What-What?! Week of February 7th

So the past couple of weeks have been exciting.  The husband's last day at his job was Friday, and I'll be starting my new job on Wednesday.  With us parents switching roles, things will be very exciting, at least for a while.

So, uh... I dunno if I'll be posting next week or not.  Might just be a short blurb, because I don't know if I'll have the time or energy to do anything other than go to work and commute.  My expectations at this point are pretty low. :P

TV Shows:  Mad Style

No one cares about Mad Men anymore, because they've all seen it already.  Except I haven't, because I don't want to watch anything that depressing right now (I assume everyone dies at the end, like a Greek tragedy.  So I keep watching Top Gear instead).

But the fashion is fricken' awesome.  I love it.  I love each character's fashions, how they change through the seasons while maintaining their own individual styles, the silly hats, the dainty gloves, the three-piece suits, all of it.

So when I found this series of articles that looks at each character's fashions, I was quite excited.  There are a million of them (five pages worth!), so I have yet to read them all.  But believe me, I will.  Right now, my favorites are the articles on Trudy Campbell, as she's a character who I don't always like, but I feel like I understand her more than other characters.

Cooking: Roasted Garlic

I had been wanting to try this out for forever, and just never got around to it until recently.  Roasted garlic is the simplest recipe, but so transformational.  Roasting removes any hint of bitterness and brings out a lovely nutty flavor in the garlic.  I've used my roasted garlic to make garlic bread, and it was to die for.  I look forward to making it again, possibly doing several at a time and freezing them for convenience.

Ingredients:

• Head(s) of garlic
• Oil -- olive, vegetable, peanut, whatever you have.
• Aluminum foil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut off the top of the garlic, maybe an inch or so down -- you want to expose the tops of each clove.  Don't worry about the paper or how you're going to get the cloves out.  Place the garlic on a sheet of foil that's large enough to wrap the whole thing.   Drizzle the garlic with oil, then wrap it up.  Bake for about 45minutes to an hour, then let cool.  To get the cloves out, simply squeeze from the bottom of the garlic, and they will pop out.  Use however you would regular garlic.

I like to make mine while I have something else going in the oven, because that's efficient.

What-What?! Week of October 12th

This week seemed to go by about as fast as molasses.  Not good, not bad, just interminable.

I got confirmation that I will be starting my new job on Monday, so that's exciting!  It will be good to work again, both in terms of money and maintaining my sanity.

Started working on Saffron's dress earlier this week.  I spent about 20 minutes cleaning my sewing machine after I pulled it out; the move and sitting around made it get pretty dusty.  I'm at the point now where I have to iron things.  I don't like ironing, so I'm procrastinating a bit there.

We went to the Lowe's Build and Grow clinic for October.  The big kids had a good time making their own haunted houses.  We brought them home and they played with super heroes and their spooky houses.

Review:  Digimon Tamers

Earlier this week, the kids and I finished watching the third season of Digimon.  The first two seasons were pretty classic kid show stuff -- lots of humor and creepy-cute monsters fighting bad guys.  The third season, though, Tamers, is made of different stuff.  It's darker and more serious than the earlier seasons, and spends more time looking at the nature of Digimon as monsters.  The show is more complex, though it does suffer from a slow start, it gets better as it goes along.  The fact that the season is 50 episodes hurts it quite a bit -- it could pretty easily be edited down by a third, maybe even a half.  Even still, my kids, especially Saffron, fell in love with it.  Saffron is currently obsessed with Renamon and Rika, who are the strong female leads in the series.


Lopmon and Terriermon.

She also likes Terriermon and Lopmon, but that's because they are glorified rabbit Digimon.

(Images via  digimon.wikia.com, deviantart.com: angel-in-disguise234)

What-What?! Week of August 10th

This week, we visited the local library, and now my daughter has her first library card!  The main branch here in Everett has a lovely children's area, complete with comfy coaches and chairs, toys, puzzles, and lots of books, of course.  Each of the kids picked out some books and a movie.  I would like to see more of what the adult section looks like, but maybe that will happen some other time.

