Bella's World

The Walking Dead

2010-10-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

I watch a lot of television. Like, more than the average bear. And not since The X Files has a show given me the chills like The Walking Dead did. Also, the production values, the direction, the acting, the FX, the makeup, the sets... All movie quality. Not something you'd think to see on a television show, much less a show in the horror genre. There aren't many horror genre shows out there. Sure, we have Supernatural, but I would classify that as more of a drama and comedy mixed with, well, supernatural elements. The X Files was a show that scared the pants off of me on a weekly basis and this new show, The Walking Dead, did the same thing. The zombies were scary, the pacing was spot on and the story just works. I know many will say, "Isn't this a rip-off of 28 Days Later?" and they will be wrong. The Walking Dead was a graphic novel that came out years before 28 Days Later. And I'm kinda upset about that. I loved 28 Days Later, it was a great zombie flick. But this show, while the beginning is very similar to that movie, it's already moving towards something new. This show better get a big following b/c it deserves it and it is just an awesomely fun romp! Not denigrating Dawn of the Dead (b/c dude, that movie is awesome!) but The Walking Dead has zombies as they should be. Slow and stupid. I mean, c'mon, they're zombies. They've lost all ability save for the basic one of the need to feed. They don't run, they don't plan, they don't band together and find ways to get to their dinner. They're just zombies. As they should be.

Lee's Fit Test Take 2

2010-06-25T07:20:00.001-07:00

I am very proud of Lee. He has been doing SO good on his diet and his fitness. In the past 12 weeks, he's lost almost 20 pounds and over 4 inches off his waist.

Unfortunately, this wasn't quite enough for the USAF. :( He still failed his Fit Test. Now, on the upside of this, he only failed by 2.5 points. He needed a 75 to pass. On his first test, back in April, he only scored a 22. Yikes, right? And today, he scored a 72.5. So you know what? I'm still proud of him.

But now comes the worry. There is a real possibility that he could be discharged from the military for failing again. I mean, yes, it's not the most likely option, but it's still there and that terrifies me. Lee has 13 years in, only 7 more to go before retirement. And he's still working on his degree. I have no marketable skills, I'm basically an idiot.

Now we have to wait until Monday to see what happens. It could be something as small as an LOC, or in the middle with an LOR. Or the ultimate Worst Case Scenario. A discharge from the USAF.

Gonna be a long weekend of waiting.

Turkey Pasta Bake

2010-05-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

1 pound ground turkey, 97% lean

Drizzle of olive oil

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

2tbs tomato paste

4tsp minced garlic

Parsley

Italian seasoning

S&P

Cayenne

Rosemary

Oregano

Basil

8oz Fat Free Philadelphia Cream Cheese

14oz whole wheat rotini pasta

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

4 slices swiss cheese

1/4 cup finely grated mozzarella cheese

2/3 cup 1% milk

Heat oven to 375.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta, boil until al dente, about 10mins.

Brown ground turkey, add sauce, tomatoes, paste, 3tsp minced garlic and other seasonings to your liking. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 10mins.

Heat small saucepan over medium heat, add milk and cream cheese. Season with pepper, cayenne, parsley and 1tsp minced garlic. Heat, stirring occasionally, until cream cheese is melted.

Drain pasta, return to hot pot and add cheese sauce. Stir until evenly coated.

Spray casserole dish with Pam, pour in noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley. Pour meat sauce on top of noodles, then top with swiss and mozzarella.

Bake, uncovered, for 15-20mins, until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Makes 12 servings.

Calories per serving - 235

Lee's Weight Loss Part 2

2010-05-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

So proud of Lee! :) In 6 weeks, he's lost 15 pounds! That's spot-on with what he needs to lose in order to pass his next fit test. He was told to lost 30 pounds in 3 months, so he's right on track. He's been eating better, his portion sizes have decreased dramatically, he's working out and his endurance is so much better now. When he started working out, he couldn't even do a mile on the elliptical w/o having to hop off and catch his breath. Now, he's doing 2.5 miles at a time and just barely breaking a sweat. I'm so very proud of my husband and how much he's embraced this new phase of his life. I have no worries that he'll pass his next fit test with flying colors!

Lee's Weight Loss

2010-04-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

It's been 4 weeks since Lee was told that he had to get his waist down to under 40inches (he was at 44.5) and he had to drop 30 pounds (he was at 245). Well, here we are, a month later, and YAY! Lee's made his goal of losing 10 pounds in April! :D He probably could've lost more, if he went balls out, but we didn't want to completely shock his system. Our biggest changes have been no more fast food during the week, just once during the weekend. Also, a big change!, no more drinking beer during the week. Dude, that was getting outta hand anyways! We needed a reason to cut back on the beer. At 110calories per beer, and Lee can easily put away 12 beers in a night, that's 1320 calories, just in BEER! (As opposed to wine, which in 1 bottle, there's only 550 calories.) I also stepped up and started becoming a bit of a food nazi. LOL Seriously, I was tossing out chips and white bread and frozen breakfast sandwiches and cheese in a can, all that crap that Lee would snack on. To replace it, I started buying fish and ground turkey, 90cal granola bars, 100cal bags of popcorn, nuts, beef jerky, cheese (but the good cheese! Edam and Emmental and Fontina) and crackers, loads of broccoli and red potatoes, plus bags of salad. Now, I cook a fresh healthy lunch every day which I always keep below 500 calories. I actually try to keep it in the 300cal range, if I can. Dinner, I rarely make it more than 600. But once in a while, I do splurge a bit and the calories may go up to 800-900. I logged Lee's meals for an entire month, just so I could wrap my head around how many calories go into what. Now it's second nature to do the math in my head and let him know how many calories his meals are. He got to around 1500 calories per day, but that was w/o the beer! But he did cut back his drinking to just on Fri and Sat nights. No more mid-week drinking beers!

He's been really good about working out, too. If he can't make it to the gym, then we do a workout DVD here at home, or he hops on the elliptical for 30mins.

For the next month, we're cutting out fast food completely, cutting out beer completely. He's also going to step up his workout regimen to running 5x a week and doing weights 3x a week.

I have complete faith that he'll drop the unwanted pounds and get back on track with the USAF's fitness regulations. :)

Mock Mashed Potatoes

2010-04-27T15:26:00.001-07:00

1 large potato, peeled and quartered

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup fat free sour cream

2 tbs I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light

2 tbs Fat Free Philadelphia Cream Cheese

S&P

Bring large pot of water to a boil, add potatoes and cauliflower florets.

Boil until fork tender, about 20mins.

Drain, return to pot.

Mash well (or use a hand mixer) with remaining ingredients.

Makes 5 servings

Calories per serving - 80

Piadina

2010-04-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

1 La Tortilla Factory Tomato & Basil wrap

1/2 tomato, sliced thin

2 slices thin deli turkey

2 slices thin deli ham

2 slices turkey bacon

1tbs reduced fat cream cheese

Shredded cheddar cheese

Heat large skillet over medium heat. Spray with Pam.

Assemble tortilla by spreading cream cheese first, topping with ham and turkey, then bacon and tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Place into hot skillet, cook until cheese is melted. Adjust heat so it doesn't burn and check frequently.

Serve hot.

