Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Chant with me: Jor-dis! Jor-dis! JORDIS!

Do you watch Rockstar: INXS? HORRIBLY addictive. Last night's episode featured Jordis do a cover of Imagine. It was CRIPPLINGLY beautiful.

That girl's going places, I tell ya!

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Who woulda thought - I like VANILLA yogurt

An added benefit of working out is I tend to eat healthier (oh sure, I made icecream sandwiches with the new soft-baked Chips Ahoy, but I used Dreyers Light and I only had one....and I still need to LIVE, don't I?). My current favorite breakfast is baked oatmeal. My mom found the recipe in a Quaker Oats ad and I have since adapted it to the following gem of textural goodness (I'm telling ya, the textures ROCK):

BAKED OATMEAL

2-1/4 cups Quick Quaker® Oats or 2-3/4 cups Old Fashioned Quaker® Oats, uncooked
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup raisins, dried cranberries, shredded carrot, chopped apple, chopped nuts, or any combination in between
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (nutmeg, ginger, or whatever)
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3-1/3 cups skim milk
4 egg whites, lightly beaten or 1/2 cup egg substitute (Kay uses 2 eggs – doesn’t like to waste…though now that I have been turned onto Papetti Egg Whites, I may start using that instead)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
Fat-free milk or nonfat yogurt and fruit (optional) – my fave: Dannon Light & Fit vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, combine oats, sugar, raisins, cinnamon and salt; mix well. In medium bowl, combine milk, egg whites, oil and vanilla; mix well. Add to dry ingredients; mix until well blended. Pour into baking dish.
3. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until center is set and firm to the touch. Cool slightly
4. Serve topped with milk or yogurt and fruit, if desired. Store leftover oatmeal tightly covered in refrigerator

Servings: 8 SERVINGS

Currently, I'm serving a carrot, raisin, cranberry version but I'm also partial to THE banana- almond combo.

This is one of those breakfasts that "sticks to the ribs" in a good way AND it's healthy AND it's delicious.

Bon appetit!

I want to look cool running

My rockin' friend Amy V (who I can't wait to see weekend after next!) just started a blog and credited me so I thought I better update.

Big news (and that is a sad reflection of my current state that said news is considered "big"): Tommy and I have started going to the gym. I've wanted to do this forever. We lived on base for a year or so and didn't even go near the gym. Oh sure, I could go without him, and I did (every now and then) when he was out at sea, but it's far more motivating when he goes with me.

Turns out - he loves it. He's never been one for exercise - I think because it is always so forced on him what with the Navy and all - but now that he's doing it for the heck of it, he sees how good you can feel after. And the iPod Shuffle doesn't hurt. He discovered music and running are a delightful mix. And he looks hot doing it. I feel like each step is clumsy and painful and wrong when I run (I've got craptastic knees) but he just looks GOOD. Though I guess he looks good doing anything so I should have known.

So yeah, we got Shuffles. I was going to just get him one but Apple's superior marketing skills helped me decide that my iPod was just too cumbersome - look how little and light the Shuffle is - just the sound of the name sounds breezy - shuffle. And it is just totally precious.

I could not imagine doing anything aerobic without music - especially when it's contained in a device the size of a pack of gum....a thin pack at that! And the current selection definitely shows how manic I can be. My shuffle includes such great songs as [roll credits]:
Gap Band - Burn Rubber
Jem - Save Me
Cibo Matto - Spoon
Orgy - Blue Monday
A couple of those really long techno songs off the Trainspotting Soundtrack
Lenny Kravitz - Lady
Crystal Waters - 100% True Love
Spice Girls - Spice Up Your Life (that's right, I said it)
Golden Earring - Twilight Zone
And many more!

I banish you high cholesterol and excessive jiggle!

Monday, August 15, 2005

Altered Images


I guess because it was my birthday, I've had Altered Images' Happy Birthday song in my head (that's not true - I OFTEN have that song in my head with or without my birthday nearby) and I was deep into the B&N sale when I decided to see how cheap I could get it on cd. Behold! New Wave Hits of the 70's & 80's - a 3, count 'em, THREE disc collection for only $11.32 with your B&N card! SO very excited.

The Flying Lizards version of Money (That's What I Want) often caresses my brain so I bought Wedding Singer 2 as well for a mere $9.70 with said green card. It's got some gems on it as well - not as many, but still.

AND for a few more purchases, it's all being shipped to my door for FREE. Why go into the average-priced store when online is SO much cheaper?!?

Thanks, Barnes and Noble!

Hella Honda


Hella Honda
Originally uploaded by kaymaria.
I am such a baby.

