Goals of 2009: A Report Card

Still reeling from the holidays and slightly sluggish at work, it's time to check in on the progress I made on the goals I set about this time last year. Let's see how I did:

1. Forgive my father and deal with the issues I've developed with relationships in general because of my relationship with him so that I can stop hurting. F. Honestly, I haven't tried to work on this so I guess it's a failure.
2. Begin yoga/Pilates/stretching 2-3 times a week to alleviate back pain and increase flexibility, strength. D. Spotty success. I was better about doing it once or so a week while I was training, or if I had back pain, but nothing on a consistent basis. I need to do this to alleviate my back pain.
3. Do 15 -30 minutes of cardio at least once a week; work up to two (or three) times a week by July. B-. Spotty success. I did two 5 K road races this year, so while I was training, I was on top of my cardio. But afterwards, I dropped off significantly. And when the weather turned cold, I gave up entirely. I got on a kick a few times and hit the gym for a week or two straight, but then my interest wained again. I plan to restart running before the new year (consistency is the key to avoiding knee injuries from running) because I'd like to be able to run in the summer. And I'm going to look into taking a class at a gym to combat my boredom with routine workout equipment.
4. Sit up straight. C. Eh. Better at it, but my sister still threatened that I would have a slouch back when I got older if I didn't sit up straight while I was at her house over Christmas.
   
5. Set up a monthly budget cutting out unnecessary expenses and stick to it. A-. I didn't set up a budget, but I did cut out a lot of spending. I still eat lunch out too much, but I tried to keep it at a minimum.
   
6. Set up and begin a payment plan to pay off all credit cards and other debt by July 2010. A+. DONE! I've dipped into it a few times (like for my trip to Spain) but I immediately reimbursed the funds or set up a payment plan to do so.
   
7. Set up another savings account so that I can have three: emergency (3-6 months salary); a life happens fund (for unexpected expenses) and a vacation fund. A. DONE! Instead of it being a vacation fund, I turned my third savings account into my graduate school account and set up weekly deductions from my bank account. It has grown well, but as a result of the additional drain on my paycheck, my other two savings account are pretty much empty. Trying to rectify that.
8. Increase savings contributions to E-trade to finance trip to Spain in fall. Devote tax returns to building up savings reserves and contributing to vacation fund. A+. I did end up using the E-trade (and my checking) to finance Spain, but I've made arrangements to re-up that money. Should be done by the middle of January. Unsure what to do with my tax returns for this year -- grad school or general savings? But definitely it's going in the bank.
9. Do something every month to pamper myself. Get a mani/pedi. Get my hair done. Get a massage. Take a long bath. Buy myself something nice. B-. Failing more at this. I've done some things and it was much easier in the summer to do these types of things. But some of the things I did were: mani/pedis, hair appointments (it's pretty healthy now!), the trip to Spain, visits to my sister in NYC, bubble baths.
   
10. Try out a new healthy recipe at least once a month. Build up my repetoire to include more than fried foods and fatty sauces. C-. Alas, a failure. I started off strong, but fell off at some point. I think I'm up to 9 now and there are only a few more days left in the year. I think my other problem was that I tried some recipies, but they weren't necessarily healthy. Seeking to rectify that in 2010.
    
11. Eat out at a new restaurant at least once a month. Use this time to try different cuisines and experiment. D+. Marginal success. I've tried some new things, mostly at the begining of the year, but in the second half, I reverted back to my old standbys (P.F. Chang's anyone?). I'd like to change this in 2010 as well.
    
12. Read. Whatever I want. Magazines. Books. Whatever. Just read. A-. SUCCESS! I got subscriptions to two magazines -- Women's Health and In Style, and I read a boatload of books, including: The Namesake, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Drown, The Time Traveler's Wife, Olive Kitteridge,
13. Go see "Raisin in the Sun" at Trinity Jan. 30 - March 30. Go see a show on Broadway with Setta B. A+. DONE and DONE. Setta B. and I went to go see Phantom of the Opera and it was fantastic. We plan to see another play in the next two months as well.
14. Keep clips up and network; send update mailings to potential employees two times a year (March and September, maybe?) C+. Marginal fail. I didn't do updated mailings, but I networked well at the NABJ conference in August. I plan on sending out updated packets this spring/summer before I begin graduate school so people can be on the lookout for me.
15. Write something that makes me proud, whether it wins any award or not. A. SUCCESS. I can't point to a particular story, but I think my court coverage has been pretty solid this year. I definitely see areas where I'd like to improve, but overall, I think I've done pretty well for myself as a reporter this year. I may not win an award (I didn't have any sexy stories) but I'm proud of my work.
16. Find an organization to volunteer with and do so, regularly. Can either be one organization with a long term commitment, or various organizations with one time commitments F-. EPIC FAIL. I tried volunteering with a sorority, but got the brush off. Then I lost motivation to find another place. I want to change that in 2010.
    
17. Go on dates with the BF that (sometimes) require more than just driving to Boston and cooking food. C-. Not sure how I document this. We've done some stuff -- Maxwell concert, comedy show -- that were cool. And we go to the movies a lot. But nothing necessarily off of the beaten path. I'll try to work on that more.
18. Take pictures to document life and stretch my creative muscles. B+. Marginal success, again. I took a photography class this fall at the Rhode Island School of Design which I loved. I was able to take portrait, landscape, indepth and self-portrait shots and I think I did pretty well. I also took a ton of pictures in Spain. I'm a little dismayed at my lack of a camera, but it's not a priority for me at this juncture. I have graduate school to pay for. I just need to start using my point and shoot more often.
19. Start doing crosswords to exercise my mind. B+. DONE. Not on a regular basis, but I bought a NY Times Crossword puzzle book and I do it periodically. The BF and I also do crosswords together on Yahoo every so often.
20. Be present at all times. Start each day as if it were on purpose, not an accident. A-. I feel like I've done a pretty decent job with this. I've tried to be more cheerful and appreciative of the things I'm doing, but I'll admit I still like to zone out once in a while. Again, something I plan to work on this year.
    

So, based on my crude math, I got a C+. Funny, I don't feel like I had a C+ year. Maybe the things that I thought were important to me at the beginning of the year, turned out to not be so important. Guess that goes to show you what the critics always knew: grades don't mean much.

Scattered Shots before the Holiday

Tonight, I'm heading to visit my sister for the Holy Day. A couple of observations about this Christmasy season:

• I've got to learn to travel better. It always stresses me out. Mostly because I make umpteen unnecessary lists and check them 3 million times before packing. And then I always pack a little extra. I gotta learn to be like my photographer friend, who travelled in China for two weeks with a single carryon. I'm going to be gone for 4 days and I feel like I brought 1/2 my closet with me.
  
• Personal inventory post coming again soon. I have to check and see how I've been doing with those resolutions I made oh, about this time last year.
  
• I'm going to be a student again in -- count 'em -- 8 months. Whew. I'm so not ready.
• I am however, ready to be surrounded by my friends again -- Veronica, Soraya, Darby, Jarrod, and everyone else in the DMV -- I'm looking at you.
  
• Though I'll have friends a plenty, I have a feeling this won't be like undergrad. At all.
  
• I'm glad I got my Christmas shopping early. But Oyin, tell me why did I order from you on December 3 and JUST GOT MY ORDER TODAY? Everyone else I ordered from was able to give me my purchases within days. Failure to you, Oyin. Failure. (Amendment: Setta B pointed out that everything Oyin makes is handmade, so it results in a little bit of a delay in shipping. So I guess I'll give them a pass.)
  
• I think I'm going to spend the first quarter of 2010 selling things that I'm purging from my house. Where do you guys sell? Ebay? Etsy? I could use some money for school and I need to simplify my life so it's easier to pack come fall.
  
• I think that's it. Merry Christmas!
  

