From Scratch

Weekends are pretty fantastic. They can be relaxing, fun, lazy, and energizing all at the same time. They also provide a lot more free time than the average week night for dinner. This is awesome because it allows time for some fantastic, yet more time consuming meals to be made.

For dinner tonight we made pasta. This was my first pasta making experience so needless to say, I get to blog about it. Making pasta isn't difficult, it's just takes a lot of time. There are basically four ingredients and lots of kneading. Thankfully a pasta machine helps quite a bit in this process. The only other thing you need is about 8 pairs of hands to work the pasta through the machine. Ok, not really that many, but you would have a hard time doing it alone. Then you kind of let it hang out and wait for it to dry before you cook it.

We even made some carbonara sauce to go with it. It's a good thing it's delicious because we now have pasta to last us until the middle of the week. :) Also, we had an extra homemade baguette in the freezer from a few weeks ago we thawed and ate as well.

Anyone can go buy pasta, sauce, and bread from the store, but I guarantee it will never taste as good. I consider cooking one of the most important skills needed for survival. You are going to have to eat and chances are you want to eat good food. For me, I find being in the kitchen calming. I think it's because I have something else to focus on other than the world around me. And I am able to enjoy the fruits of my labor, which are very rewarding and tasty!

Can I Take Your Order?

There are a LOT of restaurants in Atlanta. Most of them unknown to me. I have gone to enough of them to have my selection of what I like and what I don't. It's not that I don't like new places, but it's hard to get out and go to them. Most of the time when we go somewhere new, someone else has planed it and we just show up.

New places are always a mixed bag. The phrase, "you win some, you loose some", couldn't be more true. Some of the "wins" have been - One Midtown Kitchen, La Paz, Figo, and Scalini's. Conversely, the losses are - La Parilla, Ru Sans in Five Points, and Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro (such a ripe off of the Cheesecake Factory, I don't know who they think they are kidding). We know they can't all be winners, but it would be nice if they were.

There are also some pretty sweet deals you can get at certain places IF you know about them. For instance, Zucca's has wine for $10 a bottle on Wednesdays. This is referred to as Wine-o Wednesdays. I would love to take advantage of it, especially now, as today is a Wednesday. Bella's Pizzeria has Happy Hours from 5-7 where you get a free slice of pizza for every alcoholic beverage you purchase. There's a tapas place that does $5 margaritas and half price tapas on Monday nights. Not bad! But the reality of it is, I never remember who's deal is when, when I am actually hungry.

I even get cards in the mail every now and then to some of the Buckhead Life Group Restaurants, but they always have restrictions and never seem like a good enough deal.

The goal is to just "get out more" at this point. Of course, I will have experiences to share so you will know where to go should you find yourself in this place they call Atlanta.

Gas Pumps Are Out

I would like to consider myself one of those people who does not react to "all the media hype" about what's going on around us. Snow storms? Please. Drought? Hmm, well... But this is the first time where I am actually seeing and feeling the results of what's bordering a crisis situation.

This weekend I was out and about with Rob running errands and we started to notice some of the gast stations were closed. On Friday when I noticed the Costco one was closed, it didn't really register much other than, everyone wanted cheaper gas, of course they are out. But then on Saturday and Sunday, we noticed a lot more regular gas stations were out as well.

On my way to work this morning, I saw that some of those same stations got gas sometime between last night and today to serve customers, but not enough to last until 3:00 when I left work. When I passed they were all back to nothing.

I have about a quarter of a tank left. I will try and remain calm and just look for the next opportunity to fill up, but with each passing day, it looks less hopeful. I know Lockheed doesn't have an "out of gas and can't get to work" charge number, so it would be vacation time for me. I am sorry, but being out of gas and stuck at home doesn't say vacation to me.

I am hoping this news report is accurate in claiming things are getting back to normal. I was also unaware we have different fuel restrictions to lower smog. Makes sense, but never would have occured to me as a reason we have so little.

All I can say is I know when something is bad wrong when my dad in NY is buying gas cheaper than I can. Maybe I can jog to work... I did want to get in shape...