Last time we went to Costco, we bought milk there.  We'd been avoiding it, because the milk jugs are square, and we'd read about it being hard to pour milk.  By "square jug", I mean this:

Not regular square, but super square!

We haven't found them particularly hard to pour, so we'll probably buy them again.  More entertaining, though, is the fact that my middle boy, who is obsessed with MineCraft, has decided that it is "MineCraft Milk".  Because it's square, and everything in MineCraft is square.  He was especially pleased when I made "MineCraft cookies" to go with it -- that is, bar cookies cut into squares.  I guess all square foods are now MineCraft foods.

News:  Sean Bean AMA on Reddit via Reddit

Sean Bean was on Reddit this past Tuesday, doing an "Ask Me Anything" to promote his new show, Legends.  This AMA is full of great stories from Bean's film career, like how he went to the wrong set one day, and so on.  I would suggest you go read it.  After reading it, the husband and I decided that we needed to watch the Sharpe's series (again for me, the first time for him).  Pete actually went to the local library and checked out the first two videos the next day.

Odd Jobs:  Doll Hair Stylist

This week's odd job is a Doll Hair Stylist position at the local American Girl shop:

This one actually sounds pretty awesome.  Getting paid to play with children is usually a pretty good gig.

(imgs via ecojoes.com, screencrush.com)

What-What?! Week of May 25th

My car is in the shop.  I was sick.  Children exploded at work.  Other things happened.  This week, if it could go wrong, it probably did (in the most stressful way possible).

This week's post is quite short.  I apologize.

TV:  'And the Sky's the Limit': The Writers of the 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Series Finale Look Back, 20 Years Later via Yahoo! TV

This is a great interview article with Ronald Moore and Brannon Braga, the two Star Trek writers that worked on the show's final episode, as well as the film, Star Trek: Generations.  It is a bit long, but includes a lot of great memories for those of us who are just that geeky.

Art:  Stained Glass Watercolor

This was inspired by a project from the website, Mrs. Brown's Art Class, which I've been referring to often for ideas and activities to use at work.

I did this project both at work and home, and it went over well with both the 4th graders and my little ones.  We used crayons to create a wax resist for the lines, then painted with the watercolors.

What-What?! Week of May 11th

Happy Mother's Day!  To all you fellow mommies out there. :)

This past week, I did post a new article, and I also realized that I failed to mention the one I'd written the week prior.  This week, I wrote about tracking customer feedback, and the previous week, I wrote about the three defining aspects of a successful farmers' market.

Otherwise, this week was quite long.  None of my fourth graders had any homework all week, so that was an extra five hours of activities I had to unexpectedly plan for.  This next part takes the cake, though: Tuesday, two of my students decided to walk to the store, rather than come to the YMCA.  We wound up with the police searching for them.  I don’t think I’ve ever been more worried or anxious about anything work-related than that day.  What made it more worrisome was that these two children never walk home, or anywhere, by themselves.  Luckily, they were found after three hours, and are now safe with their families.  It was scary waiting around to see if they were found, because we didn’t know if they’d been taken by someone, walked off by themselves, or what.  I was happy when that day ended.

Mad Men:  Jumped the Shark?

Recently, I finished watching season six of Mad Men on Netflix.  After binge-watching all the seasons, I found myself wondering why Mad Men is still so popular; the show is populated with depressed, unhappy characters who make the same mistakes time and again.  Don can’t seem to stop sleeping with random women, nor can he seem to control his alcohol use.  Peggy is constantly stuck between a rock and a hard place with her work and personal life.  Betty can't seem to get anything right.

