Back in the 'hood

Dirty and Brad's ultimate frisbee league finals were this weekend and we planned a spectating picnic. The finals took place up in Inwood Hill Park, which is located at the northern tip of Manhattan. I lived in Inwood many years ago--it is one of three neighborhoods I've lived in these past 16 years I've been in New York. It was a completely different time of my life then, and that neighborhood holds a lot of memories for me. I seldom make it up that far any more, except to ride past on my way to Target, so it was nice to walk around there again. The area has become much more gentrified--there are fancier restaurants and a lot more white people than when I lived there almost 8 years ago. There's even a Payless Shoe Source now. I think the best addition to the area is a Venezuelan spot that sells patacones, or sandwiches with tostones (fried green plantains) instead of bread. Genius.

We ate some patacones, babycakes, homemade pickles and enjoyed the summer day, watching other people running around after a plastic disc in the heat. Unfortunately, Dirty and Brad's team lost early on. On the bright side, that gave them more time to picnic with us.

It's like high school all over again, except I'm meaner

One of my main responsibilities at work is special projects--it's probably at least 50% of my job. Basically, this means that if they need someone to work on a project or join a committee no one else has time (or inclination) for, I am automatically volunteered.

One of my current projects is to work on the development of a research "advisory council" made up of research staff. It is essentially going to be a student council of research staff, with elected members, who will tackle important issues. Like prom. Oops, sorry, wrong type of council.

Now, this project is perfect for me since I have six years of student council experience under my belt. Grades 7-12, baby! Elected to Executive Board the last two years, no less. (Yes, this was in addition to my senior class presidential duties. Totally ridiculous, I know. It's a burden being popular.)

We are working out all of the by-laws and logistics for the first election and it has been decided that this initial council's Board will be made up of people from the development committee. There are three Board positions and five committee members, myself included. That means only two people will be off the hook. Take a wild guess who everyone wants to be Chair...You got it. Yours truly. This will never happen, for many reasons, but I had to laugh at how it was just like high school all over again. Except my hair is better and I'm much snarkier.

babycakes

A cake, a bike and two cats: Happy Birthday, Dirty!

Dirty had a rooftop BBQ and there was lemon-lemon birthday cake to celebrate his belated birthday. The cake was delicious (of course) but I had the most fun with the decorations--I found a mini red bike and some kitty cake toppers. Janie did a little surgery on one of the kitties so it more closely resembled the wonderful three-legged Nora. Svig is on the left.

















Please note the view of Manhattan behind the cake.

Sweet, sweet, angel food cake

Project File: Miniature Terrariums

My latest project is making mini-terrariums out of jars and random glass vessels. So far they are all succulents and cacti in open terrariums. I am thinking of eventually moving onto tropical mini-plants in closed terrariums. We'll see how the small moss does in the closed jar...

He's Just Not That Into You

E-money, the little nephew, is now 3 years old and quite the ladies' man.

He goes to preschool with a girl named Sela and she just loooooooves him. She runs to him every morning when he walks into the classroom. She is always trying to hug him and has been advised on the merits of giving people their personal space. During a class photo when everyone else said "Cheese!", she said "I love E-money!"

How does the little man feel about all of this? On the way to school he's said, "Mommy, no want Sela!"

Ah, unrequited love.

I suspect little Sela is going to grow up to be a hottie and poor E-money will have already peaked at the age of 3.

But really, how can you resist this kid?

Newsflash: Pinata-donk decapitated by candy-hungry mob!

It was SMM's birthday bbq and I got a little overzealous with the pinata. Of course I had to get the largest donkey pinata I could find in New York. And fill it chock full of her favorite goodies. And some of my favorites too, because quite frankly, I don't like Good-n-Plenty. But I do love me some Zots.

We did it nice and proper--the birthday girl was given a long piece of ply wood, blind folded, spun around until she was ready to vomit, and let loose on the poor candydonk.

She successfully decapitated it, then beat it further until it released it's treasure trove of treats.



Happy Birthday, SMM!

Aaaw yeah! OR, Putting the Magic in Magic Bars

I realized that I don't really document my baked goods (with the exception of the yeast rolls and the giant cupcake.) I am still sad I didn't take any pics of my attempts at making cinnamon rolls from scratch--especially because attempt #2 turned out AWESOME. (Don't worry, I will bake some more. See, I AM learning patience with dry active yeast...)

Here are the crowd pleasing magic bars (a/k/a seven layer bars: graham cracker & butter crust, walnuts, chocolate chips, white choco chips, butterscotch chips, toasted coconut, all smothered in sweetened condensed milk and baked to goodness.)

