Someday I Want to See...

Russia! St. Petersburg to be more specific. My whole reason for wanting to go might sound a little silly, but about a year and a half ago I was looking at this person's pictures from Russia and there were photos of a gorgeous park where you could rent big puffy dresses and take pictures! After seeing that, I was hooked. I have no idea what the park is called or what else there is to do near St. Petersburg, but if I were to actually go I would do some research first...plus I could walk around singing "Rumor in St. Petersburg" from Anastasia.

Castle

I became a fan of the show Castle fairly soon after ABC premiered it, largely due to my brother telling me it was good (he has good taste when it comes to TV shows). It's a fun, one-hour show about a writer, Richard Castle, who is writing a new novel and creating a new character based on Kate Beckett - a detective that he talks the mayor (a huge fan of his work) into letting him follow around for "research."

As a fan of the show, I think it's so cool how they're getting us excited for the premiere. They've made these characters feel like they're real through social media. Richard Castle's daughter, Alexis, set him up with a Twitter account so he is constantly tweeting...but it's not just mundane details of a made up life - it's a whole story told in 140 character snippets (he's helping solve a murder while on vacation in the Hamptons). How cool is that??

Because the show is created around the fact that he's a writer looking for his next story, ABC is releasing Richard Castle's book in one-chapter increments for fans to read. Richard Castle has a facebook account so his fans can ask questions and interact with him. I think the team that came up with the idea of using social media to build up to the premiere was brilliant in dreaming this up. All of the effort to create a character that feels more real is paying off - I can't wait for the season 2 premiere on Monday, September 21.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

For those of you that don't know, Aaron Sorkin is a genius when it comes to TV Shows. I like to watch TV, and there are a lot of shows I enjoy, but one of the things I love about his shows is their rewatchability. No matter how many times I sit down to watch Sports Night or The West Wing, I find myself laughing and crying along with the characters.

I recently decided to sit down and watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - his most recent show which NBC sadly canceled after one season. I hadn't seen it since it aired 2006-2007, but I was yet again reminded of how much I love Sorkin's writing. He has this great way of using music and visuals to create a moment that is just...perfect. Watch the Christmas episode of Studio 60 if you want to see what I mean. He does it in his other shows, too, although more often in the West Wing than Sports Night.

I also love the way Sorkin uses dialogue to drive the show. Thinking back to the West Wing, there are a lot of conversations that could easy drag, but he writes the script in a way that keeps the audience interested. I'm not a TV writer or expert by any means, but I can tell you that the words he chooses along with the timing of delivery are what make his shows stand out.

The other thing Sorkin does that I absolutely love is make characters that completely disagree with each other, and yet respect and care about each other -- an example of this is Ainsley Hayes (a very smart, savvy Republican) in the West Wing. The main way he does this in Studio 60 is through Harriet Hayes (I just noticed they have the same last name), a fairly conservative Christian that holds true to her faith, despite her life and work on a late night comedy show in Hollywood. I really like that all of the other characters on the show respect her faith and even stand up for her when smaller characters say cruel, hurtful things to her, even though they don't believe in God at all. I also really like that Studio 60 brings up a lot of questions about God, and Harriet doesn't always have an easy answer. We don't know why God chooses to do things a certain way, and why he doesn't just swoop and fix everything when things get really hard. When Harriet gets stuck and doesn't know why, I love that she says she doesn't know. From my experience, faith isn't about knowing all the answers - it's the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (see Hebrews 11:1).

I wouldn't say that Studio 60 is a very religious show, but it does bring up a lot of questions that people have about God, and I think that's good. Asking questions is good, but it's also important to look for the answers in appropriate places. If I had specific questions about fish, I wouldn't go to Blockbuster to try to find out more. All they'd be able to do is give me the Little Mermaid or Finding Nemo - great movies, but unlikely to answer my questions.

Applebee's vs. Domino's

A few years ago I discovered my love for Applebee's Chocolate Lava Cake. Warm chocolate cake with hot fudge pouring out of the center...I still don't understand how anyone could not like it. It seems like since then all sorts of other restaurant have realized how popular lava cake is, so they began selling their own versions - none of which were up to par with Applebee's (I try them everywhere I go).

