Inspector Number 6

We have all purchased new clothing and most likely when partaking in this activity you have come across the tiny stickers inside your new shirt or pants that represent an inspector.  From what I can gather, and I have not thought about this long and hard, an inspector is to view the product and make sure it is suitable for purchase.

Why then, I ask you is the seam of my right sleeve... on my nice black sweater crooked??  It is so annoying, because I wear this sweater often and I am constantly reminded that someone did not do their job.

Because of this I have decided that inspector number 6 was out sick the day my sweater was made...

I shake my fist at you Inspector Number 6!!

Once

Once, when I was 2 or 3 years old I was at Mervyn's with my mom...  I cannot quite remember if my dad or brother were also there, but that is not really an important part of this story.

Back then, Mervyn's had all of their nice jeans at the front entrance.  My mom and I had just stepped out of the doors when this, as I recall it,  rusty old van, with no windows pulled up.  The side door flew open and a couple of guys jumped out.  They ran past us and proceeded to steal all of the jeans from the front of the store.

For some reason, I have always remembered this and.  Who knows if I have all of the details right, but I do know, that it was crazy enough to stay in my mind for the next 25 years.

Grandma

My grandma passed away at the beginning of May.  I miss her dearly and I have really been struggling with her death.  She passed just before her 81st birthday, a few days before Mother's day, and her anniversary, as well as my grandpa's birthday.

I went to visit her two days before she passed and it was hard for me to see her like she was.  She had been put on medication that gave her thrush, which is this rash on the tongue and mouth.  She had these bleeding sores on her lips and tongue, she wasn't making sense and it was just all around a very sad experience.

I have been feeling guilty about not going to see her the day before she died.  So guilty in fact, that I have had many dreams about her sense then.  They mostly occurred this summer and I often woke in tears... not being able to fall back asleep.

Just the other day I was staying at my grandpa's house and I had another dream.  In the dream, my grandma told me not to feel guilty.  I don't know if this was her really speaking to me or what, but I have felt a lot better since then.

I will always miss her and I am sure I will cry over her sometime soon, but for the moment, I am content in the fact that I no longer have to feel guilty and I hope I will remember this as the days go on.

Piiimp

This photos was sadly borrowed from:  

http://niggermania.net/forum/showthread.php?12984-The-Nigger-Hooptie-Thread

Please do not judge me because of this.

This summer, I was walking back into downtown Oceanside from the pier.  I was about to cross the street when this black low rider sedan with deep purple detail drove by.  Some might call it a hooptie.  There was definitely some music being bumped within those doors.

As it was passing, in my head I said 'Purple!"... what came out of my mouth was entirely different and I believe because I said it so loudly, that I scared the man walking near me.

I shouted out, "Piiiimmmp!!!!"

I am guessing that I really had a mental moment and decided really quickly without me knowing, that it must be a pimp driving that vehicle.  It was the perfect vehicle for a pimp and no one in their right mind, other than a pimp would ever drive a car like that.  It looked like one of those fancy hats with the feather in them.

I mean, it was PIMP in every essence of the word.  I think the brain is amazing, because it made me shout something that in the end was oh so obviously true!

Cut loose, Footloose!

As we all know, the original of a re-made movie is always the best.  Well, maybe not always, but that holds true for the new Footloose.  I won tickets to view a special pre-screening of the film, through 104.3 myfm.  I love that radio station.  They are allowing me to do so many fun things, for free!

I took my friend Tamara along with me.  We got to Grauman's Chinese Theater just in time to volunteer for a dance off.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.  We were taken out of line and filmed for about 15 minutes.  We had to dance this way, dance that way, dance together, dance for the cameras again, so that they could only see our feet.  We had to sing and dance... the list goes on!  We were dancing machines and to be honest... as someone who does not usually dance in front of any one except good friends, I had not a care in the world.  It was so much fun.

If we danced and danced, we were to get a Starbucks card at the end.  I don't drink coffee, but I worked hard for that... alas I did not get one, because some other girls came into the mix, uninvited and snagged mine before I could get one and of course they ran out of gift cards... boo.  Luckily, Tamara got one and she is a coffee drinker.