The last season especially feels like the show has jumped the shark.  CGC and SCDP merging felt like a desperate attempt to revitalize a show that has done all it can with its current cast of unchanging characters.  Though I enjoy the juxtaposition between Ted and Don, their sparring and disconnects didn’t do much to help the show.  Now that Ted is on his way to California, I’m going to assume that their relationship isn’t likely to continue in this way.  It might be better that way, since “two tigers cannot share the same mountain” – having both characters in that position felt like they were vying for who was the main character in an ensemble show.

For season six, I’m hoping that the producers and writers do more to grow the characters, as it seems like they’ve been stuck in a rut.

(img via vanityfair.com)

What-What?! Week of July 14th

I have done a lot of nothing this week – that is, other than driving back and forth to Gilroy.  In the last week, I’ve been four times.  Not that I mind Gilroy, it’s just unusual for me.  Not much by way of freelance work, or sales on eBay, which generally kind of sucks.

We went to Happy Hollow, and had a good time with the kids.  Then we had dinner at Marie Calendar’s, which was not a very good experience – somehow, they managed to make my son’s macaroni and cheese taste odd.  Like a weird, metallic taste.  It made my Gordon Ramsay senses tingle (‘cause I’ve seen enough of those kitchens to think twice about off-tasting food), so we left.  Not sure we’ll be going back.

Oh!  Last week, I updated the key words on my posts, and consolidated the recipe-related ones on the right column.  Now, both you and I can easily find the recipes I review!

Mac & Cheese:  Some Nutrition, Please?

Sometimes, when the husband is gone and the children are misbehaving, I cook something fast and easy for dinner.  Lately, that something has been Kraft Mac & Cheese, which is not the most nutritious food.  So lately, I’ve been working on easy improvements to the nutrition content and flavor, without the bother of making real macaroni and cheese.

Any other ideas?  I know some people suggest adding pureed cauliflower or squash, but I find that it adds an off taste.  One thing that I haven’t tried is adding a bit of nutmeg, which is one spice I add to real macaroni and cheese.

TV:  Jake and the Neverland Pirates

Netflix added more Disney shows, so the kids have been watching Jake and the Neverland pirates – now, understand that I am very picky about children’s shows, because I simply find most of them to be obnoxious.  The current approved list is Kipper, Super Why, Timmy Time, and My Little Ponies.  Jake and the Neverland Pirates is suitably exciting for children, while still managing not to be annoying.  My kids love pirates, so they’re totally into it.  There’s a fair amount of singing in the series, which I enjoy.  The two singing pirates in the series are actually a real pirate band, Captain Bogg and Salty, originating from Portland, Oregon; they have self-produced four albums, which I admittedly have not listened to yet.  Look for a review soon. ;)

(imgs via businessinsider.com, disney.wikia.com)

What-What?! Week of May 26th

This week has been pretty slow.  I’ve spent a few days visiting my parents, which has been nice because I lived like a hobbit for the last month or so of school.  Today (Saturday), I managed to get some items ready to be listed on eBay, which is an achievement considering the last few days.  Thursday, my middle son threw up while at my parents (still no idea why), and since that evening, my littlest has had a fever ranging from 101-102+ degrees.  He’s been fussy, but otherwise okay.

I applied to a few jobs locally, and have another possible opportunity in the pipeline, so that’s good.  I am anxious to get some kind of employment, with the hope of being able to leave behind apartment living.  I genuinely, truly hate the thought of moving, but living in this apartment is the pits.

WoW: Pandaland Review

This last Saturday (Sunday?), the husband installed the newest expansion of the World of Warcraft franchise, The Mists of Pandaria, which I’ll refer to as “Pandaland”.  It’s my opinion that Pandaland was old before it was even released, due to the popularity of Kung Fu Panda way back in 2008.  The public has already had martial arts panda characters.  Give us something new.  Along with the expansion of the world setting, the Blizzard team further streamlined talent trees and abilities, which creates less flexibility for a character; it does prevent you from inadvertently breaking your character, though.  Since we’ve only been playing less than a week, the husband and I have yet to get into the new dungeons, challenges and scenarios, as well as the pet battles.  The pet battle thing also makes me sad; it’s like Neopets.  Or Pokemon.  If I wanted to do those things, I would go play Neopets or Pokemon, not WoW.  Why did Blizz do this? Why?  The more I look at Pandaland, the more I think that a bunch of execs got into a room and said “this would be cool, let’s do it!” without really examining the ideas closely.

