Oh no!

Oh. my. GOD. I sent my boss's boss an e-mail that said "What the hell? Has this even been assigned yet?"

It was supposed to go to the office administrator.

Not my BOSS'S BOSS!!

Oh.my.God. Hopefully I don't get fired or severely reprimanded over this.



Update
I didn't get fired, I sent my boss's boss an apologetic and self-denigrating e-mail, and then met with him in his office. He said not to worry about it, I was over-reacting and he didn't care. (Thank God) Still. How embarassing. I'm going to have to double check if I hit "forward" or "reply" from now on.

Ahhhhh....Sweet, sweet release

I am done, finito, fin, with my finals! Yes, I turned in my last final yesterday and then went on a much needed kitchen cleaning spree and then made an apron. Yup, I cleaned thoroughly, I even wiped down the microwave, toaster oven and wiped the grease off the teapot (I don't know how it became greasy, it was here and greasy when we moved in.) After the kitchen was sparkling, I went right upstairs and used the pattern in Amy Karol's Bend the Rules book to make an apron out of a pretty half yard of fabric I had in my stash. I really love the way it turned out although next time I'll probably make it a bit wide and add a pocket or two.



Now that I have finished with my exams I can finally share that red sauce recipe I found. The Original recipe is here. The original is from the Orangette blog (If you have not been there yet, you really should see it, the description of food and the gorgeous ohotographs make the mouth water.) As I have said before, finding this simple red sauce recipe was a goal, a challenge presented to me in such a way that I would rise up and meet it. So I did, and in my quest I found Orangette's recipe, which served as an excelelnt base, but somehow did not seem quite perfect. Without further ado, here is my adapted recipe:

Infamous Red Sauce

28 oz. can of the best whole peeled italian tomatoes you can find (I like the organic tomatoes, the taste is perfect)
1 medium to large yellow onion peeled and halved
1 stick plus 2tb. of butter cut into pieces

Puree the tomatoes in the blender. Combine pureed tomatoes, butter and onion halves in a medium pot. I like to use our cast-iron pot for this, but it is not necessary. Cook for about 1 hour stirring occasionally. Remove onion before tossing with pasta.*






*Save the onion, it's excellent chopped up and put into the next mornings eggs or use it in a salsa.


Blogger hates me today and will not upload anymore photos, it just flat out refuses. I will add more later when blogger and I have reconciled.

Joining the Bucket Bandwagon

So Lisa over at Confessions of an Apron Queen is having a "Kick the Bucket" contest and give away ecouraging us to post our very own bucket list a la the movie of the very same name! (Deb has already done this, but she wasn't having a giveaway. Ha-ha! Just kidding, Deb!)

So this is their bucket list:

Witness something truly majestic
Help a complete stranger for a common good
Laugh till I cry
Drive a Shelby mustang
Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world
Get a tattoo
Skydiving
See the pyramids
Get back in touch with...
Hunt the big cat
See Rome


And here's mine:

Go on an African Safari
See tigers in India
Go to Xi'an China and see Emporer Qin's Terracotta Army
Explore Mayan ruins
Own and operate a vineyard
Adopt or foster a child
See the pyramids
Learn to play the piano
Drive a fast car as fast as I can on an open track
Go to Japan

I think that's it. There were many thing on my list that I had already done, so coming up with a new list was a bit difficult, but fun!


p.s. Soon there will be pictures and a recipe, I just have to get myself in gear and upload the pics!

Ahh-HAAAAA!!!!!*

Do you ever have one of those moments where you feel as though life has brought before you a subtle challenge? Like when there is a blouse for sale and you say "I can make that" or a handmade baby blanket starts to fray and you think "I can recreate this blanket, or make a quilt from the remains" or there is a soft doll you has as a little girl, and you think "I can replicate the pattern and make a new one for another little girl" or there is a decadent cake at a birthday party and you think "I will figure this out and make one for my best friend's birthday." Well, I had one of those moments at Ry's graduation. You see, his sister made a pasta sauce that is a family recipe (not their family, but still)…a secret family recipe. It was delicious but she could not tell us what was in it (being secret and all)...I know I tasted butter...and there was something sweet about it...probably just the tomatoes combining with the butter. Well, as soon I as found out that I could not get the recipe, I filed the taste and texture away in my mind and challenged myself to recreate it. I would figure out this recipe. Oh, yes, yes I would. The family the recipe comes from is Italian-American, thus it must be a traditional Italian recipe...a la Marcella Hazan (Polini, before marriage)...perhaps with a bit of tweaking involved, or perhaps that classic tomato sauce recipe in her Essentials book...Well my friends, as soon as I read a certain cooks recipe inspired by the Italian Goddess of Cooking, I knew, I just knew that was my recipe! So I say to you, my friends, ahh-HAAAAAA!!!! This was truly a Sherlock moment, soon I will be making the recipe I have found, and if it is substantially similar, I will post the link, because everyone loves a good red sauce.