Healthy Recipe #9 - Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms, Risotto style

I'm just a little behind on the whole healthy recipes and blogging thing... but we're going to ignore that for now and go on to what I came here for: a Healthy Recipe!

I found this on the New York Times Web site while I was looking for something to eat tonight. Mark Bittman never steers me wrong...

Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms, Risotto style (Adapted)

2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed

1 shallot or 1/3 of a small onion, chopped

2 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cups crimini, shiitake or button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced

1 cup pasta like gemelli or penne, or long pasta broken into bits

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 can chicken broth

1 boneless chicken breast, diced

Chopped fresh parsley, optional

Freshly grated Parmesan, optional.

1. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add shallot, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms soften and begin to brown on edges, about 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy and coated with oil, 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, then 1/2 cup of the broth. Stir and let liquid bubble away.

2. Ladle stock into skillet 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring after each addition and every minute or so. When liquid is just about evaporated, add more. Mixture should be neither soupy nor dry. Keep heat at medium and stir frequently.

3. Begin tasting pasta 10 minutes after you add it; you want it to be tender but with a tiny bit of crunch. When pasta is about 3 to 4 minutes away from being done, add chicken and stir to combine. Continue to cook until chicken is done — it will be white on inside when cut — and pasta is how you like it. Taste, adjust seasoning, garnish with parsley and Parmesan if using, and serve.

Yield: 2 servings.

NOTE:

I used some Ms. Dash because I didn't have any parsley. As I'm eating it (and it is absolutely great) I wish I had some fresh parsley. I could also imagine it with some chopped scallions (the green parts) atop it. But overall, very tasty and VERY satisfying on a cold December night.

Healthy Recipe #8 Cheese Tortellini with ham and peas

Alright, full disclosure: I'm not sure how healthy this recipe really is. But it seemed interesting and something other than chicken alfredo, so I tried it anyway. There are plenty of versions of this recipe that use proscuitto and make the alfredo sauce from scratch. I didn't have prosciutto and it was late, so I used jar sauce, which helped make this a pretty quick meal. Flog me later.

Cheese Tortellini with ham and peas
1 package of refrigerated cheese tortellini (I used a 12oz package from Trader Joe's)
1 ham steak
1/4 can of peas
1/2 jar of alfredo sauce
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon rosemary, crushed

Bring about 6 cups of water to a rapid boil. Meanwhile, trim the skin from the ham, chop the ham steak into 1/4 inch slices, and then cut the slices in thirds. Add the tortellini to the boiling water and cook according to package directions, stirring occasionally. Once al dente, drain water from tortellini, putting pasta back into the pot. Add chopped ham, peas, alfredo and rosemary. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot. Makes about 3 servings.

Healthy Recipe #7 Stir Fried Shrimp with Snow Peas and Red Peppers

This seems like a simple, yet tasty recipe. I may try it this weekend -- I've got some shell on shrimp I can clean and cook up using this method.

From the NY Times:

3/4 pound snow peas or sugar snap peas, strings and stems removed

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or canola oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

3 large garlic cloves, green shoots removed, minced

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares

3 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths, dark green parts separated

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the snow peas or sugar snap peas. Boil 30 seconds, and transfer immediately to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, drain and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together 1 teaspoon of the corn starch, 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the rice wine or sherry, 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar. Add the shrimp, and stir together to coat.

3. Place the remaining corn starch, soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, sesame oil and sugar in another bowl. Add the stock, and stir together well. Set aside.

4. Heat a large, heavy nonstick skillet or wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately upon contact. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, and turn the heat to medium. Add the ginger and garlic, and stir together for about 20 seconds, then add the red pepper and the white and light green parts of the scallions. Stir-fry for two to three minutes, until the pepper begins to soften. Stir to the side of the pan. Add the remaining oil and the shrimp. Cook, stirring, for two minutes, stir in the snow peas or snap peas, and continue to stir-fry for another two or three minutes until the shrimp is pink and cooked through. Give the sauce a stir, and add it to the pan along with the dark green ends of the scallions. Stir everything together with the sauce until the shrimp and vegetables are lightly glazed. Serve hot, with rice.

Yield: Serves four.

Healthy Recipe #6: Chicken with cilantro and lime (and mango salsa)

So here it was Labor Day and I had a ton of cilantro to use up. I'd bought it after a failed attempt at making lime shrimp with cilantro (I went a little too heavy on the lime and red pepper flakes, it was inedible). And I wasn't in the mood to try that recipe again.

I turned to the Internet. Found some recipes for jerk chicken (but me and spices were on a time out. Found a mango salsa to go with the jerk chicken (ohhh). Then I cracked open my cookbooks. Patti had a Halibut with lemon and cilantro that sounded tasty (my grocer was out of halibut, however). Mark Bittman -- who's "How to Cook Everything" I salvaged from someone who was throwing it out in college has become a treasure trove of goodness in my cooking maturation -- suggested a variation of grilled chicken that included lime and cilantro. Sounded easy and like a winner.

I went to the grocery store and got the stuff for the mango salsa (I was intrigued) and some other necessities and scurried back to the crib. First, for those who have never had mango in anything but fruit drinks, those suckers are tricky. Bittman gives instructions on peeling and getting the fruit from the mango, but I was confused as to what was the pit and what was the fruit. I'd expected a seed, but soon found out the pit is a prickly part of the inside of the mango. As you cut up the pieces, you'll be able to tell the difference between it and the juicy flesh of the fruit.

Grilled Chicken with Cilantro and Lime
Mark Bittman "How to Cook Everything"
3 tablespoons peanut or other oil
2 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon minced shallot (I used red onion from the mango salsa below)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 whole chicken, cut up into pieces (I used 10 wingdings instead)

Whisk together all ingredients except chicken. Spray a grill pan with nonstick cooking oil (such as Pam) and allow it to heat well. When the pan is hot, spread a little oil on the bottom of the pan and place the chicken onto the pan. Baste the chicken with the cilantro mixture, turning and basting as needed. Cook until juices run clear (about 6-10 minutes) When the chicken is done, drizzle the remaining oil mixture over top it and garnish with additional minced cilantro.

Mango Salsa
adapted from Bobby Flay
3 mango, peeled and diced
31/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon green onions
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon honey

Combine all ingredients and let sit 30 minutes at room temperature. Now, heads up, I cut this recipe into thirds because I didn't need a vat of mango salsa sitting around. Feel free to adjust it to suit how much you need to make. Using one mango, I easily made enough salsa for 4 people.

I served all of this alongside yellow rice and garlic toast. And just for good measure, I made some regular grilled chicken in case the cilantro lime attempt turned out as badly as my last cilantro lime experiment did. I'm happy to say I didn't need the backup and the chicken will definitely go into my rotation from now on!

So, after being chastised at a professional convention for not having multimedia and online clips, I decided to create a Web site.

After some tinkering -- BAM -- here's what I came up with:

www.taliabuford.com

Once I start doing more multimedia, I'll be adding in my slideshows, videos and photos to another page in the site.

Let me know what you think.

I'm taking all suggestions and compliments. :-)

It's just another Apple affair...

So, it's official.

I'm going to have to get an Ipod Classic.

I was waffling between the Classic and getting a more sleek Nano after I had to return the Classic I'd been borrowing to a friend.

The Classic is a little more expensive, but I've decided it's worth it.

Especially after this last weekend at NABJ when I jacked like, 4,000 songs from Veronica's hard drive (thanks, boo).

The nano just won't handle all of my needs. I originally was leaning toward it because I didn't have many songs and I wanted to use it to run. But I can get an arm holster for the classic. And the shuffle, although it has gotten me through this iPodless period, just won't cut it as my primary music delivering device.

So, with that said, my birthday is a mere two months away (almost to the day!) so you're more than welcome to begin contributing to my "Buy Talia an iPod" fund.

