Call me Chef...

I'm going to breeze right past the fact that this is going to be my third post in one week (holler!) but instead, I'll brag about another one of my January goals...I have already made my homemade meal for the week from scratch. Yes, I'm just a couple more dishes away from opening my own restaurant. HA! Just kidding, I wouldn't go that far.

Yesterday I made some delicious Honey Cashew Chicken with Rice. The recipe was from Cooking Light a few months ago and the pictures just looked so scrumptious and said it was "super fast" that I thought ok, this sounds basic enough. Maybe I'll try it. Sidebar: My theory on Cooking Light is that it's basic and healthy - whereas some other magazines or cookbooks are written for the Julia Childs out there, not the Julia Boninos.

It was already going to be a late dinner since I was going to Spin and that didn't get out till 7:15 and they claimed it should only take 20 minutes so I thought this would be a perfect day to test it. I started off with all my ingredients in front of me - much like Rachel Ray, but here's the rub, it only cuts time if you have them all prepared in little bowls ready for you to dump into the pan. Not when they are in their sealed containers staring at you waiting for you to do something with them. The most likely solution to this predicament...get myself a sou chef. I enlisted Carly to help chop. Thank god, I don't care for mincing...so tedious. Yes add that to the list of why I don't cook.

I tried to stick to the recipe exactly. I am not one of those "Oh i thought this would be good in here too" and totally go rogue on it until I've done it exactly as it says I should at least once (reading between the lines - this almost never happens, with the exception of a cocktail recipe). But I did "cheat" and use some 3 minute rice from Trader Joes. Although the recipe did call for instant rice, so I guess I wasn't completely cheating.

Another thing I learned from this recipe - it says only cook for 5 minutes but that isn't the case. Especially when it comes to cooking chicken. I may have overcooked it but cooking chicken is not a maybe kinda sorta thing (although maybe when I'm a pro it will be but not this early in the game).

Anywho, I probably read the recipe for about 15 times and about 45 minutes later, yes over twice as long as it should have taken me, I dined on the concoction and I have to admit it was pretty good. Confession, if I were to order this at a restaurant, I probably won't sing it's praises and say it was decent, but for my completely homemade cooking (with the exception of my instant rice), I'll take it.

Since I don't take pictures of my food (again, only on the rarest of occasions) I can't prove that it was edible and looked decent. But Carly was my taste tester and she enjoyed it. And, if really want to see what it looked like, google a pic and yes it would look exactly like that*

*No it wouldn't.

#Idontinstagramfood

Kudos and Boos

Told you I would blog more in 2013, so without further ado - Kudos and Boos from the past couple of weeks.

Kudos to Pitch Perfect. Why I didn't see this in the theaters, I have no idea. This movie was AWESOME. Kate and I rented it on OnDemand and boy was it well worth it. We watched it twice in one weekend, Kate bought the soundtrack and then Carly bought the actual movie. It's got everything - a capella music, a humor, decent plot and Rebel Wilson is so hilarious. I think it's going to be one of those movies that we just watch on a rainy day.
Boos to a house divided. Tomorrow's the BCS game with Notre Dame and Alabama fighting for the title. Let's just say the Lark is a house divided, but luckily we are fair weather fans so no painters tape will be put down and after the game it will be all rose petals and sunshine. But for those three hours, some words may be exchanged. #goirish

Kudos to Gone Girl. This was one of the most talked about books in 2012, making all sorts of lists, so during my break I decided that I should finally sit down and read it. It's a suspense book and it's not usually my cup of tea, so I did try to read it a couple of times before but it just kept creeping me out so I would only read a chapter and then go off to another book. But since I had time to read during the day, I started and could NOT put it down. There are so many twists and turns but fairly easy to keep up with it. And a good way to distract you when you're on the elliptical at the gym, it would almost make me want to keep going. Almost.
Boos to Gone Girl. This book had it's creepy moments. And sometimes I couldn't sleep. Yes, I get scared easily so someone who likes this stuff may be able to handle it a little better than I could. But it was a little tough to fall asleep a couple times. Good thing I was on vacation.

Kudos to Scandal. I've said, oh I should watch this for about the past four months since my friends at Netflix keep putting it in my "Shows you should watch" list and we finally started watching it last week and we got so addicted we finished the first season yesterday (calm down, it was only 7 episodes). Kerri Washington needs to take a chill pill at least once an episode but it's so addicting and so much easier to follow than Revenge (esp these days). And you know, who doesn't love a good Shondra Rimes thriller?
Boos to getting back to the real world. Last week's three day work week was pretty awesome...if only they could always be like that.

