collection is way overpriced and over rated. If you want to see your favorite Renoir paintings by all means go to the National Gallery of Art, which is not located on Independence Avenue.

Also, the Crowne Plaza Hamilton Hotel is not located on E Street and 13th. (I just thought you should know in case you happen to be staying there. I’m thoughtful that way.)

In conclusion, I’m so thankful I could share my gift with all of you today and I would like to encourage all of you to get out there and FIND YOUR GRAIL!

But if by chance you can’t find it, please let me know and I will be happy to tell you where it isn’t.

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