My ears will thank you.

Awesome quotes

Been stumbling across some great quotes lately. Figured I'd share.

"Nothing is too small to know and nothing too big to attempt." -- William Van Horne

"What is written without effort is, in general, read without pleasure." -- Samuel Johnson

"I understand newspapers are a business, (but) I wish newspapers made money to do a better job of serving the readers." -- Geneva Overholser

"Most of us, particularly those of us who would like to think we are wordsmiths, think that we can tell something to someone one time and they will understand it. My experience has proven to me that the odds of that happening are very low indeed." -- Jay T. Harris.

"We aren't that smart. You did the Stanky Leg." -- Me.

On Self Esteem

From the father of a friend of mine:

"You gotta be able to say 'I like me. And if you don't like me, f*ck you, 'cause I like me.'"

I heard that.

Homemade Granola Bars -- NYT

Searching through the Bitten blog on the NYT, saw this recipe for homemade granola. It seems REALLY easy. And very tasty. And cheap! Have at it!

No-Bake Granola Bars

Yield 4 servings

Time 15 minutes

Mark Bittman

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
• 3 cups any good, not-too-sweet granola

Method

• 1. Put the honey, brown sugar, and oil in a small pot and bring to a boil. Put the granola in a large bowl and pour the sugar mixture over the top while mixing; stir until the granola is well coated.
• 2. Press into an 8- or 9-inch square pan and let cool in the fridge. Cut into squares or rectangles and serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Variations

• Dried Fruit Bars: Use just about any dried fruit here; dates or dried figs are great, as are dried apricots, raisins, plums, pears, and more: Substitute 11/2 cups dried fruit for the honey and brown sugar. Put the dried fruit and oil in a food processor and purée until smooth, stopping the machine to scrape down the sides if necessary. (Add small amounts of water if the fruit is dried out and not processing.) Proceed with the recipe.
• Orange-Spice Granola Bars: Add 1 tablespoon chopped orange zest, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon each ground cardamom and ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves.
• Nutty Granola Bars: Substitute 1 cup mixed or single toasted roughly chopped nuts and whole seeds for 1 cup of the granola.
• Peanut (or Any Nut) Butter Granola Bars: Practically a power bar: Substitute peanut or any nut butter for the brown sugar.

No lunch means craaaaazy posts

This recipe for Chicken Piccata sounds reaaalllly good.

I might have to make it happen.

In other news, I may end up making something with either Angel Hair or rice noodles tonight. Or I may end up just eating Ramen. Time will tell.

I think I'm going to do some cookbook scouting this weekend, so I may have a new healthy recipe to attempt and share come next week. I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, can someone get me a personal trainer? Maybe if I'm paying for fitness, that will motivate me to get up off my butt and do my morning runs -- or my evening yoga for that matter. Good thing is that in about two weeks, Veronica and I will be doing Zumba!

That'll be fun. I need a vacation.

I looked cute today

And you need to see me.

And in case you wanted to see the entire outfit, here it go. Just ignore the messy bathroom in the back/foreground.

Pretty excited about this. Ya'll might see this in Tampa. Be prepared.

It's July -- Time to Take Stock

The year is half gone so I figured now is a good time to check in on how I'm doing with my goals I set for myself at the beginning of the new year.

1. Forgive my father and deal with the issues I've developed with relationships in general because of my relationship with him so that I can stop hurting. . Seriously, I haven't thought about this much. I'm kinda starting to think that while I'm sure the relationship affected me, that he doesn't really have anything to do with how I act in relationships now. Those actions are things that I control. I may revisit this later, but right now, I'm not compelled to.
   
2. Begin yoga/Pilates/stretching 2-3 times a week to alleviate back pain and increase flexibility, strength. Man. I don't know why I stopped this. When I was doing this (during my training for the 5K) I had less back pain and my posture was on point. My back hurts as I type this. I need to get back on this.
   
3. Do 15 -30 minutes of cardio at least once a week; work up to two (or three) times a week by July. So, about that. As you know, I ran a 5K in May, so I did cardio regularly -- about 2-3 times a week. I'm also running another race on July 19, which I've been running about 2 times a week for on good weeks. I'm not up to my goal yet, but that's something to strive for.
   
4. Sit up straight. Doing better. I was doing great with it when I was regularly doing yoga, starting to slack more now. I need to get back on it.
   
5. Set up a monthly budget cutting out unnecessary expenses and stick to it. Eh. Not a strict budget, although I have been putting more money into my savings account and striving to pack my lunch, vs. buying it daily.
   
6. Set up and begin a payment plan to pay off all credit cards and other debt by July 2010. Done. I'll be (credit card) debt free by Spring 2010
   
7. Set up another savings account so that I can have three: emergency (3-6 months salary); a life happens fund (for unexpected expenses) and a vacation fund. Done. I opened an E-Trade account a few months ago to get better returns
   
8. Increase savings contributions to E-trade to finance trip to Spain in fall. Devote tax returns to building up savings reserves and contributing to vacation fund. I did increase my contributions to the E-trade account, but it won't be to finance my Spain trip. Instead, that's the account I'll be using to save up money for grad school in 2010 -- I told ya'll I got in, right?
   
9. Do something every month to pamper myself. Get a mani/pedi. Get my hair done. Get a massage. Take a long bath. Buy myself something nice. I'm slacking on this, but I have started making regular appointments with a hair dresser and got a mani/pedi a few weeks ago that was fantastic.
   
10. Try out a new healthy recipe at least once a month. Build up my repetoire to include more than fried foods and fatty sauces. I'm a little behind, but I've got 5 Healthy Recipes up so far. So I'm two behind. I'll make it up though!
    
11. Eat out at a new restaurant at least once a month. Use this time to try different cuisines and experiment. Not doing so great at this. I need to look around and find some places I want to go.
    
12. Read. Whatever I want. Magazines. Books. Whatever. Just read. Yes! I just finished the Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and I just ordered subscriptions to Women's Health and InStyle Magazine. I'm excited!
    
13. Go see "Raisin in the Sun" at Trinity Jan. 30 - March 30. Go see a show on Broadway with Setta B. I did go see Raisin in the Sun! It was pretty good. I'd never seen it before, so I was pleasantly surprised. I still need to find a show to go see with Setta on Broadway. Sis, if you're reading, let me know if you hear of a good show!
    
14. Keep clips up and network; send update mailings to potential employees two times a year (March and September, maybe?) I'll have to put some clips together for the NABJ convention in August. That will likely count as my mailing for the fall. I'll do another in the Spring, before I go to grad school.
    
15. Write something that makes me proud, whether it wins any award or not. I've been pretty proud of some of the trial coverage I've done so far, but I'd like to do a big project or something intensive that I'm also proud of as well.
    
16. Find an organization to volunteer with and do so, regularly. Can either be one organization with a long term commitment, or various organizations with one time commitments Still haven't found anything, but honestly, haven't looked very hard after getting discouraged earlier this year.
    
17. Go on dates with the BF that (sometimes) require more than just driving to Boston and cooking food. We've done movies, bowling, amusement parks, small gatherings and even an art show or two. Not a complete success because I could be doing more, but it's a start.
    
18. Take pictures to document life and stretch my creative muscles. Epic fail. I've been forgetting to document big things - like events -- in my life, let alone just the regular mundane things. I'll strive to do better with this.
    
19. Start doing crosswords to exercise my mind. Sporadically.
20. Be present at all times. Start each day as if it were on purpose, not an accident. Getting better at it, day by day.

A little belated Independence

It was about 5 p.m. when we started making moves.

My morning was spent in Providence, shopping it up and running (yet somehow, still failing) close to 3 miles in preparation for a race in a few weeks. The BF was there so we hopped in DeeDee and headed towards the Bean -- a friend was having a barbecue we were going to drop through.