Total calories - 320

Marker20 Sucks

2010-04-20T05:35:00.000-07:00

http://findlocal.dailypress.com/downtown-hampton/restaurants/cuisine/second-mouse-inc-hampton-restaurant

We were out at the International Children's Festival this past Saturday (April 17, 2010) and happened upon Marker 20. Having never been there, we decided to give it a try. Our party consisted of 3 adults and 3 children (ages 4, 27months and 28months). Service wasn't great, food was barely edible. My fish (Fish and Chips) was leaking with oil, and my chips were burnt. The Dirty Rice Balls tasted like rice mixed with ketchup. The hushpuppies tasted like they were fried with onion rings. The Chicken Caesar Wrap was 80% lettuce and dressing. Everything we got that was fried, which includes the hush puppies, fish and chips, and chicken strips, all looked like they had been fried together and were all unappetizingly the same shade of dark amber brown. Service was slow, especially considering the patio was only half-full. We asked for our bill to be split, 2 adults and 1 child on one, and 1 adult and 2 children on the other. My bill came to $42.87. I only tipped $4.00 b/c as I've plainly stated, we had substandard service and food. So I filled in for a $4.00 tip, and signed for a total of $46.87. Imagine my surprise when I checked my bank account Monday morning and saw a charge of $51.44. The restaurant decided to auto-tip themselves 20%. Upon checking their website ( www.marker20.com ), I do see that "An 18% gratuity will be added to parties of 6 or more." BUT since when are children, who barely touched their inedible food and pretty much spent all their time coloring, considered part of the "party"? And by splitting the check, our "party" was only 3 anyway, including our 27month old toddler. And my biggest beef, which is over the smallest amount of money, is this mythical 18%. If you do the math, and I did, $42.87 + 18% = $50.59. Marker20 charged us 20%. While that may not seem like a lot of money (it's only 18¢), if they are doing this every time, then they are skimming a lot of money for people who may not be double checking their bank accounts. This is fraud. Do NOT go to Marker20.

Skillet Chicken

2010-04-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

2 full chicken breasts, boneless skinless

4 cups water

2tbs salt

2tbs sugar

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced to 1-2 inches thick

3 carrots, diced into 1 inch chunks

1/2 cup chicken broth

4tbs extra virgin olive oil

2tbs I Can't Believe It's Not Butter

1tsp minced garlic

Paprika

S&P

Rosemary

Garlic Powder

Pour water into a large bowl, add 2tbs salt and 2tbs sugar. Mix well until dissolved. Add chicken and let brine for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Place diced potatoes and carrots into a bowl, drizzle with EVOO, season with S&P and rosemary. Microwave for 3 minutes.

Remove chicken from brine, and rinse well.

Heat EVOO and butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add minced garlic.

Season one side of chicken with pepper (no extra salt), rosemary, garlic powder and paprika. Place seasoned side down into hot skillet. Let brown for 5 minutes. Season other side. Flip and let other side brown for 5 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots and arrange around the chicken breasts. Pour chicken broth over vegetables. (Not the chicken. Don't want the seasoning to fall off!)

Cover and let simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes.

Serve with juices.

One chicken breast with veggies = 595 calories.

Turkey Meatloaf

2010-04-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

1 pound ground turkey

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 handful dry stuffing (Stove Top is what I use)

1 egg

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Ground pepper

Basil

2tsp minced garlic

1 tsp basil

1 carrot, grated

1 tsp onion powder

3 dashes Tabasco

2tsp Worcestershire sauce

Italian seasoning

Dash salt

1 can condensed tomato soup (Campbells)

Heat oven to 350.

Mix all ingredients, except soup. Form into a loaf. Place in 9x9 square baking dish.

Pour soup over loaf. Season with a dash of salt, basil, Italian seasoning, parsley and ground pepper.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Let sit 10mins before serving.

Makes 4 servings. Total calories per serving, 450.

Chicken Cordon Bleu and Lemon Garlic Broccoli

2010-04-08T15:18:00.001-07:00

Thin sliced chicken breasts

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup Panko

1 egg

2 tbs Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup diced ham

s&p

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tbs butter

1/2 can cream of broccoli soup

1/4 cup light sour cream

Paprika

Garlic powder

10 oz frozen broccoli

Lemon juice

Heat oven to 350.

Spray casserole dish with Pam.

Beat egg in one shallow dish.

Mix bread crumbs, panko and parmesan in another shallow dish.

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness.

Season one side with s&p and garlic powder.

Dip unseasoned side of chicken into egg wash, then into bread crumb mix.

Place chicken, bread crumb side down, on the counter. Top with a small amount of ham and cheese. Roll up tightly and place into casserole dish.

Repeat with all chicken breasts.

Bake at 350 for 30mins.

While chicken is baking, mix soup and sour cream well. Season with pepper. Set aside.

Place frozen broccoli into a large sauce pan, cover with water. Bring to a boil, boil 3mins. Drain. Melt butter, add minced garlic, pour over broccoli. Add lemon juice and s&p. Cover and let sit until chicken is done.

After chicken is finished, place on a plate and add a scoop of soup mix to the top. Serve with broccoli.

Total calories per serving - 700

Lee's New Diet

2010-04-05T15:09:00.001-07:00

My husband is in the USAF and he had his yearly fit test last week. And he failed it. Boo. :( His weight has jumped from 230 up to 245 pounds and his waist from 39 to 43 inches. Yikes! He now has 3 months to lose the weight, or risk a discharge from the military.

We've already cut down on the beer (and if you know us, that's HUGE! LOL) and I've stopped buying red meat all together. It's all fish and ground turkey and white meat chicken for us now. Lunches are salads with a light vinaigrette dressing and dinners have been baked chicken breasts or fish with broccoli. I'm working on keeping his caloric intake to around 1500 calories. He has a granola bar for breakfast (100 cals), lunch is kept to around 300-400 cals, and dinner is kept around 800. He then gets an evening snack of popcorn or a piece of fruit. He's promised me that he won't be sneaking fast food, too. I used to find at least 2 McDonald's bags in the car every week! He's also promised not to have any more sodas at work, and no more chips, either. He's went to the gym twice last week and that's more than he's been in the past 2 years we've been stationed here! He's serious about passing his retest in 3 months and I'm determined to help.

Tilapia Take 2

2010-04-05T15:05:00.001-07:00

Tried making tilapia again tonight and it was a success! :)

Tilapia fillets

Lemon juice

Old Bay seasoning

1/4 cup Smart Balance Spread

1 tsp minced garlic

S&P

Preheat oven to 400.

Place tilapia on a rack, with a baking sheet underneath.

Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Melt butter, add garlic, and brush on both sides of fillets.

Season both sides with Old Bay, salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 for 20minutes.

Chicken Fried Rice

2010-03-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

2 cups cooked, cold white rice

1 cup cooked chicken, diced

2 carrots, shredded

1 small bag frozen peas

6 slices bacon, diced

2 eggs

EVOO

2 tbs butter

1 cup chicken broth

1 tbs minced garlic

Teriyaki sauce

Soy sauce

Ground ginger

Sesame oil

Sesame seeds

Cayenne

Ground black pepper

Heat wok over med-high heat, add diced bacon and cooked until crispy.

Remove bacon, drain on paper towel.

Remove all but 3 tbs bacon grease.

Add eggs, whisk slightly with fork to break the yolks. Cook until firm, then remove, slice into strips and set aside.

Add butter, plus drizzle of EVOO, reduce heat to medium.

Add cooked chicken, frozen peas, shredded carrots, teriyaki and soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and seeds, pepper and cayenne.

Cook over medium heat until peas are hot and carrots are softened, about 5mins.

Add rice and chicken broth.

Continue cooking until all liquid is absorbed and rice is warmed through and softened.

Add back in bacon and eggs.

Mix well.

Serve with chili sauce.

Foccacia Bread Pizza/Caprese Pizza

2010-03-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, I posted this recipe before, but I've made some revisions, so here it is again, new and improved!

Foccacia Bread Pizza

1 1/2 cups bread flour (this is crucial to get the fluffy texture)

1 1/2 cups regular flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbs sugar

1 package active yeast

1 1/3 cup hot water

EVOO

Rosemary

Minced garlic

Grated Parmesan

Mix flour together in large bowl. Add palm-full of rosemary. Make a well in the middle. Sprinkle sugar and yeast into well. Pour in hot water, slowly. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Add 2 tbs EVOO and mix gently, starting from the well and working your way out.

Add in salt, sprinkle of rosemary, and a tsp of minced garlic. Mix til blended.