* Original post edited by request

Not enough time in the day

There is just not enough time in the day for me to create everything that is dancing around in my head and still get work, school work, time with the dogs and time with Ryan into my week. If only I had a clone that could sit through my classes instead of me, I'd be golden. Anyway, I am in the process of making some shoddy cloth napkins. I say they are shoddy because three are one size and three are another size and, quite frankly, I don't care! They are just for us because I want to stop buying so many darned paper towels. I'd like to relegate the paper towel use to the exclusive arena of cleaning up any of Sam’s little accidents and/or the occasional dog sick. We already have quite a few cotton cloth hand towels, and some fancy napkins, but I'd like to make a slew of cloth napkins. Part of the sizing problem was haste and my lack of a self-healing mat so that I can use my rotary cutter. I know, I know, it was very shortsighted of me to purchase a rotary cutter and no mat, but what can I say? At the time I had already blown most of my craft budget on yarn! I also hear tell of these lovely plastic squares that you can use in quilting to make a perfectly square square! Imagine that! So, obviously, when I purchase my self healing mat, I'll need to get a couple of different sized squares in order to make a few different sized napkins. I think, once the summer semester is over, I will be crafting more, especially since Ry will still be studying for the bar, and it's something I can do quietly upstairs so as not to disturb or distract him. If things go according to plan I may even be able to open an etsy shop in time for the holidays. Wouldn't that be lovely? At the very least it might help pay for some small portion of the wedding expenses if any of it sells, that is.. In other news Ryan and I have decided that Saturdays will be our day together. “Special Saturdays” is what we have dubbed them, and last Saturday we when to the local farmers market and bought fresh lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries and rhubarb. (There isn’t a lot in yet.) On Sunday I made strawberry rhubarb pie, for the first time, and it was delicious. I’d show you a picture, but we gobbled it up! The only thing I would change in the recipe, is that I would bake it for longer than the recommended time, it was a bit too liquid at first (strawberries juice like a sonofagun) and had to go in for another twenty minutes; and I would add much less sugar, there’s just no need for it, the strawberries are already sweet and the rhubarb is tangy sweet, so I’d reduce the sugar by at least half. We also went to see Indiana Jones, great summer movie, perfect little escape on a muggy day! (Thank you!) Moving on, this Saturday evening we have friends coming over for a barbecue at night and we’ve decided we want to go back the market and get more lettuce, I also want to get more strawberries and rhubarb so I can make an upside down cake for barbecue. But other than that we’re not sure what to do. Maybe a picnic or maybe there’s a festival or something. I'll have to check into that...I think that the Taste of Amherst is happening that weekend, so maybe we will do that, if the weather cooperates. So anyway I had a weird dream last night that I was elected as a State Rep. All I had to do to be elected was give an impromptu speech in front of the five other Reps and then they texted me later that day to ask me for the correct spelling of my name so I could be put on payroll. I didn't even live in the town I was representing and they didn't care, just wanted me on payroll. When they texted me Ry and I were walking around some little woodsy town that I've never seen or been to before, holding hands. Very weird dream.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday, she is fhshsimensna years old.


There is so much that I know and don't know about my mom that it is sometimes a little startling. I know that she is kind, she would give me her last penny if I needed it, even though it would mean she would have to do without for weeks on end. She is an amazing cheerleader, encouraging me along my way when I get lost or am bogged down by self-doubt. She has counseled me through fights with boyfriends, frustrations with school and conflicts in my workplace.

She listens to me and lets me ramble, she backs off when I am cranky,soothes me when I'm sad and laughs with me when I am happy.She did her best as a mother and helped my brother and I develop our personalities without question, she did her best to lead us away from bad decisions to help us recognize when we were being stubborn, unreasonable and, in my case, very very loud.