And since tonight Revenge and Downton Abbey comes back, i got to go get my ducks in a row so I can watch them...until later this week.

#2downyeahya

2013 - Here We Go

Well it's already 2013. And seeing as we're 6 days into the new year already, it's time to get going on my blogging since that's one of my new year goals.

Just a quick recap - the end of December was awesome. What's not to love though, a nice long holiday break, Christmas, a trip to Sonoma, New Years Eve, movies, visits from the So Cal Boninos? Sounds like perfection. (I told you it would be a quick recap)

Unfortunately, it's back to the real world so let's go into some of the new goals I've cooked up...
1. Cook a real meal from scratch once a week...I don't cook but I can microwave something like nobody's business. So this year, I am going to try and cook something with real ingredients once a week. And I am proud to say, yes I cooked last week. On a week night. When I was back at work. Go me. I found this recipe on Pintrest and it's for Spinach Parmesan Quinoa and boy was it an easy recipe. I mean obviously since I was able to make it and bonus - I survived. One week down...51 to go.

2. Read the newspaper. Usually I get my news from 10 minutes of Good Morning America as I am running out the door, whatever they chat about on the radio (I am usually in the car during the celebrity trash) and then I get the rest of my news from People.com. I will breeze through the SF Chronicle website once a morning, but maybe I'll pick up an actual throw-away paper and read that daily. Although it is six days in and I have yet to do it. But in the words of good ol' Scarlett O'Hara...tomorrow is another day.

3. Blog/Tweet/Yelp. I am slowly starting to tweet so let's see if I can keep this going. And since Lady Di and I are still keeping on with our Friday Lunch Dates, I would like to start yelping about those encounters - maybe I'll blog about those too.

4. This one's always at the top of everyone's list, but being healthy. So far no alcohol for me...I was aiming for all of January, but let's see if I can do it. I mean 6 days so far, why not another 25?

Ok, that sound do it for my new year goals. Maybe seeing them written down will help me keep up with them, but who the heck knows.

Now on to my second post of 2013 (one more than December 2012)...kudos and boos...stay tuned.

#bloggingin2013 #sixdaysdone359togo

Kudos and Boos - December Update

Hellooooo out there!

Rather than say sorry about not blogging, let's go straight into Kudos and Boos. It's Sunday after all. So without further ado...

Kudos to Disneyland in November. After Thanksgiving, most of the fam took the Monday after Christmas off and we all headed to Anaheim. Yes I am talking about all something from wayyyyy back in November, but moving on...we went there to celebrate Nonni's birthday which was two weeks before. And just to add a little extra kick, it was an awesome day to go since we practically walked onto almost everything. Actually, most of the people were all setting up shop in the brand spankin' new Cars Land at California Adventure. Nonni desperately wanted to go see it, so her granddaughters took her over there (we're so good to her) and took her on the ride then hopped back across the way to Disneyland to meet up with the rest of the fam. It was a great way to spend a Monday and Nonni LOVED the whole day.
Boos to all of the recent tragedies. All I am going to say is that I'm keeping all the victims, their families and communities affected in my thoughts and prayers. There's not a whole lot more to say than that.

Kudos to Claire for getting into Fordham! As she's in the middle of her senior year, she got pretty awesome news a couple of weeks ago. It was her first college acceptance and I am sure she'll hear from many more, but I totally remember my first college acceptance - what a relief. So proud of her!!
Boos to end of Gossip Girl. An end of an era if you will. Tomorrow we'll find out who Gossip Girl really is, if Dan and Serena will make up, and if Chuck and Blair will finally be together. Ahhhhh so many questions will need to be answered in the two hour finale. And I am sure most of you are on the edge of your seats because I know I am. Kate and I are preparing for the end today and watching Season One on Netflix. It's only the nice thing to do.

Kudos to Silver Linings Playbook. Kate and I saw this yesterday morning (special shout-out to the first movie matinee pricing!) and we both walked out of the theatre thoroughly entertained and without one bad thing to say about the movie. It's kind of flown under the radar, but getting a lot of press since it's up for some SAG awards and Golden Globes. But the story line was enjoyable and the acting was phenom. And I have to say, yes Bradley Cooper and Robert DiNero were great, but Jennifer Lawrence was fantastic. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Go see it!
Boos to the Bev Hills Housewives bombshell. So many questions are unanswered but thats what happens when legal matters take over a reality show. For those of you who don't watch the show, Monday night a bomb was dropped but Bravo eliminated the entire thing so we only know that something terrible was said, but not what it is. We may never know, well until the case is closed, but goodness we need some answers before the end of the season. You better believe we've got a list of questions going.