Now, this was huge. Ever since I've been in RI, I have wanted to go to a real barbecue. Not just grilled meat in someone's dining room. A barbecue. With music. And watermelon. And pie. And people I don't know. Yeah, I wanted to go to a BBQ. So the BF and I were pretty excited about actually having plans this Independence Day.

They got cut short when we realized that none of our other friends were going to the shindig. And while we were cool with the host, we didn't want to be the only ones we knew there. So as we pulled onto his street around 5 p.m., the plan had already been hatched.

I bought a tabletop grill and charcoal on Friday, because I had a feeling I might want to barbecue this weekend. It was still in the trunk because I'd been too lazy to bring it into the house. But we needed something to grill. We hopped into the car and made a mad dash for the liquor store.

Allow me to explain. GQ had a feature on Fizz -- the bubbly carbonation added to some "adult" drinks. They came with three recipes and the BF and I decided to try a few of them out. We needed to get ingredients from the liquor store because, well, who knows how long they'd be open on a holiday. And you can have a holiday without hot dogs. You cannot have one without cocktails.

Two liquor stores later, we make it to Stop & Shop, split up and grab the fixings for a simple barbecue: beef patties, Ball Parks and baked beans. I already had some chicken marinating in the fridge.

We get to the house and unload our bounty. I ask the BF to assemble the grill -- I figure it's a tabletop, it couldn't take that much, right? I'm unpacking the groceries when I see him whizz by me, grab my car keys and say he'll be right back. I keep unpacking. Five minutes later, I'm done and I head to the back porch to check on the grill progress.

There was little. The BF had gone to get a screwdriver because they didn't have a good one in the house.

I wasn't prepared to wait.

I grabbed a folding chair and whipped out the instructions. I couldn't believe a $20 grill could be this complicated. I started twisting on washers and hand tightening things and before you know it, the BF was standing at the door behind me.

"What step are you on," he asked, a screw driver in his hand.

I peek at the directions. "Six." Of nine steps. He assembles the legs to the grill and we decide that really, we didn't need the screwdriver because everything could be tightened by hand. With a grill firmly assembled, I set about making my first charcoal fire.

The BF was assigned a more important task: mixing up those fabled cocktails.

First, I tried putting the coals in a single layer on the grill floor. They lit, but soon extinguished. So I turned to the Internet. As the sounds of "Summertime" played from the BF's speakers, I googled "how to start a charcoal fire."

I love the Internet.

In no time, I learned I needed to assemble the coals in a pyramid shape. And possibly throw some little newspaper balls (pause) in the midst to keep the fires burning. I assembled, lit and waited. It was getting dark and I was getting hungry. I went to check on the coals. Some were glowing, some were ashen, others were black. I rearranged the black coals so they could get more heat and threw a few more paper balls into the mix. By the time I'd whipped up an impromptu macaroni salad (please get like me), my coals were glowing red and ashen. It was time to cook.

It was about 7:30 when I put the first pieces of chicken on the grill. The vinegar in the marinade made it flame up, and I worried that maybe barbecuing in the dark on a wooden porch wasn't a good idea. I tried to arrange the various meats around the grill so they'd get varying levels of heat. Chicken in the hotter places, burgers next and hot dogs around the perimeter.

Meanwhile, the BF stumbled upon what I believe is my new boogie: the Gin Fizz. And it's super simple: equal parts gin, simple syrup, lemon juice, club soda. That's it! And it tastes like divine lemonade.

It didn't take long for the food to cook and I even caught a glimpse of some fireworks from over the treeline in the backyard. I piled the cooked meat into a disposable pan and headed inside.

"Food's ready, guys," I yelled to the BF, his roomie (Magic) and another friend who'd popped by. We fixed our plates, dilly-dallied a bit and then sat down to eat. By the middle of my pasta salad, I started to feel the fizz creep up on me. The BF and I sat amazed at how (relatively) simple this had all been. And while we were always sulking about not having a barbecue to go to, we realized, it's not that hard to throw one. We did it in about 3 hours.

Now we just gotta find some people to invite.

Healthy Recipe #5 Turkey Lasagna Florentine

Alright, so lasagna? Probably not the healthiest thing you could possibly eat. But you've got to have comfort food sometime, right? This version uses healthier turkey meat instead of ground beef and loads up on various veggies so at least you can feel a little healthier while you tap into your inner Sopranos.

Ingredients:
1 package of ground turkey (1 - 1.5 lbs)
1 box of whole wheat lasagna noodles
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 small container of ricotta cheese (use low fat if you want to make this a little healthier)
1 package of finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1 package of frozen chopped spinach (defrosted and drained)

For the sauce:
1 shallot (or 1/2 a small white onion)
1/2 cup of chopped green bell peppers
1/2 cup (or one small can) sliced mushrooms
1 18-20 oz jar of tomato sauce (I use Prego chunky with tomato, garlic and onion)
2 tbls garlic powder (or minced garlic)
1 tbls onion powder
1 tbls Italian Seasoning
1 tsp black pepper (divided)
1/2 tsp salt (divided)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 tbls of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in the minced garlic and allow it to cook for a few minutes. Add the ground turkey. Season with additional garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and 1/2 tsp each of the black pepper and salt. Cook until meat is done, breaking up the chunks of meat into small crumbles as it cooks. Add the chopped shallot/onion and the bell pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or just until the bell pepper begins to cook though. Add the tomato sauce. Add the sliced mushrooms. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer. Taste: add more seasonings (Italian, garlic, onion, pepper or salt) if necessary.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt it liberally. Once rigorously boiling, add 10-12 pieces of lasagna. cook until done, or about 8-10 minutes. Drain.

As the pasta cooks, combine the ricotta and the egg. Add in the red pepper flakes and spinach. [To defrost the spinach, a few hours on the counter, or a few minutes in the microwave will do. Draining can be done by squeezing out the excess water with an old, clean dishcloth, or squeezing the box between two paper plates. A little water (but not a lot) is okay.] Combine ingredients. Set aside.

In a 9 x 9 glass baking dish, spoon about 1 cup of the meat sauce onto the bottom. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spoon on about 1 cup of the ricotta mixture and spread evenly. Top with 1/2-1 cup of meat sauce. Top with cheese. Repeat layers as such: noodles, ricotta, meat sauce, cheese. Repeat until you run out of ricotta. Last two layers should be meat sauce and cheese. Cut excess noodles from the side of the pan to keep all ingredients contained within the dish.

Cover lasagna with foil. Place baking dish atop a metal cookie sheet and into the oven. Cook for 30-45 minutes, removing foil for last 10 minutes of cooking. Lasagna should be bubbly and golden brown atop when it is done.

Serve with salad and garlic bread. It will make about 9 individual servings, or 6 large servings. Recipe can also be done in a larger pan, just buy a larger containers of ricotta and sauce.

Never Can Say Goodbye

I didn't even notice the gloves.

I'm halfway watching the memorial to Michael Jackson, who died a week and a half ago as he was preparing to launch his comeback/retirement tour. And I just got a glimpse of his brothers, who were the pallbearers, all wearing MJ's signature sparkly glove on one hand.

In the time since his death, it's been wall to wall coverage of Mike, a lot of it good, fitting, loving tributes to a man who had such an impact on so many people and to music as we know it. I remember the night he died, I had to run back to the newsroom to get by badge. A copy editor remarked that it was hard to imagine what music will be like without him.

"He's the king," I said. "Music is the way it is because of him."

The copy editor agreed (and added James Brown, which I concurred with) and we went about our way.

I'm not going to wax poetic about Mike. I thought he was great and enjoyed his music, a realization I came to only after his death. As radio stations and televisions played his songs in constant rotation, I found myself unable to control my dancing. My joy. Controversial, troubled or not, MJ was a genius who brought so much fun to his music. And you felt it with every beat.