Sprinkle flour on a large surface, knead dough until smooth. You'll have to add about another 1/4 cup of flour as you knead. You don't want it sticking to your fingers. Do Not Over Knead! Keep it feeling silky and not sticky.

In a clean glass bowl, add 1tbs EVOO. Form dough into a ball and place in bowl, rotating to make sure all sides have a little oil on them.

Cover with paper towel and let rise 40 minutes.

Remove paper towel and punch the dough. Yes. Punch it. That will help pop all the air bubbles. And it's kinda fun.

Lightly oil a baking sheet with EVOO. Place dough on baking sheet. Add some oil to your hands. This will make spreading it WAY easier. Squish the dough flat, to about 1/2 inch thick.

Drizzle with more EVOO, then, using the handle end of a wooden spoon, poke holes into the dough.

Sprinkle with more rosemary, sea salt (if you have it), cracked black pepper and garlic powder. Top with parmesan cheese.

Place on middle in oven. Oven is OFF at this time! Place another flat pan filled with hot water on the rack below. **Note: putting the empty pan in the oven, THEN pouring in hot water makes way more sense.** Let rise again for 25 minutes.

Turn oven on (leave pan with water in there. It'll keep the bread from drying out) to 375. Bake for 20minutes. (Or for 25 if you just want the bread and won't be making a pizza out of it.)

CAUTION! When you open the oven, you WILL get a steam facial. Just be forewarned. It's hella steamy. :)

While your focaccia bread is rising the second time, in the oven, start on your pizza sauce.

Pizza Sauce

1 can tomato paste (6oz)

1 can hot water (6oz)

2tbs grated Parmesan

2tsp minced garlic

1tbs honey

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne

Dash of salt

Italian Seasoning to liking

Whisk together all ingredients in small bowl. Let sit as your focaccia bread finishes baking.

After dough has cooked for 20mins, remove from oven let sit while you veeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrry carefully remove the hot pan of water. With a long bread knife, slice foccacia in half, making 2 pizza crusts. Or, a pizza sandwich!

Spread with sauce and add toppings. Bake additional 5-10mins to melt cheese. Broil, if desired. I prefer a little browning to my cheese, so I always broil for about 5mins before slicing and serving.

Caprese Pizza

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

20 fresh basil leaves, rolled and chopped

Canned diced tomatoes

After slicing foccacia in half, take the seasoned half, flip it over, then spread a little of the sauce on it, topped with diced tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. Bake until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, sprinkle with basil, serve immediately. Pizza Perfection!

Tilapia

2010-03-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

Tilapia Experiment of 2010 has been declared a success! YAY! Cooked 3 fillets, 3 ways. One in a parchment packet, one in a foil packet and one directly on a cookie sheet. Parchment one was moistest, but the one baked on the cookie sheet had a nice crisp edge to it. The foil one? That was not at all done when I unwrapped him! So he cooked 25mins in foil, then 10 more on the cookie sheet. He still tasted fine, but took way too long to cook. So here's the recipes for the 2 versions that turned out the best!

1 package Coleson Tilapia

Marinade

1/4 cup olive oil

2tsp minced garlic

s&p

Italian seasoning

Whisk marinade together and pour half into a plastic baggie with one tilapia fillet.

Repeat for 2nd fillet.

Let marinate for 30mins.

Preheat oven to 400.

1 sheet parchment paper

Pam spray

Olive oil

Rosemary

Old Bay

Paprika

Pepper

For the 3rd fillet, I placed him on the parchment paper that I had sprayed with Pam, then drizzled olive oil on him, sprinkled with all seasoning, and folded into a packet.

Place all 3 fillets on a cookie sheet, sprayed with Pam. Bake at 400 for 25mins. Serve with vegetable of your choice.

Lettuce Wraps

2010-02-24T09:27:00.001-08:00

*I used to eat these with my Korean momma all the time growing up. Love them! This a really versatile recipe, too. You can use tilapia, like I do, or any kind of fish or tuna, chicken or beef. Or no meat at all!

Lettuce leaves

Rice

Soy Sauce

Sriracha Sauce

Hot Pepper Paste

Gorton's Tilapia

Cook rice and tilapia, according to directions. Rinse and separate lettuce leaves. Once rice is done, season with a little soy sauce, to your liking. After fish is cooked, flake with a fork.

To Assemble:

Take one leaf of lettuce and spread some pepper paste on it. Top with a spoon full of rice, then with a small amount of tilapia. Squeeze on some Sriracha, fold lettuce over and EAT!

Here's pictures of the sauce, paste and fish that I used for this recipe.

Mini Pizzas

2010-02-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

Mini Pizzas

Heat oven to 350.

Sauce:

6 Ounce can tomato paste

6 ounces HOT water

1 tbs honey

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tbs cup grated parmesan

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp Oregano

1/2 tsp Basil

Pepper to taste

Cayenne to taste

Mix all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Let sit and allow flavors to meld while assembling remaining ingredients.

Pizzas

1 package English Muffins

1/4 cup olive oil

1 package diced pepperoni

Mozzarella cheese

Slice each muffin in half. Place muffin halves on baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Let muffins cook about 10 minutes, or until slightly crispy to the touch. Remove from oven. Switch oven to broil. Top with spoonful of sauce, pepperoni and cheese. Return to oven and broil until cheese is browned.

Serve with leftover sauce for dipping.

FYI: This recipe works just as well with thin bagels. Just up the oven to 400 and spread with garlic butter.

Sourdough Burgers

2010-02-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

*These taste kinda like meatloaf burgers, but we really liked it! Definitely a nice change of pace from our usual burgers!

Sourdough Burgers

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (80/20 is best for burgers)

1 egg

3/4 cup bread crumbs

3 tbs evaporated milk

2 tbs Worcestershire

1/2 tsp cayenne

2 tsp minced garlic

Beat egg in large mixing bowl, then add rest of ingredients and mix well by hand.

Form into 8 equal patties and set aside. Heat griddle over med-high heat, lightly oiled.

Cook patties (4 at a time) for about 5mins per side, or until done to your liking. I like mine a little crispy since the patties are so moist.

Place cooked patties into a toaster oven set on KEEP WARM while you finish the rest of the steps.

Sourdough Bread

Bacon

Tomatoes, thinly sliced

Swiss cheese

Melted butter

Mayonnaise

Ketchup

Fry/Bake/Nuke bacon 'til crispy. You'll want 1-2 slices per burger.

Layer slices of bread in oven and cook at 350 'til crispy, about 5mins. After they are crisped to your liking, brush with melted butter.

Once bacon is done cooking, take your patties and top with swiss cheese, nuke for 15 secs to melt cheese.

Place bread, buttered side down, on your plate. Top with patty, tomato, bacon and mayonnaise and ketchup. Top with second piece of sourdough, butter side up.

Serve with fries.

Bella's 2 year checkup

2010-02-21T20:40:00.001-08:00

Easiest appointment ever. LOL Spend a good chunk of the morning telling Bella that we were going to see the doctor this afternoon and that she was going to weigh her and measure her and poke her belly and listen to her heart... Basically just keeping the idea that going to the doctor was just like going to the library or the commissary, no big deal, just something we had to do.

Since I was able to get her down for an early nap, she woke up at 12:15 and we headed out at 12:45 so we could drop Lee off at 1pm at his office. My appointment wasn't until 1:40, but I like showing up early. I've never been late to anything by arriving early, you know? LOL

Well, good thing we did show up early! After parking way far away, and Bella having to examine damn near every blade of grass and having to stop every time a plane flew overhead (uh, Air Force base, so like every 2 minutes!) for Bella to say, "Oooooooh! I see plane!", we got into the clinic at say 1:10. Quick bathroom stop to make sure Bella hadn't pooped. b/c that's just embarrassing! LOL And then to the clinic only to see a sign that the Pediatrics Clinic has moved. Where? Who knows! No other signage! Anywhere! Luckily, I was talking to Bella about how we were just going to wander around and see if we could find someone to ask, when some other mom overheard me (no hard feat!) and told us where to go. Whew! I knew that they were adding onto the base hospital and I guess they decided to move the pediatrics clinic, too. Now I know. :) So, we have to walk all around the clinic again, get coats back on, go outside to the main entrance of the new wing of the hospital, and find our way to the clinic. And of course, there's always new paperwork to have to fill out! By now it's about 1:20, so we're actually ontime since every appt on base, you have to arrive 15mins prior.