All this I know about my mom, but there are so many things that I don’t know about her when she was a child or a teenager. I know she and her brothers and sisters spent some time in a children’s home while her parents were separating. I remember her once saying that they tried to run away. I know that she deeply loved her mother, but that she was a Daddy’s girl. I know that at some point they moved from Brooklyn to California, but I don’t know how old she was when tat happened. I know that her sisters, like most older sisters, teased and harassed her and that she was deathly afraid to tell on them lest she suffer their wrath. I know that she met my Dad in Tucson, but I’m still not clear on what she was doing there. I wish I knew more about her when she was little, what she was like. Was she as quiet as is she is now, drown out by the loud boisterous people that surrounded her? Was she athletic? (I vaguely remember hearing something about running track and field.)


I imagine my mom was a sweet little girl always doing her best to behave herself and gain the favor of the Pop by doing so, with two fun-loving, hell-raising sisters and two big brothers. I imagine well groomed children at dinner and saying blessings in Spanish before meals and always coming inside before the street lights went out. I imagine this but do not know if it is true. I wish I knew more about Mom.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.

Gym Story

The gym I go to is in the heart of the downtown area, it’s the only place to exercise that is within walking distance to many of the offices here, so most of the people that come and go, do so between noon and one, and are normal business type people. Occasionally though, you get a weirdie. For instance, a few days ago, a little old Chinese man in khaki pants, a white undershirt, wool socks and Birkenstock sandal was just pedaling away on the recumbent bike. That was the first time I’d seen him and haven’t seen him since, however seeing an aged Chinese man in street clothes pedaling his heart out on an exercise bike is a bit startling. Then we have the attorney who wears short-shorts (I mean really short, horrifyingly short) and reads the paper while he leisurely pedals along on a standing exercycle. There’s the runner who when he’s finished on the treadmill stretches out in front of the ladies on the elliptical machines in a desperate attempt to have someone, anyone pay attention to him. There’s a young man who, when he runs on the treadmill turns it up so high that he has to grip the back of it so he can keep up and force himself to continue to run. There are two ladies, one heavy one thin who discuss in the locker room how thin the one lady is and when they work out, the heavy one doesn’t even bother to put her hair up because she moves at a snails pace on the elliptical and therefore never sweats. I guess the thin one doesn’t have the heart to tell her, that she probably needs to get the old heart rate up to lose some weight. The best so far, however, was yesterday. Yesterday the all the elliptical machines were taken, so T and I did the stair climber, the bikes and the treadmill, kind of like a gym triathalon. We’re on the stair climber when suddenly someone’s cell phone rings. Yes, you read it correctly; someone had brought their cell phone with them to work out. I can accept that under certain circumstances, like you’re waiting for a verdict to be returned, your wife is due to go into labor soon, your husband is coming out of surgery (although I don’t know why you’d be at the gym instead of the hospital, but still) or something along those lines. So, the phone rings and I look over and it’s some forty year old faux-blond woman in fluorescent orange shortie-shorts and a white tank top, and she answers the phone. The ensuing conversation is something along the lines of a woman giving an order to either a dog or her husband. I’m going to guess it was her husband because she didn’t strike me as the kind of person that would train her dog to dial the phone that would take too much time away from her “me time”. Then she hangs up, tucks the bottom of her tank top into the top of her tank top…you know that look, that kind of ‘80’s dance video meets low-end prostitute look? (They used to do it with t-shirts in the ‘80s) The kind of look that a kid of a teenager could pull off, but on a a 40-something looks like a desperate attempt at trying to be young and super-hot. Anyway, that’s what happened, and then T and I went to the bikes. Then the phone rings, again and she answers it, again. On this call she is talking in all sweet sounds and words, I heard things like “I love you so much” and “Well that’s why I have all this love for you.” (This is clearly not a verdict coming in.) Then she does the unthinkable, she gets off the elliptical and sits on the weight bench in the middle of the gym to toss her hair and finish her call. She does not go into the locker room for a private conversation or even out to the deck to be alone. (There is hardly any one ever on the deck.) No, she makes herself as visible as possible by sitting on the weight bench in the middle of the gym. At first I gave her the benefit of the doubt, thinking she must intend to continue her workout after the call. Nope. She finished the call and then went in the locker room to shower, change back into her street clothes, and leave the gym. T and I looked at each other, and then suddenly T shouted, “LOOK AT MEEEEEEEE!!! LOOK AT MEEEEEEE!!! I’M VERY BUSY AND IMPORTANT!!!” Perfect.