This wasn't what I planned to write about today, but I can't think of anything else. I sit across from the TV in the newsroom and I feel like my eyes have been glued to the screen (with barely no sound) all afternoon.

Just kinda wish this all wasn't happening.

We Had Him

Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind.
Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace. Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.
In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell time. No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.
Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone.
Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him.
He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance.
Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love, and survived and did more than that.
He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style. We had him whether we know who he was or did not know, he was ours and we were his.
We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes.
His hat, aslant over his brow, and took a pose on his toes for all of us.
And we laughed and stomped our feet for him.
We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing. He gave us all he had been given.
Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana's Black Star Square.
In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England
We are missing Michael.
But we do know we had him, and we are the world.
- Maya Angelou

Why my friends are SO much cooler than yours

I get paragraphs like this in e-mails from them:

"so, i waited to reply after reading your email last night because i wanted to say something meaningful and inspiring, but then i got all jacked up on a bag of hot tamales (the candy, not the mexican dish made of chopped meat, crushed peppers and a doughy outside layer) and then i passed out on the couch whilst coming down off the sugar high."

Tell me that doesn't just make your day. Tell me! You can't. Because you'd be lying.

Summer cleaning/shopping

I think I'm going to go to American Apparel this weekend (while I'm shopping for shoes) and scoop this dress up.

I think it'll be a festive addition to the closet (which I'm also planning on cleaning out this weekend).

A Cry for Help

I love my Bandolinos. I really do.

They've been there in a clutch for me so many times. With their tan leather body and wooden kitten heel, I could literally wear them with just about anything and be fine.

But me and Mr. Bandolino gonna have to talk. Lately, they've been starting to hurt my feet after a day of working -- and walking in them.

That's the problem I always had as a journalist. I used to be GA, so my excuse for not having great shoes was that I never knew if I was going to be covering a fire, a county fair, a town council meeting or a arraignment. So I wore sensible shoes. Usually flats of some sort.

But as I've gotten older, my calves and my style choices yearn for some heels. So when I put on a green dress today, I looked in the mirror and realized that my flats just wouldn't do the outfit justice. So I turned to my Bandolinos.

They were fine in the walk up the hill to the State House. They were fine during the meeting. But I'm not sure if my feet swelled, sweated or just completely changed proportions, but as I stepped onto the concrete to make my way back to the office on deadline, my feet cried out in pain. That little part on the bottom of your foot between your big toe and the ball of your foot? It felt like I'd scraped off all of the skin and then rubbed an emery board over it. I gingerly made my way back down the hill and to the office as fast as I could and resolved that I needed to buy new shoes, good shoes, ASAP.

But I have another problem. My feet, as wonderful and reliable as they may be, are an unconventional size. They are too big to be true 8s, but too small to be 8.5s. As a result, I often have to buy the larger size and put insoles in. I think it's sometimes the insoles -- or my lack thereof, as my foot sloshes around in a too big shoe - that causes my foot pain.

Sigh. But I can work with that.

What I really need from you, blog universe, are some suggestions of some good, COMFORTABLE, yet stylish heels I can add to my collection. I'm specifically looking for brands I can try that make heels I can wear from the courtroom to a high school gym and still be able to walk normally by the end of the night. (Jameil, Darby, Veronica, Russatta and all you other shoe/fashiony people out there, THIS MEANS YOU!)

Because honestly, it's time for me to invest in some new shoes. Did I mention I bought the Bandolinos when I was still in college? Yeah. It's really time for an upgrade.

Healthy Recipe #4 - Down Home Pork Chops in Guilt Free Gravy

I got this from Patti LaBelle's cooking light book. I've included her recipe, with any changes I made in parenthesis. The changes make it less guilt free, but it still tastes really good.

4 boneless center cut loin pork chops

2 cups chopped onions

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup fat free reduced sodium beef broth (I used regular)

1 teaspoon seasoning salt, such as Lawry's

1/4 teaspoon white or black pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch (or flour)

1/3 cup fat free half and half (or 2% or regular milk - whatever's on hand.)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (I substituted some Italian seasoning - or Ms. Dash - with Rosemary in it since I didn't have just straight Rosemary)

Coat a large skillet with fat-free cooking spray and heat over medium high heat until smoking hot. Add the chops and cook until browned on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and garlic to the skillet. Cook until tender, about 4 minutes.Stir in the broth, seasoning salt, and pepper. Return the chops to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low, cover, cook until the chops register 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer and the juices run clear, 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, dissolve the cornstarch in the half and half. Pour into the skillet and cook. stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens, 2 to 3 minutes more.

I serve this with fresh (or frozen) green beans and mashed potatoes. It's always a hit!

Healthy Recipe #3 - Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Asparagus

So, I completely thought that I had already posted this recipe. My apologies. I'm going to post some other recipes that I've been doing lately that I just didn't think to post. Anyway, to the dish at hand. I didn't measure anything like talking about, so it's a little less than scientific.

Ingredients:
15-20 medium shrimp, uncooked or cooked, your choice (I prefer uncooked)
roughly 10 stalks of frozen asparagus spears, chopped in 2-3 pieces, depending on size
juice of 1 lemon
1 heaping teaspoon of minced or chopped garlic
Ms. Dash regular seasoning blend
3-4 tablespoons of chicken broth
3 servings of angel hair pasta
1/3 to 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil
butter substitute spread (I use "I can't believe it's not Butter")

In a bowl, combine the shrimp, garlic, lemon juice and toss to coat. Season liberally with Ms. Dash. Set aside. In a large skillet, pour in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter substitute spread and heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the marinated shrimp, Parmesan cheese and cook until done (or if using precooked shrimp, until heated). Remove from heat once the shrimp is done so that the fish doesn't become chewy. Meanwhile, heat a pot of salted water to boiling. Cook pasta according to directions. In the last few minutes of cooking, add the chopped asparagus and allow to cook. Drain and remove from heat.

For service: either place the pasta/asparagus mixture onto a bowl or plate and top with seasoned shrimp and some of the butter sauce, or toss the shrimp mixture with the pasta and serve. Serve topped with additional Parmesan, accompanied by crusty garlic bread or a salad if desired.

Don't Cry

Turns out I'll be in Tampa come August for the annual journalism fete after all.

And it begins again...

Can you spell that for me?

How Popular is your name?

From the WashPost:

The Social Security Administration's list of the top baby names of 2008 has been released. And, once again, topping the list are ... drumroll, please ... Jacob and Emma. Do those names sound awfully familiar? That may be because Jacob has topped the list for a decade and Emma was third last year, behind Emily and Isabella. Isabella, by the way, is second again this year and Emily is third. Emily had led the list of girls' names for 12 years before getting the bump. ...

Fast-moving risers in the name game, Social Security says are Chloe (10) and Khloe (up to 196 in 2008 from 665 in 2007), Miley (yes, we can thank Miley Cyrus for that one) and Jacoby. Barack managed not to make the list, though it did skyrocket from 12,535 in 2007 to 2,409 in 2008.

My name comes in at a solid 389, while similar names come in at: 77 (Aaliyah), 544 (Jaliyah), and 879 (Thalia). I just wasted a good five minutes plugging in the names of my relatives and friends.

So, how popular is your name?

Hot Days, Cool Reads

It's getting warm and I'm hearing about all of these great books that I need to read. I had a bunch of titles on a list from a few years ago -- some that I've bought -- but these seem interesting and I'm really excited about reading them -- especially Lost Paradise and the Diaz book. Here are just a few of the books I'm interested in reading this summer.

What's on your summer reading list?