After the quickest check-up ever, we were out the door. :) I don't mind quickie check ups when the doc seems to be knowledgable and it's quick due to the fact that I have an awesome baby. :)

Height

35 inches (83rd percentile)

Weight

28 1/2 pounds (72nd percentile)

Head Circumference

19 inches (78th percentile)

Kimchi Fried Rice

2010-02-21T20:10:00.002-08:00

Kimchi Fried Rice

1 cup cooked white rice

Kimchi, diced

Vegetable oil

Sauce

1/4 cup Soy sauce

Sesame oil, just a drizzle

Sesame seeds

Lemon juice, just a squirt

Rice vinegar, splash

Red pepper flakes

1 tsp Garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground Ginger

Scallions (optional)

Heat 3tbls vegetable oil over med-high heat in large frying pan or wok. Wait until it's super hot (flick a droplet of water in it and make sure it sizzles). Add in 1 cup cooked rice. Fry one minute. Add diced kimchi, plus some of the liquid from the jar. Continue frying for 2-3 mins.

Combine all Sauce ingredients, whisk well. (Just play with the amounts of spices until you get it perfect for how you like it.)

Remove fried rice, serve with sauce.

Or, roll in sheets of seaweed and dip in sauce, my fave way to eat kimchi fried rice!

Chicken Fingers and Oven Baked Potato Wedges

2010-02-21T20:10:00.001-08:00

Chicken Fingers and Oven Baked Potato Wedges

9 Chicken Tenderloins

6 oz Italian Dressing

4 medium potatoes

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 cup Parmesan

S & P

Garlic Powder

Olive Oil

Marinate chicken in Italian dressing at least 1 hour, or overnight. I let mine defrost in the dressing.

Heat oven to 425.

Scrub potatoes and slice into wedges, leaving the skins on. Place into large plastic bag. Pour in about 1/8-1/4 cup oil (vegetable or olive, your choice), some S&P, garlic powder, and 1/4 cup each Parmesan and Bread Crumbs. Add a squirt of Italian dressing, if you like, Shake well to coat.

On a plate, mix 1/4 cup bread crumbs and 1/4 cup parmesan. Take each wedge and press lightly into breadcrumbs, so they stick and form a nice crust. Place in single layer on foil lined cookie sheet, sprayed with Pam, or lightly oiled. Place in oven to bake for 20 mins while prepping chicken.

Pour remaining breadcrumbs and parmesan onto plate, coat each chicken tenderloin and place on another foil lined cookie sheet, sprayed with Pam, or lightly oiled.

Place into oven with potatoes, reduce heat to 375. Cook 15 mins, or until cooked through.

Serve with Ranch dressing.

Chicken Quesadillas

2010-02-21T20:09:00.002-08:00

Chicken Quesadilas

1 can fully cooked Tyson Chicken

6 flour tortillas

1/2 can Low Sodium Cream of Chicken soup

Mexican blend cheese

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Paprika

Oregano

Cayenne (or Red Pepper Flakes)

Pepper

Cumin

Combine chicken, soup, seasonings (add to your liking, but watch it with the cumin, a little goes a long way, and don't add salt. The chicken is already pretty salty.) with a splash of water. Heat over medium-low heat until warmed through.

Spray skillet with Pam, place tortilla in skillet over medium heat. Spread one spoonful of chicken mixture on 1/2 of tortilla. Top with small amount of cheese. Slide tortilla around gently to prevent burning. Fold tortilla in half when nicely browned. Will cook pretty fast, so keep on eye on it.

Slice with pizza cutter into wedges and serve with salsa.

Baked Spaghetti

2010-02-21T20:09:00.001-08:00

Baked Spaghetti

1 pound thin spaghetti

16 oz tomato sauce

12 oz tomato paste

1 cup water

1 pound hot sausage

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup butter

Parsley

Minced garlic

Oregano

Basil

Brown Sugar

Italian Seasoning

S & P

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with Pam.

Boil noodles according to package directions. Add salt and 1/2 tsp minced garlic.

While noodles are cooking, brown sausage in large pot with 1 tsp minced garlic.

Add tomato paste, sauce and water to browned sausage. Season to liking, making sure to add about 2 teaspoons of brown sugar to cut the acidity of the tomato sauce.

While sauce is simmering, drain noodles, toss with butter, parmesan, Italian seasonings and parsley.

Pour into casserole dish.

Top with meat sauce.

Sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Bacon Roaster Chicken and Potatoes

2010-02-21T20:08:00.001-08:00

Bacon Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

1 - 4 lb whole chicken (giblets removed)

2 cups beef broth

5 cloves minced garlic

1 apple, cored and quartered

1/2 cup butter

Drizzle of olive oil

Steakhouse Blend seasoning

S&P

1 pound bacon (half of it diced)

1/2 cup Italian dressing

Splash Worcestershire sauce

5-6 medium potatoes

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Rinse chicken, inside and out. Fill bottom part of roasting pan with broth and dressing. Put rack back on and place chicken breast side up on rack. With a sharp knife, pierce chicken all over. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Take butter and smear all over chicken, tucking some under the skin. Take leftover butter and place inside the cavity. Take 4 cloves of the minced garlic and use a little to rub on chicken, placing rest inside. Shove apples into cavity, too. Season chicken with s&p and Steakhouse seasoning. Take bacon (about half the package) and lay slices all over chicken, securing with toothpicks. Place chicken on lowest rack in oven and let roast for 20 mins at 450, then reduce heat to 350 and roast additional 1 1/2 hours, or until cooked through.

Scrub potatoes and cut into 1-2 inch chunks. Place potatoes into a plastic bag with 1 clove minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, s&p, Steakhouse Seasoning and remaining 1/2 pound of diced bacon. Add a little drizzle of olive oil. Shake to coat potatoes. Pour potatoes onto greased pan and place in with chicken, on the top most rack.

Everything should get done at around the same time and you can whip up some gravy to see with it.

Also, you can throw your chicken carcass into a pot of water, bring to a boil, then let simmer 3-4 hours. Strain and then you have some homemade chicken stock to use later. Enjoy!

Mozzarella in Carrozza

2010-02-21T20:07:00.002-08:00

Mozzarella in Carrozza

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes

12 slices white bread

6 slices fresh mozzarella

16 large basil leaves

S&P

4 tbs flour

2 eggs, beaten

3 tbs olive oil

Bring small pot of water to a boil, pour boiling water over tomatoes and let plump for a few minutes.

While tomatoes are soaking, use a large round cookie cutter (or a small glass) to cut circles from the middle of each slice of bread.

On 6 of the circles, place 2 basil leaves and one slice mozzarella. Remove tomatoes from water and blot dry. If they aren't already julienned, slice them up a bit. Lay equal amounts of tomato on each sandwich. Sprinkle with s&p. Top each sandwich with the remaining bread.

Heat skillet over med-high heat with 2-3 tbl olive oil. Fill one dish with flour and another with the egg. Dust each sandwich (careful! Don't let them fall apart!) in the flour, then dip in egg wash. Place carefully in heated pan. Cook until golden brown and the cheese is melted. About 3 minutes per side.

Serve as appetizers by slicing each sandwich in half. Make sure to let them sit for about 5 minutes to cool down and to let the mozzarella get extra gooey.