Ok, I'm going to try to blog this week. I'm hoping to at least. But maybe I'll be inspired since I've got 5 days of work until Christmas break. That's some exciting news right there.

#IGotToFinishXmasShoppingASAP

And Now the Conclusion...

And on to Phase Three...

 

Hallejulia! We woke up to no emails from VIrgin America on Wednesday, but rather a determined "we must make up for lost time" mentality. But what day would be complete without a call to Virgin to see if Carly and I could change our flights to Thursday night and send out some work emails? Eventually, we were headed towards the Newseum since our tickets were still good. We picked up right where we left off and spent a few hours in there. Towards the end we were going a little crazy, not only because we were hungry but also because there was so much information it was overwhelming. But still a must-see if you can get it.

 

We then went across the street and went to the National Gallery. Something that was at the top of both Sarah and Carly's lists. So we went to the East Wing and saw the Lictenstein exhibit and the Modern Art exhibits, bought some posters, and then before we knew it, the museum closed. So we headed back to our hotel.

 

The next day it was finally Thursday. The day we were headed home. So after we packed our bags, we dropped them in the lobby so we could galavant all day. We started off with renting bikes again and rode to the National Gallery. But before we got our art on, we made a pitstop at the White House. We had a very special message to deliver to President Obama from my dad.

We then spent a majority of the day in the West Wing (actually most of the day) and before we knew it, it was time to FINALLY head back to Dulles Airport. We weren't convinced we were heading home until we cleared DC airspace.

All in all, it was a great trip (focusing on Phase 1 & 3, of course), and it makes for a great story. Who would have thought that three California kids (four including Tom over in New York) would be stuck in the middle of a Hurricane? Maybe I'll think twice the next time I decide to go visit Michael. Just kidding, Michael. Just kidding!

The Birth of Pain and Panic

And now onto Phase 2. A very delayed Phase 2...

It really started with Carly’s email first thing Sunday morning from our dear friends at Virgin America telling her that her flight Monday night was cancelled. Let’s get a tally going, this is flight numero uno. So staying calm, cool, and collected, Carly spent the next three hours on hold with Virgin where she jumped on a flight with Sarah and me scheduled to leave on Tuesday afternoon. Well, Carly snagged an extra day! And at this point, we thought they're just being extra cautious. But when Sarah and I went to the local supermarket/7-11 to stock up on waters and snacks, the patron told us we should get out ASAP. We both looked at him, said thanks for nothing, sir, and went back to our home away from home.   

 

So, with that in the back of our minds, we then moseyed back to the Eastern Market where we stocked up on all of the cool treasures we passed on the day before. I picked up some art, Carly and Sarah got some jewlery, and we snacked on apple slices. We were pretty much the last people there, since people were starting to retreat for the storm, but this didn't phase us. We stopped at a french restaurant for lunch and when we saw that they were still advertising that they were open on Thanksgiving - we joked that we would have some place to go if we were still stuck. Hahaha, we were so funny. So we then walked over to the Newseum where we were instantly overwhelmed and out of the seven stories (no pun intended) we only got to half of the first before it closed. But no worries, our tickets were good both that day and the next. When I asked the lady at the desk if they were going to be opened the next day (the supposed "worst day" of the storm), she told me, "Unless the government is shut down, we're open" Hahahahahaha I thought, these people have senses of humor.

 

Seeing as it was past 5:00, we looked for a historic bar where we could get a drink and found the Intercontinental Hotel. Well, this had history wrapped all up in it. This bar, the Round Robin, was in the hotel where Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, "I have a Dream" where President Taft would sit in the lobby and politicians would come up to him, trying to get him to support their bills, and as a result, the term lobbying came into existance. Michael met up with us at this point and was able to soak up all the history. 

We then went to dinner at the Old Ebitts Grille where we feasted on porkchops, lobster and jumalaya. As we were laughing and pouring glass number two or three, almost as if we were in a movie, our waiter told us that they were closing the metro tomorrow, and then we were slapped back to reality. Not too long after we heard that the government was shut down for the next day. That meant all the museums were closed. Michael was jumping around like a little kid cause his classes were cancelled. We on the other hand were not as gleeful.

 

Thus began the longest day...