I Have a Brownish Green Thumb

Earlier this spring, I decided I wanted flowers on my porch again. I went to Home Depot and picked up some geraniums and marigolds. They were quickly planted and just looked wonderful. About four weeks later, all my of marigolds died which I thought was odd considering last year, it was the only thing that survived. I pulled all the dead plants out and wrote it off as a loss. I decided to be content with the geraniums.

After moving to the new place I set all the plants out back and just let them be. They get plenty of sun now because we have no roof back there. Apparently, this was just what the doctor ordered. I thought some weeds were starting to grow in the bucket and ignored for a while. But then I looked closer and saw that two marigold plants came back form the dead. Apparently when I pulled them up, I didn't get all of them or they dropped seeds. Either way, it's a nice addition to the family of flowers I have now. :)

Happiness Is....

Since I starting going to the gym again, I went looking for my master lock. I know some people don't bring a lock with them, but quite honestly, I don't trust people to not steal what I consider to be meaningless to someone else.

When I first starting going in January, I found my old lock from high school which I had smartly attached the combination sticker to when I was done using it back in the day. This proved very useful in re-using the lock some 7 years later.

In between when I stopped going to the gym around May and now however, I did not find the sticker to re-attach to the lock. So when I found the lock a few days ago, I had to dust some cobwebs out and try to remember what the heck the combination was.

I was fairly certain what three numbers they were or were close to, but what order and if those were really it were a little sketchy. I spent a good amount Monday trying to figure it out before giving up and changing prior to going to the gym.

However! Victory was mine when, at 10:30pm, lying in bed, I suddenly remembered a combination I hadn't tried yet. I ran and got the lock. On the second try, it worked!!!!

Normally when you don't remember the master lock combination, it's a lost cause. Just chuck the thing and get a new one. Thankfully, I had a moment of clarity that paid off. Small victories like this one makes me happy. WOHOO!

Back To The Gym

It's been a while since I have been to the gym. Travel, vacation, and really hot weather have been the main drivers in keeping me away. But the good part is, I returned.

I got out of work and went straight to the gym. Going home would have doomed me to surfing the web, watching TV, and reading books. I know, it's been part of the reason I have been away so long. I got to the gym and hopped on the elliptical for a while just to ease back into things. I jammed to my IPOD which took a little bit of set up, but I got it working, and had a good old time.

When I left the gym, a considerable increase of people were trying to find parking spaces for the gym. Often they will troll the aisles in hopes of finding one right near the door. I have taken to just parking in the first spot I see, but watching people do this baffles me. They are going to the gym to presumably work out for some period of time and can't walk an extra 30 yards to plenty of available parking. Of course, I don't understand the two people who were next to me on the elliptical machines who grabbed the hand rails to off set their weight and paddle really fast either. At least they were all making an effort to be there. That's more than some I guess.

Wireless Freedom

After two and a half months, we finally plugged in the wireless router! That means I am writing to you from the comfort of the couch downstairs. Very exciting. The biggest challenge is going to be to see if this connection doesn't flake out on me like the last time I plugged it in. But in the meantime, I will enjoy the ability to sit on the back deck with a drink and playing on the internets.

Sly Fwatting

Have you ever been the only one to see a fly buzzing around and you find yourself following it like a cat would? Erratic flying patterns making your head jerk around and the urge to swat at it peaks as soon as it almost lands?

I noticed a lead at work doing this today. I did not see the fly and without knowing what she was doing, she looked like a crazy person chasing imaginary air things. But I imagine this is what I look like after I have found a fly that is bugging me. Moving my head all around, very intent on killing, smacking my hands together multiple times, sounding as if I don't know how to applaud properly. It really bumps my score in the "acts real grown up like" category. In fact it's happening now as I type this. Clearly a very current topic.

I also kind of wonder if flies aren't something of dare devils themselves because they always seem to be just out of reach and move a millisecond before the paper/hand/swatter would have made squashedness out of them. Also, and this may prove some days I don't have enough to do, if you don't actually really hit the fly dead on, they will wait a while and then get up and move around again. They get to feign their own death.

All in all, I think flies were put here to make us crazy. And be food for spiders. That's about all their usefulness that I can tell. And quite frankly, I would be happier if the spiders starved. I don't care for them either. So, in closing, I leave with you Bucky as he analyzes the species.