Mitten Penguins!

My Foray into Savory Baking

I am a dessert baker: cakes, cupcakes, brownies, magic bars, tarts and even the occasional pie. But I saw a recipe for yeast rolls that looked really good and relatively simple so I thought I'd dig up the dough hook for my mixer that I haven't used in the 10+ years I've had it and give it a shot. Here are the results:

These were really tasty fresh and warm, with a little bit of sweetness to them. They were very easy to make, but the 3.5 hours of rising time was a bit much. I know, I know: Patience, Grasshopper.

It's Not a Party Until There's Processed Cheese

The weather was wonderful this weekend and we did a little backyard grilling and games on Saturday night. Vickie brought the leftover Kraft cheese from the barn house weekend. I'll admit it was a little awkward when she put it on the table next to the party snacks.

Sorry, no speakah English

I received a call the other night:

Fortune: Hello?

Telemarketer lady: (in Mandarin) Are you the head of household?

Fortune: Sorry, I don't understand Chinese

Telemarketer lady: Oh. (hangs up)

I had to laugh, because if Telemarketer Lady actually took a second to think about my response, she'd realize that the only way I'd know she was speaking Chinese is if I understood it.

Then I waited a few minutes in fear that she would call me back and call me out on my subterfuge. She didn't.

Strangers on a Train

Uptown 1 train. I couldn't resist taking a photo of this man in an orange fleece outfit.

The Toilet Paper Doesn't Lie

I generally go over to see my sister and the kids a couple of times a week. They have two bathrooms in their apartment and it's pretty random which one I use. However, without fail, and regardless of which bathroom I use, I always end up with an empty or near-empty roll of toilet paper. It's uncanny.

The other night I unexpectedly stopped by after dinner and suprise(!) there were about 5 sheets of toilet paper left on the roll. I mentioned it to my sister and she responded, "You know, I noticed that earlier today, but I didn't think you were coming over. I guess the toilet paper doesn't lie."

Return of the Native

I recently spent a few weeks traveling in Asia. As usual, it was a great trip and I got to spend a lot of time with my family. Also as usual, I toyed with the idea of moving to Taiwan. Like the majority of non-American cultures, it is extremely family oriented and seems so much more laidback. I could easily live with my family, work some random job (English teacher, perhaps?) , hang out with my family all the time (I have a gaggle of cousins around my age there) and spend my free time traveling. Plus, I'd eat well and cheap. I think the 15 cent pot stickers might be one of the most delicious deals ever. But like the idea of moving back to MN, the weather is not conducive to happy living, and there is the language issue.

Besides, I can't deny how much I love New York City. It is my birthplace as well as my city of residence for the last 15 years. Coming back from two weeks with a homogenous population, I was not struck by how diverse this city is, but by how many weird people there are here. Maybe it was my jet lag-induced delirium, but my first subway ride since getting back from my trip almost gave me a panic attack. Every single person on the train looked like they could potentially get up and stab me. Seriously. It takes leaving the city to realize how many NOT okay people there are here.

I have since readjusted and that insulated layer that lets every New Yorker become desensitized to the craziness is back in place. I am still keeping an eye on people who might stab me though...

New Additions

Happy Holidays!

Here's a portrait of my super secret holiday craft project: glove animals.

Happy Holidays!

From the Desk of the Only Fortune Cookie in the U.S., The Sequel

I got forwarded this new site: http://www.pokemyname.com/

It tells me that one in every 8.360 Americans has my first name and it is the 1151.st most popular name in USA, behind Elwood and Garland. I barely beat out Dinh and Kris.

That was a bit disturbing. (Elwood? Really?) But I am still confident I am the only person in the U.S. with my first and last name combination.

The fun thing was that the site also spelled my name out in Braille, Morse Code and Marine Flag!

Spare some change?

I cleaned (okay, fine, I started to clean) my apartment this weekend, and I noticed that I have loose change everywhere. On the floor, on any major surface, in every room. Including the bathroom.

I am not sure how this happens, as I'm not rolling in the dough, or throwing my money this way and that as soon as I get home. I suppose part of the problem is that I am lazy and will not expend the energy to pick up a penny from the floor. However, I will stop to pick up a quarter--I need it for laundry and all.

So now I am on a mission to pick up all of the coins I find in my apartmnet. My estimate is it will total between $3.00-$5.oo--mostly in pennies and nickels.

I will keep you updated...