When I was a kid, I was pretty much the last one picked for kickball, got my ass kicked at tetherball, and even though I towered over EVERYONE, I sucked at basketball. Such humiliation tends to stay permanently imprinted on one's brain.

And yet, I try to exorcise.

Tommy is BIG into dirtbikes so when he bought his Yamaha, the Honda became "mine." I want to be tough, really I do, but it is so hard adopting a hobby where you know you're going to fall down...probably while going at a decent speed. Oh and I have no idea how to drive a stickshift and apparently that hinders me as well.

And yet, I try. I've taken the bike out three times. The first was very basic, just back and forth once I got the beast kick started and moving (2 things I tend to have trouble with). The second time I gave myself quite the pep talk and told myself I was going to fall and it would hurt but it wouldn't kill me and it'd be fun overall. Sure enough, I fell, it hurt, but it didn't kill me and I had fun.

Well, time flies - 8 months to be exact, and we went out on Saturday for my third try. It was like it was my first but I got the hang of it after numerous starts and stalls and here are pics to document it. I didn't fall but I was way too hot and tired to push myself to even attempt to do anything that would warrant falling. (Excuses, excuses: I tried to give blood that morning and they rejected me because my hemoglobin count was so low - hence me being beat before I even got out there.) Plus I was just plain scared - which is so stupid. Carpe diem, dammit!

But check out this pic (and others on flickr - I've got the red bike, Tommy's got the blue). It really looks like I can ride, doesn't it?

I'm getting there. Next time I will not be such a baby.

I will not be such a baby.

I will not be such a baby.

Carpe diem, dammit!

Seattle skyline 8.12.05


Seattle skyline 8.12.05
Originally uploaded by kaymaria.

We had a lovely Friday date night. We took the ferry downtown, stopped at Schmancy to see the Plush You! show - I saw many cute stuffed animals and treats but damn, it was hot in that place and we had reservations for dinner at the Pink Door (amazon publishes menus now?!?). The rooftop deck is SO Just Right. Tomatoes and grapes are planted among other herbs and plants all the way around the perimeter in little window boxes. There are big Christmas lights hanging on the pergola overhead, and the plastic table cloths add to the comfortable ambience. I had the Lasagna Pink Door and Tommy had the rigatoni and meatballs. Both were good (mine was better) and the olive oil and bread to start you off was divine...and the house white they serve in Pilsner Urquell bottles didn't hurt either. If we weren't so full I would have wanted to stay for dessert and more wine. But we walked over to Roq la Rue to the Devil's Hobby Hut opening, stopped at Whiskey Bar to have a DOLLAR beer and look at the paintings, then headed back. Dreamy!

(As for the photo - apparently the ferry is bumpier than it feels - I'm not that wasted.)

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Pink frosting

A birthday filled with great company, delicious food, lovely gifts, and a whole lot of pink frosting to one of my favorite people to "pass notes" to, Stef!

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Birthday cake!


Birthday cake!
Originally uploaded by kaymaria.
Dairy Queen has a great (and I use the term loosely) selection of cake designs. This is the "after" shot of my birthday cake. I think Tommy was getting even for the Tonka truck cake I got him for his b-day.

Today was great. Filled with The Loudest Singing Waitress at Red Robin, great emails and phone calls, GREAT salmon dinner, wonderful gifts, delicious Reese's Blizzard cake, and the dreamiest of friends.

Thank you, thank you!

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

3:10am update


Pond After 2
Originally uploaded by kaymaria.
I can see one fish swimming about. Hopefully the other two are safely hiding. Here's a picture of the pond before The Invasion shortly after I got the precious "shiny objects."

I must try to get some sleep - but I just taught myself how to add my flickr pics to this blog so I'm a bit wound up.

There's a varmint in that there cement pond!


We have a great house. It's SO Just Right. The Most Fabulous Detail is what we call The Zen Garden - a small, narrow fenced in area off the master bedroom. In it, there's a gorgeous rhododendron pruned to be tree-like, I planted some hosta and lilies, and various other plants. But the best part is the little pond. When we first moved here, there was a crack in it. I'm really proud of myself that was capable of fixing it and I've been slowly but surely adding plants to it and most recently, three cute little koi (or really large goldfish - not sure which).

Upon a couple of occasions I have come out to mild mayhem - a plant has overturned and made the water murky and the fish ticked - what could do this?

Well, I woke up about an hour ago to splashing.