Close Encounters with Famous People

I don't know how many of you watch the Food Network, but it's in my top ten that I check for interesting shows. Tonight they had a Food Network Challenge for Chocolate Runway outfits. I am pretty sure the model were kept in the fridge until the time to walk the runway.

Anywho! If you have watched it, you may know Alton Brown. He is the host of several shows "Good Eats", "Feasting on Asphalt", "Iron Chef", and others. The show, "Good Eats" is all about how to do it "the right way" and answering the why behind doing it that way. Kind of fascinating and gives me a new appreciation for specific methods. That and he is a little nerdy. Let's face it, I have a soft spot for nerdy people.

Now most of the time I don't have the kind of time he demands for "proper cooking", but I like to watch it all the same. My favorite part of his shows are his trips to the grocery store. The grocery store he goes to all the time is Harry's Farmers Market which happens to be located in *drum roll please* Marietta, GA! For those of you who have no idea where that is, it's in the same town I work in and live 15 minutes from. So I have actually shopped at the store where he shops! How fabulous!!

Of course, I have never seen him there, but I know exactly where he is in the store when I see him on TV AND I am almost certain we have both been in the same exact location. This probably sounds stalker-ish. I am ok with that. He's pretty cool. If I ever went and he was shopping, I would totally ask for his autograph.

He has also been to the library I visit routinely. There was a sign up that you could pay to hear him speak. I didn't make it, but it makes me think he probably lives in the area somewhere. Wouldn't be unheard of. Famous people need to live SOME where.

I'll Take The Bananas

I dislike Publix. It's a well known fact. I dislike it for many reasons. Some of these include not being able to find at least one item on the grocery list each time I go to the store. Last time I went it was turkey pepperoni, the time before that, lady fingers. Before that it was Green Chilie Sauce. You get the idea.

I don't feel like I am asking for things that are harvested from the Planet Jupiter, but sometimes they make you feel like you are. It took three people to find pine nuts. The first two didn't know what they were. Same deal with Chorizo Sausage.

Now I will admit, they did offer to bake up some baguettes while we were shopping because they were out and we wanted a loaf. And they do eventually get you what you need. But the crap you have to go through sometimes is a little retarded.

Of course my favorite part of the trip is the bagging. I am perhaps used to Wegmans process a little too much. The cashier scans and bags together. So putting things on the belt in the order you want them bagged will result in desired results. Not so with Publix because the cashier scans it and tosses it to a bagger who can choose what to put in the bag as things come to them. It's a crap shoot to see what happens with the eggs, bread, and fruit I buy. Let's not even talk about the rest of it.

So now I try to eliminate smashed bananas by just telling them, "Oh I'll take those, thanks." What would make me really happy is if I could just bag it myself. But I guess knowing what's coming makes it easier for me to deal with it when it comes around again. I know I am a little OCD in this cateogry, but since it's a weekly event that will happen for the rest of my life, not much will change it aside from winning the lotto and having other people shop for me. I can dream...

Can We Afford That??

Planning for a wedding is probably the most interesting and unique experience of my life to date. Of course there is the obvious part, getting married to the love of my life. But then you have to figure out all of the details that go along with it and since we are not eloping, there are a lot of them. Where to get married? Who to invite? What are we going to wear? What are we going to eat? When do we want to have it? And the biggest driver for all the prior questions is - can we actually afford that?

Thankfully some resources have broken down the percentage of your total budget to tell you what should go where, but even still... holy cow! One of the break downs totals 105%. I don't think that's really going to help. Another issue is that some of it's just not really defined. For instance, there is no category of spending for centerpieces. I suppose you just steal from some other category, lump it in with the miscellaneous category (as well as every other thing you don't have a spot for), or you merge in with flowers category and call it a day. Or better yet, I can call on Ben to hijack at least two centerpieces per wedding until ours and we should have enough to go around. Brilliant!

I think I just had no idea how much of a balancing act all of this will turn out to be. What may not seem like a bad price for a DJ may end up being totally out of line with what you "should" have spent according to your total budget. I now have new found respect for those who have already planned a wedding a lived to tell about it.

