the hated skirt

I still like it. It's a little funky, and stripes are hard to pull off, even for the waifishly thin and tall supermodels of Europe. And I'm short and kinda muscular, so I guess the stripes were a risk.

But I still think it's cute and I will wear it with pride.

culinary tips

So, with the fresh Farmer's Market ingredients I purchased yesterday, guess who made the most delicious broccoli salad and eggplant parmesan for dinner?

Moi.

Paul tells me I am the best cook he's ever met in his life, but my eggplant parmesan is his favorite. I have to admit, it's pretty amazing, this dish.



What I do is I cut a whole eggplant into thick, round slices and dip them into a bowl of beaten eggs. Then pour into a big plate a hefty amount of bread crumbs, and coat each slice of eggplant covered in egg with the crumbs.

I bake them in the oven at 450 degrees F for about 12 minutes, while I prepare the sauce.

I like to use vodka sauce for this dish. I chop up half an onion, and any kind of vegetables I have at hand- last night I used some bell peppers, green onions, and a bit of celery. I sautee the vegetables on a pan with a douse of olive oil and garlic salt until they are browned. Then I pour in the vodka sauce and sprinkle a good amount of cayenne pepper for that extra kick.

Then, I take out the eggplant slices and start layering them into a glass cooking pan. First layer are slices of eggplant, then I pour over it a layer of sauce. Then I sprinkle grated parmesan cheese. Then, another layer of eggplant slices and another layer of sauce, topped off with some more parmesan cheese. I stick it back in the oven for another 5-6 minutes, while I prepare the salad.



For the salad, I chopped up half a bushel of broccoli, raw, and threw it into a mixing bowl. Then I cut up half a stalk of celery, half an heirloom tomato, 1/4 of a red onion, crumbled tortilla chips, some lemon pepper, a dash of garlic powder and red wine and olive oil viniagrette (2-3 tablespoons). My mouth is watering just thinking about it again and remembering how it tasted- all the different textures it had. The crunchiness of the celery and the tortilla chips, the zest of the lemon pepper, the soft, cool taste of the tomatos, and the goodness freshness of the raw broccoli. The olive oil gels it all together and you just mix it all up.

By the time the salad is done, so is the eggplant parmesan. It should be browned, slightly crispy, and the ingredients should be geled together.

 My guess for the calorie count on this meal is only around 300 calories per serving. It's healthy, vegetarian- no animals were killed to make this meal.

I can't describe to you how tasty the goodness of a homemade from scratch eggplant parmesan is paired with a fresh broccoli salad also made from scratch and with fresh produce from local farmers. The warm, spicy texture of the eggplant with the cool, fresh crunchy salad is a really great combination.
Of course, a glass of red wine (my preference is a syrah or a cab) completes this meal. I opted for apple juice at first because I had more studying to do, but then I gave in and got myself a glass of red.

I love how a glass of  red wine makes me feel. So relaxing.



Too bad the wine opened up a whole mess of emotions about the tough week I had. I babbled like a baby and cried myself to sleep, with Paul having to listen to my sniffles. Then I had a dream about having a war between Democrats and Republicans. I was a soldier with two other folks on my team, and we climbed a really high building and were shooting at Republicans on the ground down below. And then I accidently shot a civilian who looked a lot like one of my classmates at school. I got really upset and started to hyperventilate about shooting a civilian on accident, and then woke up in a cold sweat but relieved it was only a dream.

Don't ask, I have crazy dreams all the time.

rants and art

I feel like writing about a million things that are stressing me out right now, but I fear I will only come across as a negative, miserable human being.

I daydreamed the other day, though, how grand it would be if I just quit my job and went to school fulltime?
Oh, I would be so free. I would start each day with a nice, long run and a session at the gym. Sweat it out, and get my endorphins going, instead of the rushed 4-5 mile run I squeeze in and scramble to make it into work just barely on time every day. Then I would just relax and study. Just the thought of hanging around all day somewhere at a coffee shop or a library and study with plenty of time before class is heavenly.

But, the trade off would be that I would have no money and would have to take out $50,000 a year in loans. And then I would have to come out of law school with $150,000 in debt, and have that hanging over my head for 20+ years before it's paid off. And that, would be like an expensive disease hanging over me for so long it would be unbearable.

So I must grit my teeth and stick it out for 3-4 years and just do this.

But the smallest thing that stresses me at work is especially taxing when I have a load of school work weighing me down.



I don't think it's the load that's most upsetting though.
It's manners. Or a lack of manners from people all around me that stresses me out the most.
I won't get into it, but I will say this: styles of leadership can vary greatly, and I sure do appreciate the leaders who know how to be kind and effective leaders. The ones that don't can make a person's life a living hell and it's really too bad that they somehow manage to get themselves into a position of power and treat people the way that they do.

I hope that I will always remember to treat people with kindness, no matter what I do or where I end up.

Today started off hectic and crazy. It's gotten a bit better as the day went on, though. I was able to go to Farmer's Market and it was the last one of the season. I'm glad I took advantage by purchasing produce from local farmers all season long. Today I got a couple of bushels of broccoli, 4 bell peppers, a pound of concord grapes (the kind with the thick skin and really sweet and juicy pulp!), 4 pounds of white peaches and white nectarines, and a pound of heirloom tomatoes. All for just $13! I don't know what I am going to do now that Farmer's Market is over for the season.