Lost Paradise: From Mutiny on the Bounty to a Modern-Day Legacy of Sexual Mayhem, the Dark Secrets of Pitcairn Island Revealed by Kathy Marks - Pitcairn Island was first settled more than 200 years ago by Fletcher Christian and other mutinous crew members of the HMS Bounty, along with several Polynesian women from neighboring islands; the community has always been small, but a mythology has built up around it as a remote, idyllic paradise. Pitcairn is thoroughly civilized, agrees Marks, a British journalist based in Australia, except in one respect... children were almost routinely raped and assaulted. The book tells the story uncovered by one of six journalists allowed on Pitcairn to cover the trials of several islanders accused of repeated sexual abuse of teenage and pre-adolescent girls.

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead -- The year is 1985 and 15-year-old Benji Cooper, one of the only black students at his elite Manhattan private school, leaves the city to spend three largely unsupervised months living with his younger brother Reggie in an enclave of Long Island's Sag Harbor, the summer home to many African American urban professionals. Benji's a Converse-wearing, Smiths-loving, Dungeons & Dragons-playing nerd whose favorite Star Wars character is the hapless bounty hunter Greedo (rather than the double-crossing Lando Calrissian). But Sag Harbor is a coming-of-age novel whose plot side-steps life-changing events writ large.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2008 Pulitzer Prize winner) -- The titular Oscar is a 300-pound-plus "lovesick ghetto nerd" with zero game (except for Dungeons & Dragons) who cranks out pages of fantasy fiction with the hopes of becoming a Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien. The book is also the story of a multi-generational family curse that courses through the book, leaving troubles and tragedy in its wake.

This is it?

So, I promptly ended my Facebook fast about 17 minutes ago.

It was pretty anticlimactic, I have to say.

I never believed I was an addict, but I did frequently check Facebook and Twitter to pass the time at work. Then my sister issued her challenge. And I realized they are all just serious time wasters and not as interesting as I originally thought.

In the days when Facebook was forbidden, I longed really, to just post my pictures from the Cancer race and receive the accolades that I'm sure would pour in on account of my accomplishments. In its absence, I turned to my blog to post about my triumph. I Google chatted with friends and basically just told them what was up. That was cool.

But when I logged on today, first I wasn't about to take the time to post my pictures (I'm on the clock, afterall). So I cleared out my inbox and checked my friend requests. Some parties in Atlanta and Virginia that I'm not going to. One person wrote on my wall. I was tagged in two pictures. Not super exciting stuff.

I gotta say I was disappointed. I think my hiatus from Facebook made me think it was so much more than it really was. And now that I see it for what it is, it's just kinda like a letdown.

All that to say, I'll be back on Facebook probably this afternoon, checking up on friends, posting pictures and possibly playing WordTwist. It's a time waster, but hey, I like it.

My name is T-Dot and I'm a Social Network addict

So, I'm on a social network fast. Unfortunately, it's not by choice.

While I was at the cancer walk this weekend, I was talking to my sister who claimed I was a social network addict, thanks to a handy dandy quiz she'd just seen on the local news.

How often did I check Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn? The first two, usually two or three times a day, the latter, when I get an update.

There were a few other questions, but I forget them. Either way she told me I was addicted. I told her I could stop anytime I wanted to. She held me to it.

So, from Sunday, May 3 to midnight on Friday, May 8, I am not allowed to Tweet, check Facebook, write on walls, or otherwise engage in social networking.

It was fine earlier this week because I didn't really have Internet access. But today was my first day at work and my normal routine is to check Facebook or Twitter while I wait for people to return calls. And I've got those pictures from the weekend burning a hole in my camera. I need to post them to Facebook. How else will people know what I've done?

What's worse is that it seems to be everywhere I turn. Veronica's mentioning a magic post on Facebook. I'm doing a story about how Twittering, Facebook and blogs are changing the way judges instruct juries in an effort to curb mistrials. Plus, I want to update my statuses so I can get people to say congrats to me for running my race. By Thursday, no one will care.

Anyway, so I write this post, instead of checking Facebook, or Tweeting, or writing my story, to say that I'm going through withdrawal. Got. To. Stay. Strong.

48.40*

I did it!This weekend, I ran my first 5k! The title right there is my time -- I'll explain the asterisk later.

The race was fantastic. That picture is what I looked like immediately after the race. Well, actually, I threw my head back in exhaustion then smiled for the camera, but you get the idea. We had beautiful weather and my team won the race. Like, literally, one of our members was the first woman to cross the finish line. I think she did it in 22 minutes. Yeah, before the race, we asked how fast she runs. She said sometimes 6 minute miles, but she wouldn't be running that fast today. We found her afterwards, she was interviewed by a paper in Michigan and everything. She was like a little roadrunner.

It was a long weekend. I had a seminar I went to all day in Boston, then I rode down to NYC with Marcus, who was in town for a PawSox game. I didn't get to my sister's house until about 2 a.m. We got up at like, 6 a.m. to get dressed and meet the rest of the team for the 9 a.m. race. There were SOOO many people in Times Square when we arrived for the race. We picked up our swag and got our team sign and set about taking pictures to document the event. Well, I set about taking pictures to document the event. I even had a fanny pack to carry my camera! Yeah, I'm a dork. I wrote out dedication sign for my mom (a breast cancer survivor) and we set about kicking cancer's butt.

So the race was actually not as bad as I thought it would be. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't really like exercise. Not a particular fan of sweating and being uncomfortable. So this was big for me. I got almost through mile two without stopping. Then I stopped maybe midway into mile three and ran the rest of the way at a slow jog. I was running with Amazon Girl who is frigging awesome, and she was encouraging me to keep going. Then, when I did stop, she told me that I was doing really well considering we were ducking and weaving between walkers and running up more hills than should be allowable by law. She's great. Shout out to Amazon Girl.

After the race, they had a little fair, so we went around and picked up all of the swag we could. I got a sewing kit, some Arizona flavor packets for water bottles, tons of coupons, some reusable shopping bags (though my ones from Walgreens broke!), and bunch of other stuff I didn't need. We saw Jessica Alba and ate Cosi sandwiches. Yum. To the sandwiches. Though I'm sure the guys will say yum about Jessica. Oh! And we took group pictures. All of our team didn't show up for the race (some were sleepyheads) but here's a pic of all of our group. Including my coworker Lynn (fourth from the right) who traveled all the way from RI to run with me. We were running together, but she's in better shape than me. I think she finished the race in 33 minutes. Go speedracer.

So about that asterisk.

We were so excited, snapping photos and looking at the confetti, we didn't realize that the confetti meant the race had started. Literally, we were just sauntering about with the sign taking pics. Then we realized we should run. So, when we made it to mile 1 at like 18 minutes, we all scoffed. We knew it hadn't taken 18 minutes, and that the rest of our time would be skewed.

So, officially, I ran the race in 48. 40 minutes. I'm going to say I ran it in 42 minutes. Not a big difference, and really, it's not that important because I'm just amped I finished! Also, our team raised more than $1,500 to go toward cancer research.

Take that cancer!

It's a gorgeous day today, seriously

So, I didn't get into the Yale program.

Remember I was applying for grad schools? I got a rejection letter yesterday from Yale. I guess it was expected since I'd started out the week with a rejection from this program, I figured why break the streak? Now I'm just waiting for my Georgetown rejection letter. Kinda makes me regret spending the application fee and postage (I overnighted both of them).

Anyway, it was crazy because I got this suspect letter and was like, wtf? no return address on the front. I knew it was a rejection letter. Either that or a plea for money. So I opened it (and see Yale on the envelope flap) and knew I didn't get in. Remember when you were in high school and they talked about the fat envelope vs. the skinny envelope? Yeah, I figure the same applies for grad schools. And my envelope was thin as a mug.

I wasn't even upset about it. I just text the BF like "I didn't get into Yale." He called back immediately and I didn't even bring it up. It was kind of a non issue. Whatever. Yale doesn't know what they're missing.