We got at the end of the movie line, tickets in hand and we were some of the last ones into the theater.  Somehow, we found two seats together at the back the theater and had a pretty good view of the screen.

I think it was helpful that I had not seen the original in so long, because I was able to view the film without any thoughts of it in my mind.  They did pay homage to the original with some of the scenes and outfits, even songs in this new version (from what I can remember).

At first I was a little skeptical... why on Earth are they remaking this film?  Can't they leave well enough alone?  I warmed up to the film though, and really enjoyed myself.  I was singing along, dancing in my seat and laughing.  Sure, it is a remake, but it is done in its own unique manner.  They didn't film it in the same exact way, frame for frame, they really diversified it.

If I did not have the opportunity to see this film, I probably would not have seen it in the theater.  However, now that I have seen it, I can say this, it was good and I think very worth your 11 dollars.  So go and check it out for yourself. (I really liked the soundtrack and will probably buy it.)

And tell me, is the guy who plays Ren cute or what?  I had the hardest time deciding, but in the end, I went with yes.  He had good character and that Boston accent sure got to me!  Whew!

The Green Book

I bought 'The Green Book' a couple of years ago.  I read a few pages then and was bored.  Since I just moved, I pulled it out of my book box when I was re-shelving.

I got this book in the first place, because I am a big recycler.  I always have been.  I try not to use more water than I need (still working on cutting down my shower time).  I have a water filter and use reuseable bottles (BPA free) like Nalgene.

With that in mind, I began reading 'The Green Book' again.  I read the whole thing in about thirty minutes.  Is this possible?  Yes, and here is why.  You quickly realize that in order to go completely green, you would, like many of the contributors of this book, need to be a millionaire.

Don't buy this, buy that.  Plant  twenty-five foot trees around your house.  Plant fisteen foot bushes to act as a wind break.  Buy solar paneling.  Change all products in your home to recycled ones (wouldn't this just create more trash?)... from counter tops to carpets... make sure you have double paned windows, and the list goes on.

This all sounds great and I aspire to such things, but let us be honest.  Expensive items for your home usually are recycled ones.  I mean, if I want to send cards made of recycled paper, I have to want to spend an extra four dollars.  Not only does this push me toward bankruptcy, but it also makes me wonder if whomever receives those cards I am sending is going to recycle them.

Is being green good?  yes.  However, I feel we should all do something that we know we can do and feel good about, to do our part.  We shouldn't feel inadequate because we can't afford to do certain green things.  We shouldn't feel like we have to paint our homes with less toxic paint than it came with and plant an entire forest in our yard... because let's face it, that's really pricey and a tad unrealistic.

The follwoing list is just from the food section of the shopping chapter.  I didn't even list everything.  Again, I support recycling and making smarter choices for the environment.  I just wish there was a way, for even the poorest person to participate.

You'll be happy to know that I am recycling this book by giving it to the good will book store.

.  Buy your bread fresh from the bakery (time consuming I would think)
.  Don't buy double wrapped breads
.  Buy bulk canned goods (what if I don't want 86 ounces of kidney beans?  I would then be wasting food)
.  Only buy organic, fair trade, and bird friendly (expensive!!)
.  Shop at the farmer's market (expensive!!)
. Only buy what you need (duh!)
.  Buy soy products
.  Re-use grocery bags
.  Choose fresh anything over canned if you can.

Ugh!!

Milk Chocolate Whopper Brownies

These look amazing!

Thank you Cookies and Cups!

Here is the link to the recipe and all of the photos:

Milk Chocolate Whopper Brownies

• 1 (11.5 oz) bag of milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup chocolate malt mix (I used Ovaltine)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup coarsely chopped chocolate milk balls (I used Whoppers)

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray.
3. Melt milk chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat until the chocolate is just melted, stirring frequently.
4. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs, vanilla and brown sugar until combined.
5. Stir in dry ingredients (flour, malt powder, baking powder and salt)
6. Fold in your chopped malt balls (Whoppers)
7. Spread the batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted 1 inch away from edge comes out clean.
8. Let cool completely before frosting.