Also, for whatever reason, the male pandas are quite rotund, while the female pandas are slim.  Mind you, by "slim" I mean "normal person", but compared to most of the other races, she is a plus-sized model.  The male fanbase demands sexy women, thus the female panda is curvy rather than appropriately plump.

So far, I am not so impressed with the newest expansion.  Will update next week.

TV:  Ramsay’s Best Restaurant

I ran out of the British Kitchen Nightmares series on Netflix, so I started on Gordon Ramsay’s other series, in which he searches for Britain’s best restaurant.  I would be watching the U.S. version of Kitchen Nightmares, but it isn’t subtitled, which is a requirement when watching it with children about.  Ramsay’s Best Restaurant is all about pitting one restaurant that serves traditionally styled foods versus one that pushes the envelope; these restaurants serve the same types of foods (Italian, Indian, Thai, etc.), but how they go about it is vastly different.  Each restaurant is put through a series of tests, like feeding 30 diners at once, and being visited by a difficult undercover agent, then one restaurant is allowed in to the semi-final.  Nearly all of these restaurants have service issues, which is pretty staggering considering that these are suppose to be some of the best in the country.  Part of this is because service is hard to measure, while things like quality and taste of food isn’t.

Not much else goin’ on this week.  Next Saturday is my birthday, and I will make sure that I take photos of the special cupcakes I’m making. :D

What-What?! Week of May 5th

I woke up yesterday morning and realized I hadn’t written a word for this post.  Normally I start about Thursday or so, writing about whatever I’ve already got.  This week, though I’ve had all my major papers due and that has made the week rather nutty.  I have feedback for two of my papers already, though, including my final capstone paper, which got a score of 97!  Whooo-yeah!  My teacher had to go through half the paper before he found a mistake. :D

Shopping: Merona Red Trench Coat

This week at Target, I went shopping for a new pair of slacks for my capstone presentation.  While I did buy a pair of slacks, the highlight of the trip was this beautiful red trench coat, on clearance for $18.  I put it on, and my husband made the comment that all I needed was a red hat – then I could be Carmen Sandiego!  So now Pete and I are planning on dressing up as Carmen Sandiego and one of her goons for this coming Halloween.  I’m voting Peter dresses as either Baron Wasteland or Baron Grinnit – an aristocrat with an eyepatch, or a fighter pilot.  Either way, I think it will be brilliant.

After picking up the coat, I went a-Googling for photos of goons.  I gotta say, you find the oddest things searching for Carmen Sandiego, like this review for a film titled The Limits of Control, directed by Jim Jarmusch and starring Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, and John Hurt, among others.  Overall, it doesn’t sound like a film you’d watch on purpose, but the author of the review points out that the meaning of the film is open to interpretation – so he preferred to imagine it as a live-action Carmen Sandiego.  I suggest you follow the link to the review and read this section of it, because it is hilarious.

Girls Who Code via Take Part

I accidently came across this nonprofit, which is funded by large tech companies like Google, Twitter, and eBay.  The idea is to encourage young women to pursue education and jobs in the tech sector by teaching them programming, robotics, web design and so on.  I think this idea is a really great avenue for getting women to take that first step towards a tech career.  As a previous computer science major, and someone who still loves coding, I think programs like these are incredibly important.  This year, they are operating programs all over the U.S., including here in San Jose.  The organization’s website is a little obtuse, and I’m actually kind of annoyed that there isn’t a more direct way to get in contact with them to volunteer; they only seem to have options if you are currently working with an organization or company.  Maybe this next week I can work on finding contact information about this, because I would really love to volunteer.