 

When we woke up that morning, all three of us received an email saying that our flight was cancelled. So we called our friends over at Virgin and got on a flight for later Tuesday night that would take us to SFO, and Sarah would get on a flight Wednesday morning to LA. Ok fine, we can live with that. That took up most of our morning so we hopped on over next door to FoBoGro and picked up more supplies (Champagne, wine, and sandwiches) and then played cards, watched West Wing, found we had a cancelled flight (again), and stared at each other. This was around the time when Carly nicknamed Sarah and I, Pain and Panic and herself Hades. We had two meals down at the hotel restaurant but at least we got a change of scene. When we were downstairs talking to the hotel to extend our stay, we asked them striaght out - is everyone just overreacting? The bell hop (knowing we were suckers) said, "Oh no. This is for real. I mean look outside, the wind is literally pushing the car backwards up the street!" Carly and I whipped around, shrieked in horror and thought ok, maybe the Mayans were right. Turns out that the car was just reversing. Did i mention it was a very long day?

 

We spent the entire day waiting in anticipation for the "worst" of the storm to hit. But they pushed it back to Monday night. Apparently all three of us slept throught it. So in true us fashion, we called our "friends" over at Virgin and got on flights Thursday night (for Sarah) and Friday morning (for me and Carly). Desperate for fresh air, we tracked down the only open movie theater in town (over in China Town) and called Michael so we could meet up. We went to lunch around the corner, and the temp had officially dropped 30 degrees and our little California bodies couldn't handle it. So, on the way we stopped at Macy's (for warmth as well as shopping) and then met up with Michael and his friend for Argo.

 

Quick side note on this movie - AWESOME. Even though I had read an article about it in Entertainment Weekly, I was completely enthralled and didn't look at my watch at all for the entire two hours (a total victory in my book). And i was on the edge of my seat the entire time. HIghly recommend it.

 

Ok back to DC...we then went to dinner and had some delicious pizza and were happy to be amongst the living. Michael thought it was so funny that we now would be in DC the same time as his mother (set to arrive Thursday night). We didn't find it funny at all.

DC - Phase One - All Sunshine and Rose Petals

On Thursday afternoon, Carly and I boarded the Virgin America flight bound for Dulles. This was game 2 of the World Series and luckily the plane was satellite TV enabled so we were able to watch. This was awesome because most of the plane was also watching it and cheered - have i mentioned I'm a sucker for comradery? And not to mention the flight itself was super smooth so it made it go by extremely fast (and in 4 hours and 40 minutes). So when we landed, let's just say we were all about Virgin America.

The next day we decided to walk to the Capitol since we were having lunch with Michael on his break. We were staying in Foggy Bottom, and if you've ever been to DC, or looked at a map, Foggy Bottom is on the west side of the city and the Capitol is way over on the east side. Our hotel was only a few blocks from the Mall so we started walking East. Michael kept asking where we were and I kept telling him, Michael, we're close, we see the Washington Monument, and the Capitol is right after it. we'll see you soon. He kept telling me no, we still had a ways to go, and i thought, my goodness Michael, don't you live here? Well, an hour and a half later, we made it. And as it turned out, he did know what he was talking about. and we were wrong. Side note, when looking at a map, also take a peak at the distance key on the map. Apparently we accidently walked five miles. Whoops. And believe me - our dogs were barking.

Once we finally caught up to Michael, he took us on the super secret Senator subway that goes to the Capitol from all the congressional buildings (we took the one from the Russell Building since that's where he works) and on a tour of the Capitol. But since we were a little late, it was a super fast tour and then we bid adieu until later. Carly and I then walked over to the Supreme Court building, learned a little and stopped to watch a movie on the history, which almost put us to sleep so we decided to call Uncle and go back to the Foggy Bottom (via Metro) nap before Sarah got there. It was then that we first heard about a storm that was brewing.

Michael had told us about this flea market that is over by the Capitol so on Saturday morning, we went to the Eastern Market where we did our duty to go shopping, buy some cool prints, and saw a lot of cute crafts. We stopped in to this restaurant next door with $5 Mimosas where we had some brunch (best chocolate chip pancakes, ever), later we went to the Library of Congress where we saw Thomas Jeffereson's personal library, and eventually made our way to the Smithsonian American History Museum (the Star Spangled Banner - well worth it). 

All day we had seen people riding bikes from "Capitol Bikeshare" and we kept saying, oh that would be cool. And low and behold we actually went through with it. This service let you pick up a bike from a kiosk and then return it to any kiosk in the city (and they were all over the place!). We  made our way though the National Mall and then through the Tidal Basin over to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. It was the perfect timing too since it was evening time and people were fleeing the city due to the storm so we didn't need to dodge people. I highly recommend doing this, it's the best way to see the monuments. 

And to round out the night we expanded our horizons and went to U Street and stuffed our faces with Ethiopian food. This was delicious. I have no idea what we ordered but holy toledo, it was good. 

So we got our fill of sights and filled our tummies...a perfect way to end Phase One.