I was cleaning my house yesterday (after I cleaned my car on that gloriously beautiful Saturday!) and ran across some old newspapers I'd saved forever to mount as clips but never got around to. I decided to toss them since a) I use electronic or web print outs now and b) I've written better stuff since I saved those papers, so I wouldn't use those as clips anyway. Anyway, I was reading some of my old stories and I used to be really good. Well, okay, I used to be good. I did a lot more features when I was in the bureaus because we needed centerpieces. Now that I'm in the main newsroom, most of my stories are briefs or my big features get whittled down to shorts (did I mention a 40 inch story I wrote on domestic violence -- that everyone thought was banging -- got cut in half? And still hasn't run? They're going to make me stop reporting as much because soon as I put in a national expert, when it comes time to print, they just cut them anyway. Save my time and post an update to twitter or something instead.)

So yeah, that was a nice trip down memory lane.

Then, I get a text in the middle of the night from Vandy about this foolishness at my alma mater:

An 18-year-old man shot the night manager and another man inside a Hampton University dorm before turning the gun on himself, police and school officials said Sunday. All three were hospitalized.

No students were injured in the shooting reported about 1 a.m., Hampton police said.

The suspect, who is from Richmond, shot two Hampton men, ages 62 and 43, before shooting himself, police said in a statement.

The shooter is a former student and the older victim is the night manager of the dormitory, Harkness Hall, said school spokeswoman Yuri Rodgers Milligan.

It's like, is the entire world going crazy? I don't know if the two men have died. I think when I first heard about it, I was upset because I thought it was students who were causing silly drama. I'm a firm believer that thugs don't go to college, so if you're in a university, you shouldn't be packing heat or slanging rock. It's just an oxymoron. But when I read the story, I can so see how it happened. Our security is so lax on campus that people can literally just walk on. And from what I hear, the kid was in school last semester, but wasn't enrolled this spring, so it wasn't like people would have been alarmed to see him walking around campus. I just wonder what beef he had with Harkness Hall. My prayers are going out to the entire HIU community.

I've been busy

Actually, no. I've just been tired.

I feel like I did like two trials non-stop last month. I didn't. But the one I did do was a doozy that my newsroom was having wet dreams over so it was causing me much angst. First day of testimony, they're like, give me 175-190 lines.

'scuse me? That's like 25 to 30 inches, sir. People seem to think a bunch of stuff happens during a day of testimony, like it does on TV. They lie. This is how testimony goes in real life.

Prosecutor: What's your name?
Witness: Joe Smith.
P: Where are you employed?
W: Widgets and Stuff.
P: What do yo do there?
W: I'm a janitor
P: How long have you been there?
W: 15 years
P: Do you have a family?
W: Yes.
P: Are you married?
W: Yes.
P: To whom?
W: Sally Smith.
P: How long have you been married?
W: 25 years.
P: Did you have chance to be working on March 23, 2005?
W: yes I did.
P: And how did you start that day?
W: I cleaned the trash cans and picked my nose and read people's mail like I always do. ....

But it takes a lot longer than it took you to read that. Trust me. And cats don't want to believe me when I tell them that

Pause for the cause.

I think Dan Barry just walked into my newsroom. Ahh, I think he's speaking (or spoke) at a journalism class taught by one of my colleagues. Apparently he's got local ties. From wiki: Dan Barry is a reporter for The New York Times. His column, "About New York", appeared on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the NY Region section of the paper. While working for the Providence Journal-Bulletin in 1994, Barry won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting after exposing corruption in the Rhode Island court system. Well, dang.

Back to our regularly scheduled post.

So anyway, they want me to pull 30 inches of crap out of my neck when they don't understand that the first few witnesses aren't necessarily the juicy ones. Like, they have to set scene and establish all these things before they get to the juicy stuff. Let ME -- the person who sat in court all day -- tell you how much I can pull out of my neck, please.

But I wrote it anyway. Here it is. I got in trouble for not having enough attribution. I complied in later stories.

So after that, I started writing this other story that keeps getting held. Shoot, actually two stories. I know it's the nature of the beast, it just is MAD irritating. Because they keep coming to me with stuff that's in the story asking me about it. And I fix it, or bring their point up higher in the story and the joints still haven't run. Someone kill me.

Beyond that, training has been beating me. And I'm lazy. I did do 30 minutes of core strengthening yoga this afternoon followed by a 45 minute run/walk that covers the 3.1 miles I'll be running on May 2. I was proud because I got further than I had been before I stopped to walk, but still kinda discouraged because I had to stop. I'm building up slowly, so I figured it best to at least get used to the distance, even if I didn't run it the entire time. I ran in intervals. So I guess that's improvement, huh?

I'm hungry and I'm about to go to a Town Council budget workshop session. Joy.

Baby steps

I did my first run outside. On concrete. In a neighborhood.

Real life is no joke.

I've been running on a treadmill and I kept hearing people say that treadmill miles don't translate into real world mileage. I figured I'd lose a little bit, but man, as I jumped over uneven sidewalks and dodged unruly trees, I felt as though I was almost back at square 1.

Almost.

With that being said, I'll say this: I'm a punk. When I started to get uncomfortable, I'd ask the BF to stop (he offered to run with me, even though he only had his Vans -- how nice is that?). He'd oblige. He did make me run the last few blocks back to my house nonstop though. Kept saying, 'come on, just a little further' when I started to slow down. I wanted to tell him I wasn't going to stop, but the quick pace we'd been keeping needed to come down a notch if I wasn't going to collapse on my doorstep. Then he raced me to my front door. I lost.

So yeah, I think I've decided that if I have the chance to run outside versus doing a few hours in the gym, I'm going to choose to run outside. I didn't hurt as much, and I'm not going to be pumping weights come May 2. I'm going to be running in Central Park/Times Square. Oh goodness. What did I sign up for?

Healthy Recipe #2 - Thai Chicken Basil

What's that? You say I forgot to cook something healthy in February? I did. But if I think about it I did do some creative cooking, just forgot to blog about it.

I didn't have any broccoli florets for my chicken Alfredo, so I used a stir fry mix of fresh carrots, broccoli, pea pods and little baby corn, and boiled that with my fettuccine. Then, instead of chicken, I cooked some salmon with just some simple seasonings (salt and pepper) and tossed all of it in jarred Alfredo sauce (the least healthy part of all this, I know). It came out pretty good. So I'm going to count that as my healthy recipe for February.

Anyway, after my workout tonight (gotta get my run on) I'm going to run by the grocery store to pick up ingredients for this recipe, one of my Thai favorites: Chicken Basil. I'm going to add more veggies (red and green bell peppers, scallions, onions, green beans and whole mushrooms) and use sliced chicken breast and serve it over regular white rice, like my favorite Thai restaurant here in Providence. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

THAI CHICKEN BASIL

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped Thai chile pepper (or other chile pepper/red pepper flakes)
• 8 ounces ground chicken breast
• 1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (optional) Kecap manis
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup Thai holy basil (Ga-Prao)
• Salt
• Steamed jasmine rice
  

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok at high heat. Stir in the chopped garlic and cook until it is golden brown. Add the Thai chile pepper and stir well.

Add the ground chicken and cook it just halfway done. Reduce the heat to medium and add the mushrooms, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, sweet soy sauce, and chicken stock. Mix well.

When all the ingredients are cooked, add the red bell pepper and the Thai holy basil. Mix well and season to taste with salt. Serve over steamed jasmine rice.

UPDATE!!!!UPDATE!!!!UPDATE!!!!UPDATE!!!!UPDATE!!!!

Man. I have been paying for the people at Pakarang Exquisite Thai for nothing! Now, I did have to buy some things I'm kinda wondering when else I'll use (fish sauce and oyster sauce) but I made the chicken basil and it is FANTASTIC!