Shepherd's Pie

2010-02-21T20:07:00.001-08:00

Shepherd's Pie

5 potatoes

1 pound ground lamb

2 carrots, shredded

2 tbs tomato paste

2 cubes beef bouillon

1 cube chicken bouillon

1 cup water

1 can corn

4 servings prepared stuffing (I like Stove Top Chicken flavored)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbs Worcestershire

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cream cheese

3/4 cup milk

3 tbs butter

2 egg yolks

Rosemary

S&P to taste

Bring large pot of water to a rapid boil. Peel and halve the potatoes, add to boiling water with some salt. While potatoes are cooking, brown beef in large skillet. After meat is browned, add garlic, S&P, rosemary, worcestershire, tomato paste, water, all the bouillon and the shredded carrots. Let simmer over medium heat until most of the liquid is absorbed into the meat and carrots. This will pretty much take the exact amount of time as it takes to boil the potatoes.

Once potatoes are cooked through, drain, return to hot pot and let any remaining moisture evaporate. Mash well with 1 tsp minced garlic, a little rosemary, S&P, parmesan, cream cheese, sour cream, milk and butter. After potatoes are mashed, taste them and adjust any seasonings to your liking. Beat in egg yolks.

Layer beef mixture on bottom of large casserole dish. Top with stuffing, then corn, and finally with the potatoes. Sprinkle liberally with more parmesan (or, if you like, chedder cheese).

Bake at 350 for 20 mins, broil for last few to crisp up potatoes and cheese.

Enchilada Casserole

2010-02-21T20:06:00.002-08:00

Enchilada Casserole

2 cans enchilada sauce
1-2 pounds ground beef or turkey
1-2 teaspoons minced garlic (or equivalent in powder)
Dash cumin
Dash oregano
Dash pepper
1 taco seasoning packet
1/2 - 1 can refried beans
1 cup Cheddar cheese
1 cup Mozzarella cheese
1 cup Mexican cheese
***Or just whatever cheese you have. I've used all mozzarella before, but this is a good way to get rid of leftover shredded cheeses in your fridge***
8 tortillas (the ones for fajitas or soft tacos)

Preheat oven to 375

Brown ground beef in large skillet with minced garlic. Once browned, add cumin, oregano, pepper and taco seasoning packet. (Use only half of seasoning packet if you don't want it overly spiced.)
Mix in as much refried beans as you like. I only use half a can b/c otherwise it starts getting kind of thick.
Add in 1/2 can enchilada sauce.

Pour remaining 1 & 1/2 cans enchilada sauce into large bowl. Dip tortilla into sauce so it's covered, place on the bottom of a casserole dish. 2 should cover the bottom well enough.
Spoon in 1/3 of meat mixture.
(add jalapenos here, if you like)
Top with 1 cup of cheese.
Repeat twice with layers of:
Tortillas dipped in enchilada sauce
1/3 meat mixture
1 cup cheese

Top with final 2 tortillas and pour any remaining enchilada sauce on top.

Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Let sit 5-10 minutes for it all to form together and cool down.
Serve with sour cream and hot sauce.

Biscuits and Gravy

2010-02-21T20:06:00.001-08:00

Biscuits and Gravy

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbs sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

Pre-heat oven to 450.

Combine all dry ingredients. Add milk, mix well. (It will be clumpy, don't worry.) Dust a cutting board with flour, roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Dust top with flour. Cut into squares.

Pour melted butter into a flat baking pan. Place biscuit squares into butter, turning to coat. Cook for 10 mins.

Gravy

1/2 pound sausage (I like the spicy Jimmy Dean)

1 tbs butter

3 tbs flour

2 cups milk

S&P

Cook sausage in deep frying pan until no longer pink, over medium heat. Stir in butter, let melt and coat sausage. Sprinkle with flour, it will look pasty. Pour in milk and season with S&P. Raise heat to med-high and bring to a boil. Simmer until thickened.

Foccacia Bread Pizza

2010-02-21T20:05:00.000-08:00

Foccacia Bread Pizza

1 1/2 cups bread flour (this is crucial to get the fluffy texture)

1 1/2 cups regular flour

2 tsp salt

1 tbs sugar

1 package active yeast

1 1/3 cup hot water

EVOO

Rosemary

Minced garlic

Grated Parmesan

Mix flour together in large bowl. Make a well in the middle. Sprinkle sugar and yeast into well. Pour in hot water, slowly. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Add 2 tbs EVOO and mix gently, starting from the well and working your way out.

Add in salt, sprinkle of rosemary, and a tsp of minced garlic. Mix til blended.

Sprinkle flour on a large surface, knead dough until smooth. You'll have to add about another 1/4 cup of flour as you knead. You don't want it sticking to your fingers. Do Not Over Knead!

In a clean glass bowl, add 1tsp EVOO. Form dough into a ball and place in bowl, rotating to make sure all sides have a little oil on them.

Cover with paper towel and let rise 40 minutes.

Remove paper towel and punch the dough. Yes. Punch it. That will help pop all the air bubbles. And it's kinda fun.

Lightly oil a a baking sheet with EVOO. Place dough on baking sheet. Add some oil to your hands. This will make spreading it WAY easier. Squish the dough flat, to about 1/2 inch thick.

Drizzle with more EVOO, then, using the handle end of a wooden spoon, poke holes into the dough.

Sprinkle with more rosemary, sea salt (if you have it), cracked black pepper and garlic powder. Top with parmesan cheese.

Place on middle in oven. Oven is OFF at this time! Place another flat pan filled with hot water on the rack below. Let rise again for 25 minutes.

Turn oven on (leave pan with water in there. It'll keep the bread from drying out) to 375. Bake for 20minutes. (Or for 25 if you just want the bread and won't be making a pizza out of it.)

CAUTION! When you open the oven, you WILL get a steam facial. Just be forewarned. It's hella steamy. :)

While your focaccia bread is rising the second time, in the oven, start on your pizza sauce.

Pizza Sauce

1 can tomato paste (6oz)

1 can hot water (6oz)

2tbs grated Parmesan

2tsp minced garlic

1tbs honey

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne

Dash of salt

Italian Seasoning to liking

Whisk together all ingredients in small bowl. Let sit as your focaccia bread finishes baking.

Spread sauce evenly on focaccia bread, add toppings of your choice, top with mozzarella. Bake for 5 mins at 375, switch on broiler and broil until cheese is lightly browned and edges of pizza are crisped.

Slice in half, then each half into 8 sticks. Serve with remaining sauce.

Breakfast Potatoes

2010-02-21T20:04:00.000-08:00

Breakfast Potatoes

3 large potatoes, scrubbed and diced into 1/2 - 1 inch chunks. (Smaller is better!)

S&P

1 tsp minced garlic

Oil for frying

Rinse diced potatoes, then place in a sauce filled with water, season with salt. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes. You want them softened, but not squishy.

Meanwhile, heat oil in deep fryer to 375.

After potatoes are done boiling, drain and return to same hot pot (NOT to hot burner!) to steam off excess moisture.

Fry in deep fryer 5 minutes, or until browned and crisped along the edges.

Drain on paper towels and season with S&P while still hot.

Serve hot.

Fried Mozzarella

2010-02-21T20:03:00.000-08:00

Fried Mozzarella

3 Sargento Mozzarella cheese sticks

1 egg, beaten

1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I like Progresso)

Oil for frying

Cut cheese sticks in half. Dip in egg, then bread crumbs. Repeat. Press coating onto cheese stick so no cheese is showing.

Fry at 350 for less than one minute. Watch to see them float. Once they float, they're done. Do Not overcook, or they will explode.

Serve with Ranch or Marinara.

Back to Blogville

2010-02-21T19:23:00.000-08:00

Going to try (emphasis on TRY) to get around to posting all my recipes up on here. I keep forgetting that I even have a blog! LOL So stay tuned for many recipes that are delicious and horribly unhealthy!

