New Thing #105: E-bay

I purchased a few (cough) things on ebay. Wow, it was really fun. Then I realized how much the shipping is from Japan and thought OUCH!

Time

Time SquandererI wish I felt like I had more time when I get off work. I get home from work between 4:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. from there I begin preparations for dinner, feed the cat, tidy up the back yard before the day light disappears. Then when I'm done eating all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch TV / movies, play on the computer or read books. Even though most nights I don't go to sleep until midnight, it seems that I don't use the 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. time frame for anything but being lazy. And when I say lazy, I mean "wearing a hole in the couch the size of my ass" lazy. Not good! I need to learn how to spend a portion of that lazy-time at home in a more productive and meaningful way. Not going to lie and say I'm going to cut out tv/computer/books but I should try to do SOMETHING else besides take a shower and play with the cat.

When in Vegas...
Tonight is a different story however since Kevin and I are preparing for a short trip to Vegas. When I say short, I mean SHORT. We fly out Wednesday evening and return Friday morning. It's for a time share thing and for vegas, that short of a trip is fine I think. Then Friday night we are driving to Mt. Hood to hang with Aisha and David. David and I don't ski or snowboard so we are going to hang out in the lodge while Aisha and Kevin snowboard. This equates to copious amounts of drinking, I'm sure :) Should be fun!

New Thing #104: Beer Brewing

I assisted in the process of Home-brewing our own beer! Kevin was really in charge with friends Aisha and David at their house. We got some basic (very basic) equipment and ingredients and set up the process. Now, when I am posting this for March, we've brewed 3 batches and tasted the first (it takes time to ferment, etc.). It was good!

The Julie/Julia Project

I watched the movie "Julie & Julia" about this journey of one NY woman to cook her way through the entire "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cook book by Julia Child in one year. That is like 524 recipes in 365 days. I am enjoying reading the blog - it's from 2002. http://bit.ly/MuKYa. Check it out!

It reminds me of the success of that girl that wrote the "In the New" blog about her journey to do 365 new things during the year. And also the "Eat, Pray, Love" author who traveled around for one year to three different locations to find herself. A friend from high school is doing a very neat 365 photo project where she takes pictures every day and posts them on her blog and facebook.

Seems that everyone that takes on a Year-long project like these are subsequently completely wiped out by their experiment. There is some breakdown and some crappy "just get through it" type of thinking, which who blames them -- doing ANYTHING for one year, every day is super, duper hard! Does everyone have to do something like this in order to grow as an individual? Hell, I've considered doing projects like this. It's not that I don't have the commitment, I do. But the concept of making the time for a project like this ... seems so difficult. You have to be committed! It's almost like practicing a religion or meditating daily for these people. Maybe it's the challenge they enjoy too!

The fact that very few people have EVER done something like they do. But then when you reach your goal of 365 days of said activity, most of them don't stop! They just say "yay!" and pat themselves on the back but the search for that type of effort remains with them forever!

Amazing!

Cooking Types and Cuisine Samples

1. English Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_cuisine
2. Irish Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Cuisine
3. Scottish Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_cuisine
4. Cajun / Creole Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creole_cuisine
5. American Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_the_United_States
6. Mexican Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_cuisine , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_cuisine
7. French Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_cuisine
8. German Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Cuisine
9. Japanese Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cuisine
10. Chinese Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Cuisine
11. Indian Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Cuisine
12. Italian Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_cuisine
13. Thai Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_cuisine
14. Greek Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_cuisine
15. Russian / Slovak / E. Europe Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_cuisine
16. Swedish / Danish Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_cuisine , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_cuisine
17. Australian Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_cuisine
18. African Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_cuisine
19. Mediterranean Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_cuisine
20. Spanish Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Cuisine
21. Jewish Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_cuisine

Really? Would I be ready?

Kevin signed us up to participate in a 5K Shamrock Run on the weekend before St. Patties Day. 5K = 3 miles. Wow, it's been a while since I've done distance running. Kevin had never run more than a mile. I just got an ingrown toe nail removed on my left foot, so there's always a concern that I will injure it (or myself) by not allowing myself long enough to train...

I will check back and let you know how it goes.

Update – Didn't compete because my toe... maybe next year.

New Thing #103: Elton & Billy stop by

Kevin and I got to see Sir Elton John and Billy Joel play the Rose Garden for their Face 2 Face Tour. It was really good! They started the concert and ended the concert by playing each other's songs together. I got to hear Candle in the Wind, though I enjoyed Billy Joel because he was cracking jokes about his age and I was able to sing along to most of the tunes. They also each played their own set. It was funny the contrast between the two amazing pianists. Their baritone voices fit together well too.

New Thing #102: Beer Brewing Fest

To celebrate the Superbowl this year, we got together with some friends and brewed our first carboy's worth of beer. Kevin and his friend split the cost of the ingredients and Kevin got a deal on the equipment. It's nice that we are splitting it so we each only get 2.5 gallons instead of 5 gallons. That's WAY to much beer! But we had a blast making it. It really didn't even take that long either. We are trying an amber first. Next time, we will make two at once. One stout and a ruby perhaps? Plus, the New Orleans Saints actually WON the Superbowl, when they have never even BEEN to the superbowl before -- Way for Underdogs!