Here's my yummy dinner. Sorry I don't have a picture of my finished plate. I was hungry and forgot. *Shrug*

It's nice and spicy like I like it. A few changes though -- I didn't use the sweet soy sauce, and I only put in one tablespoon of red pepper flakes, which was plenty. I figured if I wanted it to be hotter, I could add more later. Glad I held off. It was sufficiently spicy with just 1 tablespoon. Two tablespoons and I doubt I would have been able to eat it. I chopped the mushrooms into quarters, and sliced the peppers in bite sized chunks. And I put in like, 6 breast tenderloins, also sliced (on the bias) in bite sized chunks. To save some time, I used minute rice.

This one is a keeper.

Since I've been gone

A few things, since I haven't updated in forever:

I didn't get my hair done. Loser, right? I was in the middle of covering a murder trial and I wasn't committed to paying for someone to do my hair for the Follies.

So I did it myself instead.

It's not the same style. I originally did two strand twists with the intent to do a twist out the night of the show (an old standby from Follies past). But then, I twisted up a few of the twists and realized it looked pretty cute as it was. So I left it. Here it is:

I'll post a better picture a little lower.

So anyway, the Follies were a hit. The show went off pretty well and I only forgot a few of my words -- That's a success in my eyes.

I didn't get mentioned, but the Phoenix gave us a pretty good review. Overall, we've been getting a lot of good feedback about the show. I wasn't in that many numbers -- I think three, not counting the opener and closer, so it was a low key night for me. Which was actually good because I wasn't completely exhausted as I have been in previous years where I'm on stage constantly. This year, I played Sasha Obama with another coworker and sung a song about how cute we Obama girls are, I was in a song about the layoffs at my newspaper, and I was in a song about Steve Alves - a former senator in West Warwick who was ousted by a baker. Good times indeed.

In other news, the BF went with me to the show. I fought him on the outfit (which was his idea) but we turned out to be "the best dressed couple in Swansea." I'll take it. He was excited about the Urkel glasses. I was skeptical at first, but they turned out to be a nice addition.

After the show, we went out to a local bar and hung out with some of my coworkers and the other folks who went to the show. Then we went to my coworker's house and played Rockband until like, 3:30, 4 a.m. It was ridiculous. A good night though. A really good night.

At work, things have been kinda rocky -- no pun intended. We laid off an additional 100 people, including two of my favorite office assistants ever in life. They were my friends -- one even my "adopted mom" who always looked out for me when I first came to the Journal and was assigned to her bureau. I didn't get a chance to say goodby because I've been working on a murder trial and was out of the office most days. After they got the news, thankfully the company didn't make them continue to work - like they did the last round of layoffs we had. So when I came in to joke with one of them, their desks were cleared out. Good for them, sad for me. I'm going to get some cards and write nice notes to them and send them to them, because I honestly don't know if I'll see them again. Which is pretty sad.

The good note is that, as I mentioned, I've been covering a murder trial the last few weeks. You know I LOVE trials right? You do. Anyway, I think I've been writing some really good stories -- I even got front page two days in a row. Yesterday, I was the front page centerpiece! How cool is that? Wanna read my stuff? Here's some of it. You can also google me. I got hits, yo.

Bishop tells his story

Alfred "Freddie" Bishop guilty in 2007 murder

Brother of slaying victim tells of fatal struggle with intruder in Warwick home

And I was a freaking blog superstar all during the trial. I was calling in updates, e-mailing posts and just all around being a "blog-centered" superstar. I rock. Hard.

Anyway, um, other than that, things have been cool. I'm completely slacking on my exercise, which I fully plan to get back on this weekend. I've just been pooped lately. But I gotta start running again or I'll never be ready for this 5K. Oh, and just in case you haven't already, there's still time to donate!

Racing for a Cure

You guys are fantastic.

I put out this plea last week -- along with some e-mail solicitations and notices in my work newsletter.

Thanks you to (and some people who probably don't read this blog) we've already raised $270 toward breast cancer research.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

If you haven't donated (or already have and want a repeat of that happy feeling), and would like to, click here.

I'm working out tonight to get ready for this run. What's been great is the amount of support I've gotten from everyone. From running and training tips, to people donating or stopping by my desk to tell me stories of the survivors in their lives. It's been great so far -- and I've only just begun!

The race is May 2 -- so keep the love coming!

Kill Yourself.

Know what irks the crap out of me?

When people leave their ringers on high at work. And let those jokers ring.

On my way into the building, I put my phone on vibrate or silence it altogether. I mean, I've left my ringer on BY ACCIDENT at work before and that joint has rung. But soon as I hear it, I scramble through my bag to find the bugger and immediately silence it or answer it.

Not so for these cats here.

One cat consistently keeps his ringer on. And it always seems to ring while he's on an interview. We're all in the newsroom, damn near on top of one another. When that joint rings, he just lets it ring. He's got one of those rings that sound like the transitional music from Saved By the Bell. You know what I'm talking about. (duduhduhduhdu-DUNDUN -daduhdundundunduhndun)

It bothers me. A lot.

And clearly it just happened again. Which is why I'm taking valuable time out of my day to write about this joker.

Prêt-à-Porter

So, I'm just going to say whatever.

I was all worried about what to wear to the Follies. In years past, I've been mostly classy, but not necessarily funky. Or really, even youthful.

This year was going to be my year to change all that. i was going to go out shopping and find a cool dress and funky accessories and look like the fly 25 year old that I am in my head.

Stuff keeps getting in the way.

For example, yesterday was Valentine's Day. It was 10 a.m. and I still had nothing to wear. I started thinking and remembered a dress I saw on someone's Facebook album. I needed something I could just come in and try on and buy immediately because I had rehearsal for the Follies at noon thirty until 4 and then I was going out with the BF at 5.

So I stopped by American Apparel. I was on a mission.

I looked through the spandex on the racks, looking for the picture that matched the one in my head. Then I saw it.

The colors at American Apparel never really wow me. They're either, I think, too bland or too outrageous. None of them seem necessarily rich. I like rich colors.

Anyway, so I try it on in black*. I figure you can't go wrong with black. The dress fits perfectly -- as perfect as any AA dress can fit, if you know what I mean. But it doesn't pack that punch that I'm looking for. I walk out onto the sales floor in the dress and my fantastic boots (that I just happened to be wearing that day) and looked at the other colors.

White. Mustard. Burgundy. Plum. Asphalt.

Mmm. Asphalt.

I take Asphalt and the white back into the dressing room with me. I finally get the dress over my head and pull it down over my hips. A smile creeps over my lips as I look into the mirror.

This is it.

I rush to the cashier and tell her to ring up asphalt -- and black, you really can't go wrong with black -- in a medium. I walk out with a small bag and a tinging ping of guilt (my job may have layoffs in the next week or so and I just spent $75 on two dresses, sigh).

After practice, I run home, shower, and throw the dress on. I pair it with camel colored patent leather heels I got from H&M and my go-to tan bag. I throw on some eyeshadow and pop open my new lipgloss from Cargo (freaking fantastic). A few spritzes of Jean Paul Gautier sample I got when I ordered the Cargo (I love Sephora!) and I'm out the door.

The evening goes well and the BF liked the dress. A lot. (sorry, I forgot to take pics, but trust, I was looking right.)

Anyway, so I said all that to say that instead of looking for a new dress, I'm going to wear the black AA dress I bought yesterday.

I'm thinking of buying some pumps (maybe red stilletoes or leopard print) and either a printed purse, or wearing my go to tan clutch to the Follies at the end of this month. I've already got my hair appointment to do the aforementioned hairstyle to my head (I don't need the stress of trying to get this right myself -- and really don't have a day to just play until the show is over).

So yeah. I'm saying whatever and instead of just searching for the perfect dress, I'm going to wear what I'm comfortable in. And I promise, I'll be sure to take pictures.


*the Web site doesn't have the exact dress, but the link is to the most similar one I could find. It's just like that, but with no ribbing.