Bella's 18mth Check-Up

2009-07-15T20:15:00.001-07:00

I love my baby. Have I mentioned that? b/c I really do. She's just the best and she makes me a better a person. Having her in my life makes me realize that I was just whiling away the minutes, hours, days, months, years... just waiting to meet her.
:o)
Bella turns 18mths on the 18th of July, but her 18 Month Check-Up was today. Just a few days off, no biggee. We dropped Lee off at work after lunch and went to the appt. Lee couldn't come with us b/c he had a meeting (the man has meetings all the damn time, I swear!) but that's ok. I don't think Lee's been to a Well Baby check up since Bella was 6mths. He was TDY for her 9mth, then he was TDY again for her 12mth and today a meeting thwarted him for the 18mth. We arrived right at 12:45 (appt was for 1pm) and got checked in at the Pediatric Clinic, then sent over to the Well Baby station, where I had to undress Bella (which she loves, my little nudist!) and fill out a 5 page booklet about her day-to-day activities. Before I'm done with Page 1, the P.A. calls Bella's name to get her weighed and measured. She's now 33.25 inches long and 25.13 pounds. That's a gain of almost 3 inches and over 3 pounds since her 12 Month Check Up! :o) She's now in the 75th percentile for weight and 95th for height! Big Girl!
Everything was checked out, eyes, ears, throat, tummy, chest, back, hoo-hoo, everything. She's perfectly healthy and happily advanced on all the checkpoints except for 2 things. She isn't very good at drinking out of a cup (not a sippee, an actual cup) w/o spilling and she still isn't very good at getting a spoonful of food from plate to mouth w/o dropping most of the contents. But all the other checkpoints, she blazed through without a worry. :)
She had to get her DTAP shot today. And you know what's crazy? She didn't cry. Not one single wail. In the past, she's done her "hurt" cry. It's where she does the silent cry for a few seconds, then wrenches her face up for the wail, and then BOOM, big scream! But today? I put her on the gurney, told her that it's no big deal, just a tiny little shot. She watched the PA give it to her, flinched a bit, then looked at him, then to me, then I hopped her off the gurney and she looked at the PA and said, "Bye-ee" and waved, and off we went. NO TEARS! No cries, not anything! I was amazed! As was ev1 in the Immunization Clinic! LOL I couldn't believe that my baby totally manned up! I mean, I can never recall, at all, screaming for shots. My parents say that I never cried during shots, from 2yrs on. I remember getting shots when I was 4 and I just watched the nurse do it while my sister screamed bloody murder, but I never thought that a tolerance for pain could be hereditary. :o) Such an awesome baby that I have. :)
I was also told that Bella is perfectly on par with how she should be growing, emotionally and physically. She has her Stranger Anxiety with adults that she doesn't know, and she likes to hide in my legs when there's people around trying to talk to her that she isn't familiar with, but I guess that's normal in an 18 month old. Dr Westen said that she'd like to see Bella fully potty trained at her next appt (2years) and I told her that I was going to start working on it after her 18mth bday.
All in all, a great check-up for Bella and peace of mind for mommy. :o)

Harper's Island. E3: Ka-Blam

2009-04-24T17:24:00.001-07:00

We're on Episode 3 now, and still no news on the other 4 victims of John Wakefield. We know that Abby and Kelly's moms were both killed by him, but I'm wondering who the other victims were and if that will play into who the current murderer is.
But on to the recap!
We open with a pool party, and when you have a bunch of pretty people, you know you got to get them in swimsuits eventually. It's like a law in the tv-world.
Richard and Henry are having a nice conversation. Richard being Trish's sister, Shea's, husband. They're being little voyeurs, watching Mr and Mrs Wellington. Henry asks him about the Wellington lifestyle, but we all know that Richard loves the status of it all, even if he thinks his father-in-law is a little on the shady side.
Ooooh! Check it out! Skeet shooting! Maybe that's how the "Ka-Blam" will but put into play? Rich people really do love their skeet shooting, don't they?
Hmmm.... the secret note from a manservant. Curious...
And for once, we see Trish without her pearls. I guess that means no sex for her.
Henry's not too bad with the shotgun. That will probably work in his favor. But Tom wins and he and Katherine saunter off.
On to Kelly's autopsy. And there's our favorite demon hunting Sheriff! It appears that Kelly has a tattoo saying, "John Wakefield, John Wakefield, Come back for me." That's odd. And Sheriff seems to think Kelly didn't commit suidide. Ok, I watch enough CSI, ER, Bones, etc to know that strangulation causes hemmorhaging in the eyes, but I don't think it gives you straight up devil eyes.
Oh man, again with the needle in the eye? What's up with the doctor-on-eyeball violence, lately? First Bones, and now HI!
Mmmmmm... mimosas!
HeeHee! Howler monkey sex! And only a Brit would wear a VEST to the pool. Also, note to Sully. Saying "My bad" does not get you off the hook for leaving a dude swinging upside down from a freakin' tree. You could at least have sent an e-card.
We now know that the note says, "Hunter Jennings is at the Pines Motel" and it's written on stationery from The Candlewick Inn. I don't know about you, but it looks like girly handwriting to me. So my money is on Shea or Katherine.
Wonder why Abby is keeping things from her dad? I get that they're estranged, but shouldn't she let him know that JD and Kelly were sleeping together? Or that Kelly was really happy the last time she saw her and invited her to come live in LA.
Hunter is such a skeeze. Good on Trish for the slap! But now Hunter knows that Mr Wellington is lying to Trish and I'm sure he'll be working that angle.
Dude, JD needs some sun. The only way he could be any pastier would be if his name was Elmer.
"That's weird" is not how someone normal would react to that news. But I still think the writers are trying too hard to make JD look guilty. I think he's just 4 beers short of a 6 pack.
Dirty, Dirty! Looks like Step-mom is sleeping with her step-son-in-law.
**Ok, why is no one missing Lucy, yet?**
Well, I was right, it was a chick who left the note for Henry, but it was Ruth, not a main character. And Henry is off for a bit of sleuthing. And he finds a receipt for an airline ticket. Berlin-New York-Seattle. Wonder what Hunter was doing in Berlin? It was paid for by Mr Wellington. So looks like Henry is suspicious now.
Honey and herb rub. Sounds tasty! Here's hoping Chloe is working on some revenge against Sully! I'm thinking, tied to an ant hill.
HAHAHAHAHA! He got feathered! Too funny! Pooh Bear in the honey pot!
Now THAT'S gonna leave a mark. But is JD dead or just stunned?
I'm glad that Abby is coming clean with her dad. Even tho' it's turning into an argument. But that's par for course with them, isn't it?
At least Shane is acting remorseful for being an ass. And he truly seems saddened by the death of his ex. Ooooooooooh! Shane has JD in his trunk. So, not dead. Yet.
Nikki thinks John Wakefield is responsible for Kelly's death. Anyone else think that Shane had been messing with Kelly? Pretending to be Wakefield. Maybe as revenge for the breakup? Shane def has that wife-beater vibe, so no shock that he was wailing on Kelly.
Hunter wants 50 grand to leave town. Or else, he's going to rat out Mr Wellington to Trish. And now, Trish has recieved a secret note of her own that reads, "Let's make this work. Room 214. Hunter." Anyone else think that Henry is trying to test his bride-to-be?
The people on this island need to enact a Buddy System. Seriously, wandering off on your own is not ending well for anyone.
Good on Trish! And I told ya it was Henry! :o)
Oh, for the love of Pete, don't walk into creepy, shadowy sheds unless you're heavily armed.
Wow! Shane was really going to go through with killing JD if Abby hadn't shown up!
Oh, like someone like Shane would really use a word like "daft".
HeeHee! Shiny Sully! "Totally my bad." Go Cal!
Anyone else see a boat explosion in Hunter's future? Ooh. Mr Wellington paid up. For some reason, I thought he wouldn't.
Check it. It's Uncle Marty's money and his gun on Hunter's boat.
WHOA!!!!!!
Didn't see that coming! And there's our Ka-Blam for the episode!
Why put ink in someone's eyes? But that pic of the Sheriff with red eyes doesn't look good for him.