It just so happens that a few days ago we saw a TV ad for Domino's free lava cake when you purchase an order of Domino's BreadBowl Pasta. Matt and I had been talking about ordering pizza for dinner, and although I'm not much of a pasta person, I wanted that cake. Needless to say, for dinner that night we ate pizza, a pasta breadbowl and two lava cakes (Matt knows I have a really hard time sharing dessert). I have to say, this lava cake greatly exceeded my expectations. It was amazing. The cake part was a bit more crunchy than I anticipated, but it had a really nice flavor and it turns out I ended up liking the outside a little crunchy (crunch like a cookie, not like a cracker). The chocolate on the inside of the cake was rich, milky, and warm - even though it'd been sitting in its box until we were done with the more substantial part of dinner.

Applebee's, you've met your match. Not only did Domino's lava cake taste better, but it's about a third of the price, and you don't need to leave a tip (unless it's delivered). Yes, it's much smaller, but that's good. The smaller serving was much more reasonable for a person to eat on their own, and it left me wanting more instead of feeling sick to my stomach. Applebee's cake has been demoted to second favorite and Domino's now gets the distinction of finest lava cake in all the land (at least according to Emily). I kind of want another one now...

Someday I Want to See...

Africa! I'm not quite sure which country in Africa I want to visit, although when I was in 4th grade I decided I wanted to go to Kenya (my parents had friends that lived there). My main reason for wanting to go, though, is because I would love to see giraffes in the wild. I had a 7-year obsession with them when I was growing up. In high school I actually counted and found out I had over 1,000 giraffes in my room. Although the obsession has since dwindled, I still like the animals and kept the more unique treasures (giraffe soap dish, giraffe tea set, giraffe chopsticks, etc.) in addition to the ones with sentimental value.

One of my favorite experiences was feeding giraffes apples at Marine World when I was about 10. Not only did I get to see them up-close, but I even got to feel their tongues on my hand as they grabbed the food! Seeing them in the wild would be amazing, though. They're so graceful and quiet (opposite myself...maybe why I liked them so much?).

Here are some little-known giraffe facts that most people don't know:

• Despite its length, giraffes only have 7 bones in their neck (the same number as humans).
• Giraffes have four stomachs, just like cows, which means they also chew their cud. Could you imagine the same food going up and down that long neck multiple times?
• Although most people think giraffes don't make any noise, they do. Giraffes moo. It's not very common, but every once in a while they'll let one out.
• Giraffes have extremely long tongues - 22 inches - which help them pull leaves off branches. The tip is black while the rest is pink (I think it probably helps protect them from the hot sun).
• Giraffes are 6 feet tall when born, and a baby must drop 6 feet from their mother to the ground. Talk about a scary welcome to the world!
• Although giraffes tend to be peaceful, a mother giraffe can kick a lion's head off when protecting its young. Now that's pretty hard core...
• Most giraffes' favorite type of food is Acacia (which also happens to be in certain types of gum, although I don't remember which brands).
• There are multiple species of giraffes (I think about 7...but I could be wrong on that). I don't remember them all, but my favorite is Reticulated. Masai is very common as well.
• Male giraffes will show off their masculinity to female giraffes by standing side by side, twisting their necks around each other, and head-butting each other until one of them gives up. Sexy, huh?

There are many more interesting facts about giraffes, although that's all I can remember off the top of my head. Someday I hope I'll get to see one in the wild - that would be so cool!!

Photo Credit: Martin Pettitt

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

At the moment I'm torn - should I watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (which I haven't seen since it originally aired) or read Harry Potter (which I finally started after watching the movies)? I'm too indecisive to make decisions like this sometimes...which is why I decided to blog instead.

The topic of discussion today will be another one of my favorite things: My BuzzBee Ruff Stuff Air Blasters Double Shot Blaster Gun. Matt purchased one from Target a few months ago after he played with them at his cousin's house, and I bought mine not long after. They shoot pretty well. One of my favorite features is that when you open the barrel the shells pop out. There's even room to store up to four extra darts and shells in the butt of the gun, so you can refill in the heat of battle. I don't know if Target still carries them or not, but we were able to get them for about $15 each, and then a $5 refill pack - so we always have plenty of ammo around just in case we launch into a spontaneous battle.

On that note, I think I'm going to go read for a while. I'm glad procrastinating helped me make that decision.

Ice Cream = Good?