And it's a Thursday, so it's almost the weekend, and I am looking forward to a break from all of the craziness at work. Which means I get to study all weekend, but that's ok. I like studying.

I do have a positive, wonderful thing to mention, after all of my ranting.
So the Commissioner asked me to work on getting some art into the office, and I am so honored and flattered he has assigned me this task. It came about when he saw how I was decorating my work space with art from Rome, Monet, Renoir, and photos I've taken from my travels to Peru and Mexico. He suggested that I look into decorating the rest of the office, and I literally beamed with happiness.

It has been a long process, however, because most (actually all) of the local artists that I've contacted so far were not as willing to loan art to us without us actually paying money for it.

So I came up with the idea to contact art departments at local colleges and so far I've gotten a few responses. I'm really excited about it. I just spoke with an artist, Mr. Bernard Treanton, who has a website full of some wonderful, beautiful art.

Some of his art can be viewed here: http://bgtfineart.com/about.html

I really like this one:



Consumnes River Pastel 9x12 (Cal)

And this one:



La Bergerie Pastel 12x18 (FR)
I think he mainly paints California themed art, and scenes from southern France.
I love pastels and his particular use of colors. It's soft and warm. I really hope that it works out with him.
I have a meeting with him next Wednesday so we will see how it goes.
We will see what other entries we get as well.

public announcement: i am finally legal

So... because I'm "friends" with so many work acquaintances on FB, I kept my legal status silent when I finally decided to get my green card two weeks ago.

But, I can't believe I didn't do this sooner. It's just crazy that I can go to a dispensary and be escorted into a back room by a security guard (although I still feel very wary about dudes in uniforms) to peruse all different grades of medicinal herbs under glass, choose whatever kind I want, and walk out not having to look over my shoulder.

I am finally taking advantage of living in this great state. California has many great things to offer. We have some of the most diverse geographic features that no other state can provide. So I've climbed some mountains and dipped my feet in the ocean, and hiked a bunch of trails. I've driven up and down the state, alone and with company- for the sheer enjoyment of seeing the different climate that California encompasses. But there's something else that's pretty cool, and I've been missing out.

We are known for having quality product here. And I am finally legal and I can get it without having to wait around at someone's house for a delivery and then be worried about driving home with something illegal in my car. Now I don't have to feel guilty for using something that I can get legally and am using for good reason.

Now, I don't think that this is for everyone. If you're the type of person who uses it just to be stoned all day and doodle in some corner, you need to recognize that you have a problem, that goes beyond drug use. But for someone like me, who is physically active and healthy, and is motivated and busy with work, school, and have really ambitious goals, and have tried just about everything to keep my migraines and back/upper shoulder/ neck pain in check, and nothing else works- getting a green card to legally purchase some medicinal herbs to help me relax my muscles is the best gift I've gotten for myself, ever.

And it may or may not be no coincidence that I decided to get legal after starting law school.

For some of you haters who will judge me, you will have your opinions about medicinal herb regardless of what I say, so judge all you want to. But I'm legal, and alcohol is a drug. So is caffeine.

So let he without sin, cast the first stone.

This entry is dedicated to Sara Rodrigues.

My Very First Blog!

I really have no idea how I'm going to keep up with blogging, with a full time job and law school, but maybe for those rants that won't fit on the "status update" of Facebook, I can let loose on here and let the world have it.

Thanks Sara Rodrigues, for urging me to start a blog. Since I do travel from time to time, it will be a good way to keep track of my trips as well.

I stopped journaling several years ago, and haven't picked it up because of the chore of "catching up with myself", so if I'm going to do this, I'm just going to have to start right here, not yesterday, or last year.

I do have a story from this morning though.

I was walking to work with my stroller bag, and was walking through the Downtown Plaza mall from my apartment, as I do everyday, when I noticed a boy without arms (or arms that were tucked into his big, oversized baby blue t-shirt) with a mop of brown, curly hair, walking in the same direction as me.

It was about 8:15am or so, which means I was early going to work, so I took my time walking and strolling my bag behind me.

About halfway through the mall, I glanced at my reflection in the glass window of Lids, the hat store. That's when I noticed this boy coming right at me and he cornered me against the glass with a stern, almost angry look on his face. Wide-eyed, I shrieked, Holy heck! You scared the crap out of me!

He just stared. The corners of his mouth were turned downward, and he just kept staring me into my face with angry eyes. But he didn't say a word.

I clutched my heart, and asked, What do you want?
My heart wouldn't stop pounding.

Then he just turned and walked away.

What the heck was that all about?
I didn't know. I did, however, run through the rest of the mall to get to work, hoping to spot a security guard of some sort. Finally, right before leaving the mall grounds, I saw a young man with the words "private security" on his sleeves. I walked over to him and told him what happened. He said he would go check it out. I told him, the boy couldn't have been older than 16 or 17. But he freaked me out.

I went to work, wondering what it is he wanted. Money? Attention? Kind words? I don't know, but it was concerning. I didn't like the way he rushed at me, but it hurt to see such sadness and anger in his face. I remember looking after him, trying to decide if he was homeless or just a kid who needs to wash his clothes.

The saddest thing is that he was just a kid. I hope he's ok.

So that's my story for today.
I'm glad I started a blog today.