Not big on the murders this time around, but still a great ep!

Harper's Island. E2: Crackle

2009-04-24T17:23:00.001-07:00

Ok, before the ep even starts, I'm so wondering how they're going to work in CRACKLE! I mean, supposed, each ep title is the sound of how a victim dies. For instance, Whap was from the whap-whap of the the rotor blade on the boat (poor Cousin Ben, we hardly knew ya). I'm kinda thinking that someone may die in a fire!
So it looks like the timeline is starting up the morning after. Doubtful anyone knows that Uncle Marty is dead. Altho, you'd think someone would've heard the shots.
Oh no! Run Bambi! Whew!
And you know, for being the main character, I'm not a fan of Abby. I don't think she's too great an actress.
Was that a missing boat oar? hmmm... could be kindling!
Ok... that's disturbing. And a really quick kill, too. Good thing they only wrote PSYCHO and not DERANGED LUNATIC. b/c they would've totally been caught in the act.
And bloody hands on brother JD. Interesting... It looks pretty likely that he was the one who killed the deer. I mean, he's already had words with Shane.
Ok, if someone forced me to do a scavenger hunt... well, let's just say that I'd be taking advantage of the open bar!
Oh, I see! THAT'S why they sent everyone off on some lame ass scavenger hunt. For some chocolate flavored kisses! (Trish must have pearls of horniness.)
WTF? Who sets a priest trap? And, um, ow.
Ok... Creepy Kelly has some dead eyes. Something's not quite right there. And not just the whole 'my mom was murdered' deal, something else.
And Shane's a dick. Maybe he'll die next?
Cal, considering he's a Brit, should really be able to hold his alcohol way better. And he has stupid hair.
Shane and Jimmy are so gonna kick JD's ass. You know that they think it was him.
Chloe is such a little ho. And her death obsession is a bit out of hand.
OMG, stalk much, Kelly? She's a bit overbearing. And anyone who asks to live with you moments after meeting you (no matter that you knew each other 7 yrs ago) is so off the rails.
BONFIRE! Told ya! Someone is so gonna become a crispy critter!
Oh no! CAL!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is why I don't go walking in the woods. Well, that and the fact that I'm not very nature-compatible. I only like the outdoors in-so-far as how close I am to a real live toilet.
Another deer? What's up with that weirdness? And do you know how heavy those bad boys are? No way is a little chick doing that heavy lifting.
Oh, that asshole is NOT gonna leave Cal hanging! Bad, Sully, Bad!
Mr Wellington is so not cool. You know that somehow, Trish is going to find out that he's the one who brought Hunter in to break up the wedding and she's gonna go a bit ballistic.
Kelly and JD are just freaks in love. And getting freaky.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Was that Kelly strung up in the rafters?
Damn commercial break! Guess I'll find out in 2 & 2. (Wow! totally random Love Connection reference!)
Oh. Interesting way to prevent anyone questioning Uncle Marty's whereabouts.
And poor Kelly. :(
Methinks GiGi is gonna find someone's remains. That is what dog's do. Or, they lead you to a huge trap. Not holding out big hopes for Lucy's survival.
And WHOOSH! Up in flames she go!
I say "yay me" for guessing the method!
And now it's off to guess the victim for next week!
I'm betting on JD. Just b/c he looks too guilty.

Harper's Island. E1: Whap

2009-04-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

There are spoilers as I will be recapping the episodes week by week here.
So, WHAP! You've been warned.

Nice! The show just started and I gotta say, Cousin Ben's death was pretty damn cool!
I am enjoying seeing Christopher Gorham, forever Jake 2.0 to me. :) And it's always fun to see Harry Hamlin. He was great on Veronica Mars! Just realized who Chloe is. She's Cameron Richardson, Paula from the late-great Point Pleasant. A wonderfully creepy little show that never had a chance by Marti Noxon from Buffy fame. And oddly Mr Wellington (Richard Burgi) was also on Point Pleasant.
Love the guys calling Uncle Marty a "superhero"! haha! When does Harry Hamlin NOT play the snarky, horny older man?
Ok, right now, I call Hunter as the next victim. Smooching on a bride-to-be never ends well. That ranks up there with having sex when you're supposed to babysitting.
So far, I'm liking how they're introducing characters. Since there's new people coming to the island, locals, and returning townsfolk, it makes for an easy meet-&-greet for the viewer.
Just got the link to http://www.harpersglobe.com/
That should be a fun site to augment the show!
Oh, look! It's Bobby! (I'm just a huge dorky fan of Supernatural.)
Anyone else creeped out by Madison? If she turns out to the be the killer, I'm gonna need therapy.
Brits never has a sense of humor. But I kinda feel bad for the guy. All he wants to do is propose to the little hootchie.
Oh, who has sex with their pearls on? (Now I'm thinking of a really dirty "pearl necklace" joke!)
No Freakin Way! Harry Hamlin dies in the first ep??? I did NOT see that coming!

Ok, I'm sucked in. This show is pretty damn cool!

Things That Someone Needs to Make

2008-12-15T18:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not an inventor. Hell, I'm barely a typer. But what I am, is someone who gets irritated at life's little "fuck you"s and b/c I'm female and demanding, I want it to be fixed.
For instance, why can't someone come up with a pack of smokes that holds 40 Half-Smokes. For the times when you need that hit of nicotine, yet you don't have 5 mins to smoke it out. Or if it's cold and you just want to burn one right quick then get back into your warm house. And don't tell me to pinch it out and re-light it, b/c that sucks and the first drag always tastes a bit like warmed over ass.
I need someone to invent a better laptop. One made of some kind of durable space shit with a retractable handle so I can carry it around in airports w/o spazzing that someone's gonna bump into me, I'll drop it, and then it'll be all fucked up. I don't feel like buying some 200 dollar POS Laptop Carrier. I'd rather spend an extra 100 bucks on a laptop that I didn't have to worry about and that came with a handle. Look into, nerds. I'm sure it's feasible.
I want someone to invent a roll of toilet paper that my 11 month old daughter can't unravel in the space of 12 seconds. I don't care how you do it, just make some sort of plastic cover that prevents tiny hands from spinning out a double roll of Charmin onto my floor while I'm trying to put my contacts in.
I want the assholes who make screws and bolts to have some kind of online database. I want to be able to type in "The movers lost the screws to my chair and now I have no back. They are X size holes. What screw do I need?" b/c right now, I'm stuck with going to fucking Home Depot every 3 days trying to find the screws that my idiot movers lost. Ok, fine, I shouldn't blame the movers. It's just as possible that while unpacking, I possible threw them out in a fit of metal rage.