Now, I started reading Coraline last night and my dreams got all a'fluster. FORTUNATELY I did not read it before bed last night or I would have really panicked. OF COURSE Tommy has duty, meaning he's on the boat and I'm alone so for about 5 minutes I laid in bed wondering what sort of ghost kid is playing in the pond. Eventually I got up enough nerve to tippy-toe into the bathroom (you can't see the pond from the sliding glass doors that lead out of the master bedroom but there's a tall, narrow window in the bathroom that overlooks it). It was too dark and creepy to make out what was a'splashin'. So I tippy-toed back and flipped on the outside light then tippy-toed back to the window. (I'm a raging dork, aren't I?)

Sure enough, there was a racoon IN my pond. I banged on the glass and it skittered away but came back a minute later. I watched it for a minute - he would drag his little front arms through the water in front of him then scoot a few steps then drag his arms through the water again then scoot some more. Now, the last time I had to clean out the pond, I couldn't catch the fish with a net (okay, it was a large strainer - but still) and I resorted to literally catching them with my hands and dropping them in a bucket of water - sure, this took a while but I still did it so I was sure this creature with his cute little mask and his pink little hands would succeed if I let him. So I banged on the glass again (but obviously not before I got my camera).

I remember reading that an effective racoon trap is to put something shiny in a hollowed out log, the racoon would stick his hand through a hole, grab the shiny thing, then get trapped because he can't pull his clenched fist back out through the hole - they're to stubborn to let the shiny object go. Well, that might not make sense but it is 2:44 in the a.m. and I am still feeling the effects of the Nyquil I swigged before going to bed a few hours ago so my point is, this racoon saw THREE shiny thing and did not want to let them go. Loud, hissy noises would scare him away, but he was back in no time. I finally had to fling the screen door and jump out there scaring him and myself a couple times.

I think he's gone now and the pond pump is only trickling (normally it slightly gushes) but I'm too scared to go out there, get on my knees, and forage through the muck to see what's wrong.

Today's my birthday - I'm another year older but you wouldn't be able to tell by my actions.

Monday, August 08, 2005

38 & 364/365ths


Tomorrow is my birthday. Since it's That Close and presents are pending, the age thing isn't bothering me so much. To add to said bliss, Karry, Lauren, and Ijee called this morning and sung in unison [in the style of Annie, as if you couldn't tell]:

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
Your birthday's tomorrow!
It's only a day a-way!

I am so thankful that I got the job that lead me to these amazing and wonderful friends. This is Lolo (nickname for Lauren) and Ijee (nickname for Elijah). They rock so hard.

Friday, August 05, 2005

Ah luv previews!

I LOVE previews (though I guess "trailers" is the correct term). Some people don’t and I just don’t understand it.

My rather lax job affords me the time to surf the net EXCESSIVELY (when I should be doing my schoolwork at the kinda crappy school I go to online) and I stumbled upon this site thus feeding my preview-lovin’ veins. Here's a few of the things I'm excited about:

Walk the Line - good Lord! Joaquin as Johnny Cash and Reese as June Carter. SO exciting! I saw them (the really Johnny and June) live in Ft. Worth YEARS ago. A friend and I scored front row center tix (same day as the Superbowl - conflict of Texan interest). They were great - he was positively orange from all the cake makeup trawled on but it didn't matter - it was The Man in Black up close and personal. A harelip scar could only make the story that much sexier.

2046 - slick, slick, slick! Can't wait! I LOVED Fallen Angels and In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express (probably in that order) and 2046 looks like the Best Of all those with a bigger budget. EEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

King Kong - I loved the Jessica Lange version but I heard this one is going to be more true to the original (with a much bigger budget). I'm such a sucker for the Frankenstein/misunderstood monster story. I just get weepy thinking of that scene when Kong is about to get fully shot up and Jessica knows that if he's still holding her, they won't shoot so she's screaming, "Don't put me down, you big stupid ape!" So basically if I get weepy at that, stuff like The Green Mile is HORRIBLE for me (why I saw that movie, I'll never know - 3 movie theatre napkins do not cut that kind of weeping).

Revolver - Revolver, revolver, all hail Revolver!!! Lock, Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels is cinematic genius. Snatch was good but too star-studded or something. I'm a little worried about the dazzling cast of Revolver but not so much so that it would prevent me from being giddy with excitement while playing the preview over and over again.

And there's more - Brothers Grimm looks like it has potential, Corpse Bride - OF COURSE, Neil Gaiman's Mirromask has some Bowie/Labyrinth qualities, and many, many more!

Now I'm off to go have a picnic in the park by work - there'll be a magician and everything!

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

The Way I See It #36

Today's coffee cup reads:
"Mother-love is not inevitable.
The good mother is a great artist ever creating beauty out of chaos."

It's kinda sappy but I like it especially since I continue reading the author info:
-- Alice Randall, Novelist, The Wind Done Gone and first black woman to write a No. 1 country song.

That looks good on a resume.