Miss Boo

She was IN TO her cake. Almost literally. :)

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The Eyes Have It - Kids

Again, we have Mr. A, this time burrowed into his uncle's shoulder. It had been a really long day of cake, presents, and excitement at that point!

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The Eyes Have It - Pets

Miss Sophia, about a week after I brought her home, soaking up a sunbeam. You can just see her big sister, Killian, in the background.

It was a hard choice, but I didn't see a lot of cats in the entries. :)

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Goals for 2009 - January Update

Lesse where we are with these...

1. Knit something other than a rectangular object. I made a hat! Joe thinks it looks like a jellyfish, but dammit, I made a hat!
   
2. Get my site created and launched. This one is in progress, hoping for a launch date some time in March!
   
3. Continue operating on a mostly cash only basis, and continue to pay off the debt. On track here...
   
4. Get back on track with improving my health and fitness. I've started back on a healthy eating plan and went to the gym this week. The gym was extremely crowded with all the New Year's Newbies, so I'm considering just doing yoga in my basement till March.
   
5. Spend less idle time online, and more time doing things to enrich my life and career.
6. Go back for my master's. I sent in the application for the fall semester three weeks ago...waiting not-so-patiently to hear back.
   
7. Take more photos, and improve my skills there.
   
8. Set aside one hour a week for just me, where I unplug from everything.
   
9. Get my house organized. In progress. Dad is building me shelves for the living room and the basement, so this should help out.
   
10. And just because, buy one of these. This one seems a little far fetched right now...waiting to see how the tax situation unwinds. :)

Not too bad for the end of the first month, I'd say!

Joy

This is the darling Mr. A, son of my big sorority sister, on his first birthday. My little french fry here was quite excited about his new scooter/motorcycle/zoom zoom thing.

He is very into all sports, fruits and veggies, loves his doggy Charger, and his mom and dad. He is one of the happiest little guys I know. :)

Triumph in an Onion

I have done some interesting things in my culinary life.

I have exploded Pyrex bowls.

I have exploded butter.

I have set an oven on fire, then argued with a friend about whether or not to put baking soda or baking powder on the flames, and looked at her like she was crazy when she suggested we Google it. "We don't have time for Google!" I shouted, as 4" flames danced across the bottom of my oven.

I have set a wok on fire. (Note: Woks + electric stoves = bad idea)

On a less destructive note, I've also accomplished difficult recipes that I never thought I could.

I've created several cheesecake recipes, including one that came in 2nd place in a local contest, beating out a professional chef in the process. (I'm so modest...)

I've made my own pasta, bread, beef burgundy, creme brulee, and figured out different uses for my Crock Pot.

I've also learned cooking traditions from family members so that they stay alive for the next generation.


However, there is one thing that has eluded me for years.

That my friends, would be the onion. Specifically, dicing one.

No matter how many times I try, I can't dice a freakin' onion. I get slices, I get shreds, I get rings, I get everything but a diced onion.

"You have a food chopper, just put it in there," says Dad.

"No," I reply, "I want to learn how to do it. I can make everything else, I should be able to dice a damn onion."

*insert eye roll here*

If I am making dinner for Joe and I, I just hand the onion, the knife, and the cutting board over to him.

Both Joe and Dad have tried many a time to show me how to do this. As a result, many an onion have been sacrificed in this endeavor.

I was beginning to think it just wasn't in me to dice an onion. I would have to result to using the chopper. I felt so defeated.

Until last night.

I was prepping everything for dinner tonight so that when Joe and I get back from the DIA today, I could just throw everything into the oven and we won't be eating at 10pm.

We are having a very Pioneer Woman meal today, using Ree's recipes for creamed spinach, pot roast, bread pudding, and a guest recipe for roasted potatoes. (Have I mentioned I love her?)

This requires a lot of onions.

A lot of diced onions.

Ree also has a tutorial on her site on how to chop an onion. Like the engineer I am, I opened it up, looked at it, studied it like it was Calculus.

I can do this. It's just one stupid onion. This isn't that hard. It's the same way Dad, Joe, and everyone else has been dicing onions since the dawn of time. It's just an onion.

With a deep sigh, I approached my little green cutting board with the onion atop, and my beloved Wusthof knife in hand. Looking at it, I said, "Please don't fail me now." (Really, I talk to my knives. Don't you?)

TRIUMPH! I had just diced my first ever onion.

I grabbed another one. Who cares if I needed it. I had to see if this was a fluke or not.


It wasn't! I had actually just diced not one, but TWO onions. I danced around the kitchen in joy, knife waving about, stepping on a cat (sorry, Killian).

I texted Joe in excitement, "I JUST DICED AN ONION!!"

He replied back, "That's what they all say."

Somehow, the excitement of all this was lost on him.

The cats didn't understand either, but then again, they're cats. They don't like onions. Unless it's in tuna salad, then it's a different matter...

Goals for 2009

Inspired by The Happy Housewife, and Steve over at Remedy, I'm compiling my list of goals for 2009. They're really a continuation of the goals I set in 2008 to reach by the time I turn 30 in February 2010. (When the heck did that happen!?)

So here we go, in no particular order, because that's how I roll:

1. Knit something other than a rectangular object. This means moving on from blankies, scarves, and potholders. I've picked out a pattern to try to accomplish this, and the needles and yarn are anxiously awaiting me to finish the previous project I've been working on (since November 2007...I'm not very speedy).
   
2. Get my site created and launched.
   
3. Continue operating on a mostly cash only basis, and continue to pay off the debt. (Almost there!)
4. Get back on track with improving my health and fitness. With burnus interuptus, I've been shying away from the gym until the wound closes (it hasn't yet), and I've been quite lax in my menu planning. My waistline is showing the effects. I have about 7 pairs of really cute (and somewhat expensive) pairs of jeans I don't fit into anymore!
   
5. Spend less idle time online, and more time doing things to enrich my life and career.
6. Go back for my master's.
7. Take more photos, and improve my skills there. I have almost 5,000 items on Flickr. This doesn't seem like nearly enough.
8. Set aside one hour a week for just me, where I unplug from everything. This time could be spent reading, meditating, doing yoga, taking a walk, but whatever it is, it will be done without connection to TV, radio, or internet.
9. Get my house organized. I have a plan. I just need to...you know...do it.
10. And just because, buy one of these.

I hope that everyone has a safe New Year's Eve, and an even better 2009!