But hey, I just get irritated at the little things. Luckily, on the grand scale, everything is roses. :)

Chuck - Just Go With It

2008-12-05T16:01:00.000-08:00

Man, how much can a person love a tv show? And I say this knowing full well that I've become enamoured in years past with The X Files, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, BSG, Alias, Bones, etc, etc. But Chuck is new breed of show. Chuck was created by Josh Schwartz, the genius behind The OC. Yes, that show got to be incredibly stupid, but you can't argue with the first season's awesomeness. I must admit, tho, that Josh kinda pisses me b/c he's MY age and he's this crazy mad creative guy while I'm, well, I'm just Jeanine. :o)
I stumbled upon Chuck from reading one of my favorite tv columns, TV Gal on www.zap2it.com. Amy would go on and on about this little show and I'd read all these great one-liners that she would quote in her column and I would think, "Damn, I gotta see this!" Of course, the fact that Adam Baldwin of Firefly and Angel fame was in it didn't hurt. Unfortunately, Chuck premiered in September of '07 and I was living in Italy at the time. Thus, no NBC for me. And Hulu wasn't up and running then, either. Those bastards. Didn't they know that I needed them? But anywho, I kept reading about it and when I did make it back to the good ol' U S of A in April of '08, I was able to catch a few eps of reruns and then I was able to catch a few more on Hulu. I finally got around to renting Season 1 on DVD just today and watched all 4 eps on the first disc in one glorious Chuck-filled go. I admit, it had a shaky start. It was very unbelievable and I wasn't invested into the show yet to allow it to slide. But of course, from the eps I had seen and from all of Season 2 that I've faithfully watched, I knew it would improve. And improve it did! While the first ep had only a few fun moments, the second was chuck (heehee) full of them!
For the uninitiated, here's a synopsis of Chuck:
Chuck Bartowski is your everyday slacker. He lives with his sister and her fiancee, who are both doctors, and spends his nights playing video games with his childhood best friend, Morgan, and his days working at the Buy More (like a Best Buy) fixing computers. He hasn't dated since his college girlfriend dumped him for his roommate, and this was 5 years ago. He got kicked out of Stanford b/c said roommate also turned him in for cheating, even though he wasn't. So he's been at the short end of the stick for years, but isn't a bitter asshole about it. He's just a nice, albeit nerdy, guy with no real goals.
Enter Bryce Larkin. Bryce is currently a CIA agent and is also that same college roomie of Chuck's. Bryce has gone rogue and has stolen the "Intersect". This Intersect is actual a computer program that's a huge pot of information from the CIA and the NSA. ALL the information. Every file, every image, every secret operation, it's all on this Intersect. Bryce downloads the Intersect onto his handy dandy (I watch too much Blue's Clues) Blackberry, blows the original computer to shreds, emails the file to Chuck and then is shot and killed by John Casey (Adam Baldwin). Chuck opens the email and all that data is downloaded into his brain. (Now here is a sticky part for me. Would you really remain standing for 12 hours while being bombarded with images and information? And how would you be able to retain all that info? Hell, I can't even remember the name of my 1st Grade teacher. But this is what I'm talking about when I say you gotta just suspend your disbelief and go with it.) After the download, his computer is fried and Chuck wakes up on the floor. (C'mon, who hasn't had that happen before?) Now, whenever he sees anything that was on any of those files, he "flashes" on that file, and it basically opens in his brain and he knows everything about it. At first, there's some confusion, but then a hot blond comes into the store and everything melts away. Until he finds out that she's a CIA agent trying to protect him from being killed by the NSA. It ends with the CIA and NSA deciding to join forces to protect Chuck, aka The Intersect, in the beautiful forms of Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) and John Casey (Adam Baldwin), respectively.
This show works on multiple levels. First and foremost, there's the great humor! Chuck is so lost in this world of spies and espionage and Casey is, well, he's a dick, but he's funny at it. Much like his Jayne character on Firefly. Sarah is sweet and lethal. She has such a crush on Chuck, as he does on her, yet they can't really be together b/c her job is to protect him, not date him. Secondly, this show has some great action scenes. Be it blowing up the random car here and there, having Sarah get into a raging fight with Casey, or even the pratfalls that Morgan has to do when getting mercilessly shoved aside by a tunnel visioned Casey, it all works and it's never cheesy or overly CGI, nor does it rely too heavily on stunt doubles (which seriously pissed me off on the early seasons of Buffy before SMG got her tae kwon do on).
I love this little show and it's rare to have a show that I can actually Laugh Out Loud at during every episode.
For some escapist fun (don't think too hard, just go with it), I recommend Chuck.

Mr Brooks

2008-12-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

Mr Brooks is a movie starring Kevin Costner and (loosely) starring Dane Cook. Costner is a good actor, always has been. Loved him in The Untouchables and Field of Dreams and yes, god help me, Robin Hood. He's faltered these past few (10) years b/c he started to believe the hype around him. That he was this great, amazing Actor. I kinda want to compare him to Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo, god love him, was a great child actor and went on to star in Titanic. Which, he has said over and over, that he wishes he had never done. He became this huge Star, not as an actor, but as a teen heartthrob, and really, outside of Johnny Depp, who really has overcome that moniker? But Leo kept getting these accolades as being the best Actor who's ever breathed and he started to believe the hype but he put the smack down upon himself. He brought himself back down to planet Earth and realized that hey, this is just a job. I do my job, I get paid. I am NOT god, nor am I A god. I'm just a guy. Costner realized this too, only it took him a considerably longer amount of time to do it. In Mr Brooks, Costner tries to shed his good guy image (an act he tried to accomplish with A Perfect World) and you know, it's believable. He does an amazing portrayal of someone neck deep in addiction (albeit an addiction to murder) and he's trying to overcome it, only to be dragged back in via blackmail. This is where Dane Cook comes into play. I'm not saying Dane is a good actor, nor I am saying he's necessarily a bad actor. He's just Dane Cook. Luckily, his role isn't huge and his lines aren't long. I wouldn't even call him the protagnist, as that role is encompassed by a great William Hurt, who isn't even a real person, just the Devil on Costner's shoulder. This movie is long. Really long. If they would've editted out everything about the Meek's subplot with Demi Moore, I think I would've enjoyed it all that much more. As it stands, I give it a 2.5 out of 4. It would even be elevated to a solid 3 had they ended the movie 5 minutes early. And if you've seen it, you know what I mean.

Tropic Thunder

2008-11-29T20:58:00.001-08:00

You know, I had high hopes, or even, high expectations of this movie. Ben Stiller, Jack Black; they both had spotty histories with me. Dodgeball and Meet the Parents are STELLAR but Meet the Fockers and Zoolander fell flat with me. Shallow Hall and Orange County were great, but Nacho Libre was a stretch. And it seemed to me that they both were in this movie just to be IN a movie. Robert Downey, Jr was ok but that's still in the con pile b/c you expect him to be more than ok. Sadly, the best part of this movie was Tom Cruise's over the top movie exec portrayal. The whole movie felt forced. I have Mr Brooks sitting on my table right now to watch tomorrow and hopefully that will be a better show.

Black Friday

2008-11-28T18:48:00.000-08:00

Wow, how shitty is Black Friday. I mean, really. You have seven zillion assholes all out at the mall trying to get the most product for the smallest amount of money and what you end up with is a bunch of pissed off people all crammed into a T-junction.
We did go out today, tho. This is my "anniversary gift" from the Boda. The fact that he actually went to the mall today was a big deal, in his world. The fact that he didn't, not once, bitch at the idiocy of the human populace, a bigger one! We bought some stuff and had a great day. Bella was talking to everyone and so many random strangers kept coming up to her and saying how beautiful she is! B/C, you know, she is! :) And she's great at smiling and talking and giggling for the masses. She could be president in 40 years.

Versus

2008-11-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

And here I am, 12 beers in. Oh yes. 12. I'm sitting here listening to Lee play WoW and I'm debating on having more beer. I might as well drink. It's fun! Of course, I have no Marzia and no Tony to drink with anymore, and I have no bars to go to, but fuck it. I'm a mommy. I have to be up and alive in the morning.
And I will be.

Gotta love Google...

2008-11-19T15:42:00.000-08:00

So, I'm looking into my stupidly large saltwater tank, and what do I spy with my little eye? Weird squiggle marks on the back corner of my tank. What the F, man? So, I decide to try and poke around online to find out what it is, but I can't seem to find the words to describe it. In the end, I type in, "saltwater tank white squiggly lines". And lo and behold, pages of hits! Of course, most aren't even remotely connected, but then I see one from this blogspot here, I find out that those squiggly lines are snail eggs (ewwwww) and then I decide, hmmm.... I think I'll open another blog, b/c you know, you can't be too thin, too rich or have too many blogs. :)
On another note, I need to be doing another Google search to find why my damn corals all died. Bastards were pricey, too. Erg. And off to Google I go!