TV:  Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares via Netflix

I started watching this show on Netflix on a whim.  I have to say as a warning, though, that if this show were bleeped out, there would be very little dialogue left.  However, I like that it looks at the restaurant as a business, not just looking at the quality of the food.  Gordon Ramsay goes to these failing businesses and looks at the management, the marketing, and the operations.  He looks at whether the restaurant is selling food that the local people want to buy, if they are overpriced, if they are using ingredients or wasting them, if they have local, inexpensive sources for food, if the staff is managed well, and so on.  It’s pretty interesting to watch from a business student perspective, and I think it’s entertaining as well.

That’s it for this week.  Tuesday my littlest will be turning one!  I don’t know that we’ll be doing anything formal for him until school gets out on the 16th, but I was planning on cooking him some oatmeal and banana cookies.

What-What?! Week of April 7th

Not too much going on this week; still working on the internal analysis of my capstone project, which has been going quite well.  A few days ago, we took the kids back to Chuck E. Cheeses, and they had a lot of fun.  It’s a pretty cheap trip, since we haven’t been buying any of the [awful] food.  Today, my baby is 11 months old, and is now walking short distances.  It is horrible. D:

Target: Pregnant Women are Huge via everywheres

So, this made it all the way to the front of Yahoo!  Target, on this maternity dress shown above, described the color as “manatee grey”.  For the plus-size only, no less!  I wonder if this was purposeful, or if some idiot somewhere thought that pregnant women like natural things, and the natural color of a manatee is grey, therefore a perfect color descriptor.  Next, there will be colors like “blue whale”, I’m sure. :P

Shopping:  Tulle’s Spring Collection

This past week, I got an e-mail from Tulle, a couture clothing company.  I love the vintage style they have, and would totally buy their dresses if not for one thing: the hem length is too short!  I just cannot wear dresses that are not at least knee length, it makes me uncomfortable.  Also, the things that I’ve bought from Tulle tend to fit a bit oddly anyway, and you have to pay shipping to return things.  So, while I love to window shop there, I don’t generally buy anything.  But oh how I want that scallop dress.  WANT.

News:  The Jobs Report is Actually Quite Depressing via the WSJ

This article discusses that, while the unemployment rate has fallen another 0.1%, it’s mostly because people are leaving the workforce.  As someone who’ll soon be fresh out of college, it’s pretty frightening to think that others, with more experience and education, are leaving the workforce because they cannot find jobs.  How nice.  And, of course, this particular author is blaming welfare programs for part of this, because as soon as you get a low paying job, you lose benefits.  So, people don’t take the low paying jobs, because the after tax income doesn’t make up for the non-taxable benefits you lose.  Neither is what I’d call a sustainable way to live.

Cooking:  Loaded Cauliflower, via Linda's Low Carb Recipes

Recently, I've been experimenting with cauliflower, just for a change of pace.  I don't generally eat it, and never have, to be honest.  Yesterday, I made "loaded" caulifower, and while I had this recipe, I  totally did not follow it.  Instead, I chopped up my cauliflower small, daubed on some ranch dressing, added a sprinkle of cheddar cheese, and popped it into the oven for about 30 minutes.  It came out surprisingly good, and I think the addition of bacon or ham would really perfect it.  The husband and I liked it, while the kids mostly just poked at it.  This one I will make again.

TV:  Mad Men via Netflix

Netflix has just offered the fifth season of Mad Men this past week, so I’m watching it.  I haven’t loved all the plot twists (Don Draper’s backstory makes me roll my eyes), but I do enjoy the interaction between the characters, and looking at the fashion, if nothing else.  My favorite character is probably Harry Crane, the firm’s director of television marketing.  So far this season, we haven’t seen much of him, but I still have another 10 episodes to go, so there’s hope. :)

(images via Yahoo! news, genaw.com, browntweedsociety.wordpress.com)