If you cannot find chocolate malt mix (Ovaltine) you can sub in malted milk powder.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 25 minute(s)








For the Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup chocolate malt mix (Ovaltine)

1-2 Tbsp of milk

1. In a mixer beat your butter until smooth.
2. Add in over low speed your powdered sugar, Ovaltine and milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue adding milk until the desired consistency is reached.
3. Turn mixer up to medium and beat for 1 minute until frosting is smooth.
4. Spread on cooled brownies.
5. Top with extra chocolate malt balls for garnish, if desired.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)




I want to make these right now!!


(P.S.-  I made these and I could not get the frosting to work. I even made it twice.  If you can get it right, please let me know how you did it.  Thanks!)

A Summer of Concerts

I love music.  I always have a song in my head and I feel like I enjoy so many different sounds.  I don't generally go to many concerts, because they are expensive.  But, this summer I broke my own rules!

I started out with The Goo Goo Dolls with my friend Allison.  They came out to Temecula and played at Pechanga Casino.  Boy, that took me back to high school.  Their music was definitely a part of my growing up.

As you know, Monica and I got to meet Gavin De Graw, that came along with a mini personal concert and it was amazing.

My mom and I have been following Matchbox 20 since the beginning and we finally got to see them!  What a treat!

To celebrate Monica's birthday, we went to KBIG 104.3 myfm's 'My Big Night Out'  which had three acts for the price of one:  Gavin DeGraw, Train, and Maroon 5.  I love Maroon 5!  I have listened to them since my freshman year of college (2002) and their stuff is still great.  It was nice to finally see them live.  Adam Levine.  Whew, that's all I can say.  What a great performer and good looking guy.

Last night I ended my summer of concerts with Ben Harper.  My friend Nicole and I only had to pay 6 dollars each and we watched him play for 2 hours and when we left... he was still playing!!  I love his music.  I am all about being able to feel one's emotions through song and Ben Harper is the master of that.  Although I know much of his music, and own a couple of his albums, he only played a handful of songs that I know.  Overall, it was still a great display of true musicianship.  He played the steel guitar like no ones business!

Here are two of many Ben Harper songs that I love:

Better Way

With My Own Two Hands


Here's to the Arts!

Nectarine Cherry Grunt

Last summer I baked and baked and baked some more!  I was happy to use the plums and nectarines from my grandparents' trees.  This was my Grandma's favorite of all the desserts... until she tried the next one.  In honor of my Grandma, I am sharing this recipe with you all.

Out of all of the Nectarine desserts I have made so far, this is the best. It is a bit unique, with cooking it on the stove top and all. The Dumplings are a good addition and the best has to be the chai spiced whipped cream, made from scratch!

I apologize for the awful photo, which does not capture the amazingness of this dessert!

Makes: 8 servings
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 28 minutes



Fruit:

4 cups peeled and sliced nectarine (about 1-3/4 pounds)

3 cups pitted cherries (about 1 pound)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest


Dumplings:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon chai seasoning (such as McCormick)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup buttermilk

2 Tablespoons butter, melted


Whipped cream:

1 cup heavy cream

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon chai seasoning

Confectioner's sugar for dusting


1. Fruit: In a large non-stick skillet, stir together nectarines, cherries, sugar,lemon juice, lemon zest. Simmer over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.

2. Dumplings: In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, chai seasoning, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in buttermilk and melted butter until a sticky dough forms. (It's really sticky)

3. Dollop heaping Tablespoonfuls of the dough over the simmering fruit. Cover tightly and simmer over medium-low for 25 minutes. Cool for at least 15 minutes.

4. Whipped cream: In a large bowl, beat the cream, sugar, and chai seasoning until stiff peaks form.

5. To serve, dust with confectioner's sugar and spoon dumplings and fruit into individual bowls. Serve with whipped cream alongside.

Yum, yum, yum!