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 April 6th

This week has been crazy.  Thursday was my boss's last day with the YMCA, which is pretty sad for those of us staying.  She will be missed (actually, she all ready is).  The new site coordinator was previously our onsite tutor, so it's nice that she knows the staff, kids, and routine all ready.  Things will be different for sure, but I don't think it will necessarily be good or bad.  Just different.

Poetry: Skeltonic Verse

I decided to do a poetry exercise at work a few weeks ago, using skeltonic verse structure (AABB rhyming); this activity had mixed success.  I did have some kids who were actually interested, and some of their poems were pretty amusing ("what rhymes with pokemon?" was a real question).
A few days ago, I happened to find my example poem:

Salami sandwich, you are so nice,
Salami sandwich, I'll take a slice,
Bread, mayo, salami, and cheese,
I'll take two, if you please.

Because salami sandwiches are the best, hands down.  Where most people had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as their childhood staple, my family had salami sandwiches.  At one point, my older brother wrote an entire essay about them.  Nom, nom. :D

Fashion:  KNAPP The Post-War Collection

I saw this collection first on Fashion It So (the Star Trek: The Next Generation fashion blog), then followed the link to this much more substantial collection of photographs.  Some of these pieces are really captivating, while other are sort of hoo-hum, or even a bit dorky (hello, giant protruding pants pockets?).  I like the futuristic military Renaissance faire look, with the heavy fabrics and jewel tones.  Not to mention that all the princess seams are very flattering (even though I think the model has too long a torso for some of the fashions).

I particularly like this asymmetrical hip pocket thing that appears in several of the designs.  I have a few pairs of pants that are lacking in the pocket department, so this is something that I might really wear.

This one has a great 1960s feel to it.

Probably my favorite piece.  This design would look brilliant on a battlemech, too, I bet. :P

I love this neckline.

Really great texture on this top, and those sleeves are so romantic!

 

Check out the rest of the pieces by following the link above.  You'd be surprised at how many more there are in addition to the ones I've posted here.

What-What?! Week of November 24th

My 18-month old has started lining up trucks.  And cars.  And trains.  On every available surface.  I'll get up from my desk to get something to drink and come back to find trucks lined up on my chair.  I remove those trucks, and sit down to find trains lined up on my desk.  I turn around and see cars and trucks lined up on the dining table.  And on the floor, the play table, and the TV stand.  All day long.

The middle child has decided that he wants a Lego dump truck for his birthday next month... and chose the most expensive truck set they offer, which he saw on the back of a Lego instruction booklet.  I did find a less expensive set that is about the same, so that'll be what we're getting him.

My behavioral economics class is chugging along.  This week marks the end of the class proper, and we've now moved on into exams, and the final projects.  I've come up with some great ideas, and in another week or two, I'll post some more information about them (with images!).

Cooking:  Meatloaf with Brown Sugar Topping via AllRecipes.com

We tried meatloaf this week, using our new Zaycon ground beef that we special ordered, with a ketchup and brown sugar topping.  Everyone liked it, except for my daughter, who was most put off by the topping.  My husband already reduced the amount of sugar in the topping, but we still thought the topping was too sweet; next time, I think we’ll omit it entirely.  Oh!  One great addition he made to the recipe was cubed cheddar cheese, which we’ll definitely be doing next time.

Fashion: One Scarf, Five Ways via Yahoo!  Fashion

The weather here has started to get quite cold, but still not cold enough to remain inside, which makes it perfect weather for scarves.  Now, normally I just wrap my scarf around my neck, and call it a day.  However, I came across this article from Yahoo!, which details five ways to tie a scarf, and so I've been trying new looks; I've had such a good time doing this, that I've decided that I need more silk scarves, because I currently only have one.

News: Winning a Job at Lego via The Wall Street Journal

How does Lego choose designers to build its sets?  This great article examines the process, which is really fascinating; the company invites its most promising candidates to a two-day recruiting workshop, where candidates are challenged to brainstorm, design, and build sets, all in front of senior designers, who evaluate their potential.  Before candidates even arrive, they are mailed a box of Legos, and are challenged to create a set to bring with them, which acts as part of their introduction.  The unusual set of skills and talent that the company requires really begs this kind of interview process; a standard formal interview would be little help in determining which candidate is the best suited for the job.  I'm sure that the candidates who aren't chosen for the position also enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime process as well.