May 13, 2008

I got my issue of Creating Keepsakes, the one I'm in, woo-hoo!

Cooking School, Week 3

Brittany and Ryan school of cooking, round three.

Well, apparently I wasn't paying good enough attention because the preparation seems to be over. Tonight's course is Thai peanut chicken and rice noodles.

I caught up with Cook Brittany (or, Brittany Cook, she'd like that, I bet, hee hee) as she was soaking the premium quality rice noodles in water. This is necessary because the noodles will otherwise fall apart during boiling, and apparently soaking makes them strong and bulky, like they've been eating their spinach or something.

In the Thai peanut chicken is chicken, basil, bean sprouts, and Thai peanut sauce- one of which I believe is giving me a mild allergic reaction. Not sure which one.

Oh, the Memories

Say what you will about SDCC, you can’t deny that the teachers really put a lot into the success of their students. When I look back on memories of my professors years from now, it won’t be about ridiculous English Lit tests or arguing intent of the author with Sarnowski-- it’ll be English Major socials at the department faculties’ homes, the English Easter Eggstravaganza of 2007 (complete with literature trivia), and this: Dr. White celebrating Sonia’s graduation at the B’s house with his Hawaiian shirt and stories (of us) to tell miscellaneous members of Sonia’s family.

I love when inspiration strikes...

... but when it strikes at 12:30am, and you have to get out of bed to go get a notebook and a pen, then scribble your thoughts out as they come to you under your pillow in pitch blackness, only to fall asleep with the pen in your hand until you wake up later because you stabbed yourself?

Then it's not so great.

May 12, 2008

This is just how we roll at Youth Venture.

Heck, yeah

Things I am currently loving right this very minute:

1) The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt
2) My green down blanket
3) Fresh and Easy dill pickles
4) The Office marathon on NBC

I love Sunday nights. :)

May 11, 2008

Fame and Fortune

This one speaks for itself.

May 10, 2008

Good friends

Sara and Tyler came back from Colorado for a short visit. We were able to hang out with them yesterday at Tyler's sister's house in El Cajon, and with the people, the choice of entertainment, and the reminiscing of old West vs. North dorm wars, we may as well have been back at the old Rancho apartments, sitting around their living room and getting ready to watch Lost after heading back from the jacuzzi. It was just that good.

The only thing that could have made it better is if we'd carried out our original plan of jacuzzi hopping at the old complex. Really though, it wouldn't have felt right unless it was a Wednesday (our former jacuzzi night). But to see the look on the security guard's face when he found us taking over the pool again? Priceless!

May 9, 2008

The Middle Office

May 7 (One Day Late)

School of Cooking Round Two

May 8 Picture of the Day:

Tonight's menu consists of Asian beef with peas and microwavable rice, to be followed with a dessert course of cake batter cookies with secret ingredient. (No, Ryan. Not vodka.)

Cut: Beef Round Tip Thin (2 pounds)

Mix: 3 tbs soy sauce, 2 tbs rice vinegar, 1tbs brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Stir fry 1 tbs of garlic

Add beef, cook

Add peas (we used sugar snap peas, though the recipe called for snow peas. As you can see, we took some creative license on this one), cook

Add sauce mixture

Stir everything, let boil

Voila!

1) If you are cooking with eggs and oil, put in eggs first so the oil doesn't stick

2) Secret ingredients to make any dessert better: __________ and ___________

3) Don't use a knife with a serrated edge to cut meat; serrated edge knives are good for apples, tomatoes, and other such things that you want to saw through, as oppose to chop. You want to chop meat, apparently.

4) Use a big enough pan when stir frying meat

On Finding a New Great Children's Book

One of the books I got from the library today was one of the 2008 Newbery Honor books, The Wednesday Wars. I've read the first chapter, and I can already tell that I will love this book. Here's an excerpt from page 11, in which our hero finds himself trying to figure out what prank has been done to his desk without falling into the trap himself:

So I asked Meryl Lee Kowalski, who has been in love with me since she first laid eyes on me in the third grade-- I'm just saying what she told me-- I asked her to open my desk first.
"How come?" she said. Sometimes even true love can be suspicious.

Great stuff, this one. Great stuff.

Tuesday

Miss my alarm clock? Check.

Get to work half an hour late? Check.

Rainy day with my new shoes? Check.

Pick up a big ol' stack of books at the library? Check, check, check, check, check. And check.

The Barrel Game

So I have two photos today- one I took, and one which I LOVE, but that my little friend Jamie at Youth Venture took. But, seeing as how I had just taught her how to take cool focused blur pictures, I'll take credit, even though I was taking shots of the boys shooting at the 8 ball, and she had the great idea to capture Mr. Foosman here:

That's brilliant right there, I tell you.

And here's mine. Not nearly as good, but I tried and tried during my shift today to get a great pic of the kids. They were just moving too fast most of the time, and there is a story to go with that and this picture:

The story is that I taught the five kids who were at youth venture today how to play the barrel game. The barrel game is a favorite of ours. Justin, Justin, Jesse, Tyler and I invented it when we were 19 and bored one night, wanted to play a fun kid game like hide and seek, but decided we were too cool for boring old hide and seek. So we made up the barrel game. It's kind of like Blind Man's Bluff and it's called the barrel game because originally we played around these barrels the Aubrey's had in their backyard when Justin and the guys used to have paint ball wars down there. The game was such a success that we continued to play it many times over the next year, anytime the stress of college and work got to us. Then Justin's mom threw the barrels away and we were devestated. And then we adapted the game for any location.

Barrel Game Rules:

1) You cannot change location once the seeker has finished counting.

2) One foot must remain in its original location at all times; the other foot can be used to pivot away from the seeker.

3) The seeker must keep their eyes closed until he or she finds someone, and then must accurately guess who they have found.

So I taught the kids the wonderfulness that is the barrel game. And, just like with my friends, they learned quickly that the most fun part of the game is banging on things to make noise for the blind seeker and, even better, to throw things at them to get their attention.

And that's where it got a little out of hand. But still, oh so much amazing fun.

Then David Porter, my fellow shift worker got in on the fun and, well, let's just say he did not follow the rules of the barrel game.

And then he made them all return the pillows to their rightful couches. Good times, good times.

This Just In: Brittan Taylor Peck Turns Legal

Happy birthday, seester!!!

She turned the big 18 today and had no idea we were throwing her a surprise party until we got there. Success!