What I am really trying to say is when you enter our hand made sand castle we built on the beach for the reception and see PB&J and bananas for dinner, but it is really well decorated, you'll know we clearly had no idea how much flowers would really cost. I can see the calculator and myself becoming very good friends over the coming months.

My Birthday and ME!

Some may know, I had a birthday recently. It's finally pushing me into the late twenties, but I am protesting that it's mid twenties until March. Mostly I don't care about that. Although I do know that youth is something to treasure and am trying to enjoy it.

Last year I mentioned the birthday week and this year I am happy to say, I executed it quite well. Andrea and Tyler's visit kicked it off and had a blast with them. Having only a 3 day work week was pretty fabulous. Wednesday I went out after work with some co-workers to help celebrate with a happy hour (or four). Thursday by default was a celebration day because it was my sister's birthday.

My actually birthday fell on an off Friday which was a pretty spectacular bonus. I slept til I felt like getting up, then watched TV for an hour or so and ate breakfast. I took my time getting ready and headed out for my spa appointment. I stopped over to Borders first to use my gift certificate I received. I got the next Jasper Fforde book and one I mentioned before, I Was Told There'd Be Cake.

The spa was lovely although sadly, it was not the best massage I have ever gotten, however it was still relaxing. I also spent an additional hour in their locker area in the steam room, then shower, and getting ready. If I am going to spend that kind of money, I plan to use their facility to my advantage and pamper myself.

I headed over to Vinings for some ice cream from Cold Stone for lunch and shopping. I was quite successful on both counts. I even landed on a surprise bonus round at Ann Taylor Loft. Every now and then they have sales for about a month where if you buy $50 worth of stuff you get a $25 off coupon in the next month when you spend $50. They were double the coupons so when you spent $50, you got 2 $25 coupons. My kind of deal.

Rob and I went to dinner out to the Thai Dinner. I didn't really have any particular place in mind, but I had been craving Thai food. Not to mention, they wait on you hand and foot and there's never a long wait for your food.

All in all, it was a fantastic day. I only hope next year is just as nice. :)

Andrea & Tyler Visit the ATL

This past weekend has been pretty awesome. Andrea and Tyler flew in from Newport News for a long weekend visit. They were welcomed to Georgia with a pretty long wait for their bags and then got to see the lovely pick up area outside. My favorite part had to be right after they were loaded in the car (literally just shut the door), a car pulled up to my side and parked blocking us in. Lovely. People are so considerate of others.

We got back to the house for some delicious dinner and watched Meet Bill . I got to say, I thought it would be a better movie. Oh well. We hung out and ate the remaining cookies I baked earlier that week.

On Saturday we did the tourist thing. We thought getting downtown was going to be awful with the highway being shut down, but we didn't have any trouble getting in or out. Neat. We were surprised to find that Clemson and Alabama were having some sort of all day pre-party for their opening game. A see of orange and maroon everywhere. Almost looked like a VT infestation.

We made our way over to the CNN center for the tour there. That was actually pretty cool and our tour guide was pretty nice too. After the tour was over, we went to the World of Coke. It was my fourth visit and the most crowded visit for me. But it was still pretty cool and the Beverly still tastes like nastiness rotting in your mouth. Just in case you were wondering.

That night they took me out for dinner to La Paz for my birthday. I have to thank the Pennocks for introducing us to that place. It's probably one of my favorite restaurants in the area.

Sunday we hung around, had a cookout, and I was beaten pretty badly in Scrabble. I have accepted this as the norm. However, I did learn a few new words. Knute is probably my favorite. Just in case you are writing poetry and need a word to rhyme with flute. Cqit I think was the other one.

Today we dropped them back to the airport, but first we hit up Chick Fil A for their free chicken strips. I had on my new UVA hat, Rob and on a UVA shirt, Tyler wore his William and Mary shirt, while Andrea sported her new RIT socks. The lady behind the counter admitted she really didn't know schools. I was also wearing my Breckenridge shirt and she thought that was the school I was sporting. Whatever, we got free chicken. Yum!

All I can say is I need more weekends like that. Hanging with friends I don't get to see very often and just having fun. :) What a way to start my birthday week!