This might come as a surprise to those of you that don't know my mother, but I grew up in a family that appreciated ice cream. Yes, I am allergic to milk so I myself don't indulge in the deliciously creamy dessert often, but I know the best brand to buy, the delight that can be found in a hot fudge sundae, and the sorrow of a milkshake that's disappointingly too thin.

I know this sounds like it's out of left field, but bear with me. My all-time favorite cuisine is Japanese. Don't get me wrong, I love all types of food, but there's something about chicken teriyaki that is so wonderfully amazing. If I had to pick one food to live off of for the rest of my life I would select chicken teriyaki in a heartbeat, and probably gorge myself every meal until I began to take it for granted.

So, knowing how ice cream is to be appreciated, and the wonderful deliciousness that hails from the Japanese tradition, one might think that combining ice cream and Japanese flavors would be good. Well, maybe. Who Sucks posted an article about 101 Frightening Ice Cream Flavors from Around the World - many of which are from Japan. It includes flavors like Octopus Ice Cream, Ox Tongue Ice Cream, Fried Eggplant Ice Cream, Raw Horseflesh Ice Cream...you get the point. You can check out the full article here.

Note to self: double check flavor choice should you choose to order ice cream in Japan.


Photo Credit: CeresB

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I did it. Last night I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I’d been intending to make them for weeks, but every time I thought about getting around to it there would be a problem (such as having no butter or eggs). There were still a few...challenges, but the cookies still taste really good which is all that really matters in the end, right?

I used the following recipe (from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook):

MAKES about 20 large cookies
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes plus cooling time

Quick-cooking rolled oats can be substituted for the old-fashioned oats here; however, they will have a little less flavor.

1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cups raisins

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beating the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the oats and raisins until just incorporated.

4. Working with ¼ cup of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2½ inches apart. Flatten the cookies slightly using your palm. Bake until the tops of the cookies are lightly golden but the centers are still soft and puffy, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating and switching the baking sheets halfway through baking.

5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

The first annoyance I faced was that I don’t have an electric mixer. That’s not much of a problem, though...I just used a spoon and my arm. On a side note, if anyone does feel like buying me an electric mixer, I would LOVE a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. My favorite colors are Blue Willow, Cornflower and Onyx Black, in case you were wondering.

It wasn’t until I started mixing in the oats and raisins that I realized I didn’t quite have enough. I was about ½ cup short of oats and 1 cup short of raisins. I didn’t feel like going out to the store again, and it didn’t seem important enough to ask Matt to go, so I left them out. I think that’s what led to my largest difficultly: rolling the dough into balls. I found the dough a little too sticky to roll into balls, which I think would have been easier had there been more oats and raisins in the dough. So I just started dropping them onto the cookie sheet and flattening them out with my finger.

And yes, I put them directly on the cookie sheet – I never think to buy parchment paper until I’m putting cookies onto the cookie sheet. Maybe I should add parchment paper to our shopping list for the next time we go to the store...

Anyway, the cookies still came out tasting fabulous. Both Matt and I enjoyed this recipe, despite my issues with the oats and raisins.

National S’mores Day, Chocolate and Julie & Julia

First of all, happy National S’mores Day everyone! I won’t really be celebrating because we don’t have access to an open flame, there are no marshmallows in the house and I’m allergic to graham crackers. I might be able to dig up some chocolate to eat, though…

One of my favorite types of chocolate is 70% dark chocolate “Concerto Batons” from Trader Joe's. Unfortunately they discontinued them a few months ago, but my mom is awesome and drove around to several local Trader Joe's to get them while she could and while they were cheap. When Matt and I moved to Washington, she rode up with me in the car and brought an entire box for the trip, which she let me keep upon our arrival at the new apartment. We (or rather, I) did a really good job of not eating the whole thing all at once, but then the heat wave hit a few weeks ago and we didn’t think to put them in the refrigerator before they melted =( They just don’t taste as good anymore, although that hasn’t stopped me from eating them. The only chocolate we have in the apartment is now the last baton…and I think today might just be the day to finish it off. It is National S’mores Day, after all.

Today is my parents’ 35th wedding anniversary, too. Yay – go Mom and Dad! Congrats on being happily married for so long.

So last night Matt took me to see a movie he had no interest in seeing: Julie & Julia. I really liked it. For those of you that haven’t heard of it, Julie & Julia is the story of a woman named Julie who decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook in a year. It also tells Julia Child’s story of getting into French cooking and creating her cookbook. I really identified with Julie’s character because I could see myself reacting the same way in similar situations, and Meryl Streep portrayed Julia Child as such a wonderful, vibrant woman. I have to say, the movie inspired me to cook. We desperately need to go to the grocery store (which we’re planning to do today), so I’m planning to pick up a few items to help with one of my favorite things to make: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies! I know it’s a much easier dish, but I’m more of a casual cook so I think that’s okay. I’m excited to try out the recipe in my America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook that my aunt gave me for Christmas a few years ago. It’s by far my favorite cookbook ever. Not only does it include recipes they tried out and recommend, but it tells you how long things should take, which brands they recommend you buy and why food reacts certain ways. Everything I’ve made from it has been easy to cook (which is good for the casual cook) and tasted delicious.

I also finished reading BoneMan’s Daughters yesterday. It’s not my favorite of Ted Dekker’s books, but I still enjoyed it. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being amazing) I’d give it a solid 8. I haven’t decided what I’m going to read next. Matt decided he wanted to read through Harry Potter, which I think sounds fun too, but I want to give him enough of a head start so we won’t both be in the same book at the same time…so we’ll see.

These are a few of my favorite things...

For Christmas last year (or maybe the year before last), Matt's grandparents gave him a slingshot monkey. This is probably one of my favorite toys in our apartment. Not only is it a slingshot that you can shoot across the room, but it screams as it flies!! So many hours of fun...at least for me. A bonus use for it is an alarm clock when I'm trying to wake Matt up. For some reason he hates the sound that it makes when it starts screaming...regardless, for the easily entertained (such as myself), this is one of the best toys you can give.

Recent Activies, Books and Movies

This post is going to be a bit of a hodge-podge of thoughts:

Recent activities
Matt and I went to the Mariner's game last night with some of my friends from college. I had a great time. Not only did I get to see Nissa, Dan, Laura and Amanda (and meet Amanda's friend Sarah who was really nice), but I also found out they sell chocolate covered strawberries at the park (which I thoroughly enjoyed in the 6th inning) AND Nissa and I made it onto the screen during the 9th inning!! We were dancing to Mambo #5, and I looked over and saw us. It was amazing. We were both so excited we started moving our hands/arms uncontrollably while Matt and Dan moved with the music (at least a little bit). That's one life dream that's been completed.

Recent books
I recently finished the book "Blessed Child" by Ted Dekker and Bill Bright. I have to say that Ted Dekker is one of my favorite authors. If I don't get into a book a chapter or two in, I'm never going to finish it, but Ted Dekker has never let me down. My all-time favorite of his was "The Circle Series," a series of three books that Matt bought me when we were engaged and I finished reading a few months after we were married. Since then I've also read "Blink" and "Blessed Child," and am almost done with "BoneMan's Daughters." Anyway,"Blessed Child" was really good. I don't want to ruin it, but I will share that I liked the descriptions of the Kingdom of God and the way one of the main characters understood God's love.

I'm excited to finish "BoneMan's Daughters" - it's much more mainstream than Dekker's other books that I've read, but I've really been enjoying it so far.

If you haven't read any of Ted Dekker's books, I would highly recommend "The Circle Series." It is probably my favorite fiction series ever.

Recent movies
Matt and I recently joined Netflix since we don't have that much to do right now and both like to watch movies. One of my favorite features is their "Instant Queue," which allows users to download movies/TV shows right away (we download them to Matt's Xbox). Although not all movies are available in the Instant Queue, it helps make up for the disappointment of receiving a DVD in the mail that wasn't as good as you anticipated. A recent example of this was when we went through our Will Smith phase (or at least I did). I really wanted to see Seven Pounds and The Pursuit of Happyness because I heard they were really good. Although I seemed to like them more than Matt, they weren't as good as I expected them to be, which actually disappointed me a little bit (I was also glad I didn't need to pay theater prices to see them, though). Fortunately we were able to hop on our Instant Queue and watch other movies that left us (or at least me) feeling less like I'd just wasted time.

Welcome!

Today when I woke up I was suddenly inspired to start a new blog. I used to blog a bit in college, but I wasn't exceedingly consistent with it...probably because I wasn't sure what to write about. I've decided that I'll use this blog to write about things I'm doing, things I find interesting and things I feel like sharing my opinion about. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy sharing my thoughts!